Lazarow World-Hike-About

Table Mountain from Constantiaberg—always stunning, whatever the vantage point Jenni giving the 'eye' to lip of destination peak Jenni with her Caveman We sit in awe and think of the day’s hikes in this magnificent peninsula. It is unusual for the best that nature has on offer to surround a city or be as close, as in the ‘fairest Cape’ of them all. We are learning that it is neither good judgment nor ‘safe’ to give ratings especially as we are not that well traveled. Nevertheless, in this instance we are happy to live dangerously. We surmise that at the time Hashem was crafting this area, He must have felt particularly creative and content. The weather over the last two days has been near perfect following two prior, poor days. With the tough Table Mountain hike behind us, we headed towards Muizenberg but diverted to the Silvermine Nature Reserve. From the moment we entered, we were entranced. It is serene, colorful and sits in a bowl surrounded by mountains, and bay...

The picture below, shown in an earlier blog, is the Platteklip Gorge Trail as viewed from Devil's Peak. Note the switchbacks! Platteklip Gorge Trail from Devil's Peak. (A little indulgence) After the pain, much pleasure Editor relaxing in a wonderful atmosphere but feeling a bit off-color That's the gap as we pass the half-way mark—brutal at times When Vasco Da Gama sailed down the west coast of Africa, he intended to stop short of the Cape but realized the ‘Namibs’ were rather aggressive. Therefore, he pushed down further, making a left turn into Table Bay and saw what Bartholomew Diaz had discovered at the end of the 15th century. Diaz had named it the ‘Cape of Storms’ because on that day, just like this past weekend, there were gale force winds on the mountain. So strong were the winds that the cable car system was not operating both then and on Sunday. On the way down after tea without scones When Jan van Riebeck , the Dutch administrator arrived in 16...

Keeping our feet dry at the Lion A wonderful perch for 'birthday girl' Jenni sits between the Devil & the Table With muscles complaining a little, we decided to ease into Shabbos, particularly because we have a big hike planned for Sunday. Today, it was back to Lion’s Head to see wonderful views from the summit. What a time we enjoyed yesterday reaching the peak of the special mountain. We read one ‘expert’s view’: if you haven’t been to Maclear’s Beacon, you haven’t climbed Table Mountain. We might not agree with his supposition practically but certainly do in spirit. Do we give the impression we are fascinated by this mountain? Funny, we would not have thought so. Inspiration for the song: Blue, blue, my world is blue Jenni continues climb at turn-around point from 'windy' day Change is in the air . Perhaps not the change POTUS envisaged but one should be careful for what one wishes. However, all is not lost, yet. Yesterday we took a drastic step in t...

"I can't get up there." 'We're going higher. That's only Fernwood Peak, Big Guy' Top of Gorge(ous)—now let's go climb a mountain Maclear's beacon. Easy Jen, we don't want a rock slide The weather at ground and mountain levels is unrelated. It is two different locales. After yesterday’s weather, we were hoping that nature had digested something to settle her. Shame! Such terrible wind. We can understand that a person could live in this city because of the mountains, particular the Table. That’s why Brian Marcus suggested we tackle Skeleton Gorge trail, which commences inside the very attractive Kirstenbosch Gardens. Brian, a former Capetonian and part-time synagogue builder, gave us excellent advice. The hike was outstanding and quite tough. We added to it by continuing up to Maclear’s Beacon, the highest point on Table Mountain (1086 meters or 3,580 feet). We wonder what makes our editor strive to reach such elevations. It’s not for us t...

Haunting Table as seen from Lion's Head Here climbs the editor. Rain could not stop her--powerful winds did. Jenni pointing to Devil's Peak--yesterday's joyous hike Not taking a bow. Keeping hat on a few yards from where we turned. Peak just above Sometimes we are responsible which is reassuring. Exposed to high winds just before the summit of Lion’s Head, we sat behind some boulders waiting for the storm to pass. “We are within a hair of the top, should we chance it?” We gave it nearly an hour but the patience of the wind far exceeded our's. We pushed ahead another twenty feet but returned when it appeared that blowing over the edge was not necessarily a wise option. ‘More is nog ‘n dag’ or there will be other opportunities, we sadly reflected. A very enjoyable aspect to the hike Sitting behind the rocks gave us an opportunity to think and ponder the important issues of life. After carting thousands of rand to our landlord, we came up with this bright idea....