However, if there had to be a global beauty pageant for sunny spring mornings, we're pretty sure Cape Town's would be crowned the most breathtaking of them all. Especially if you're lucky enough to take in the view from the very top of Table Mountain.
I mean just look at this!
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Which is exactly the sort of magnificence we got to experience on Thursday, as part of Table Mountain Cableway's 85th birthday celebration.
Yes, that's right! While it may seem unbelievable, on Saturday 4 October the cableway - or the cable car as it used to be known - will have been part of the Mother City's life for a full 85 years! Amazing!
Over glasses of bubbly, delicious snacks and aromatic coffee with that goosebump-raising view of Cape Town as a backdrop, Table Mountain Cableway CEO Sabine Lehmann, took us on an intriguing little trip down memory lane.
Here are a few of the most fascinating historical facts about the Cableway:
- Transportation to the top of iconic Table Mountain had been mulled over for a long time before a cableway was finally decided upon. The first idea was mooted in 1902 when someone suggested the construction of a rack railway... you, know like for a train. A TRAIN! Thank goodness the Anglo-Boer war halted those plans, otherwise they would probably still be busy building it right now!
- In 1926 a Norwegian engineer named Trygve Stromsoe brought the idea of a cableway to the table (excuse the pun). Construction started in 1927, with the cableway officially opening in December 1929.
- A baby has actually been born on Table Mountain! The wife of one of the workers who had been contracted for the construction of the cableway had joined her husband to live on the mountain for the duration of the project. She gave birth to one of their children during this time.
- The cableway used to have a budget for silk stockings. Yes, you read that right! Silk stockings. Because, back in the day, you simply weren't a lady if you didn't wear silk stockings. And ladies would often suffer tears and damage to their stockings during their exploration of the mountain, which obviously warranted a refund!
- Over 85 years, there have been three upgrades to the Cableway, which means that there have been four different types of cable cars zipping up and down.
- The current rotating cable cars were introduced in 1997. There are only two other similar cableways in the world - one in Titlis in Switzerland and the other in Palm Springs, United States.
- Table Mountain Cableway prides itself in being accident free since opening in 1929.
- The Cableway has transported more than 23 million people to the top of Table Mountain.
- Although the Cableway is often considered to be a tourist attraction out and out, 45% of its visitors are in fact South African! Think it's too expensive? They have special offers year round, that you should really check out! In fact, if you have kids under 18, make your way there before 31 October and have two ride for free with every adult ticket purchased.
Pretty amazing how far it's come, right?
So, happy birthday Table Mountain Cableway! We hope there are many many more!