Mountain & Trail
The mountain is always there, at the end of every street. We go up early — chains and ladders in the half-dark, the whole peninsula turning gold beneath you — and we are usually down before the cable car has turned its first wheel. These are mornings you feel for days.
Lion’s Head at sunrise
Up in the dark with headlamps, spiralling round the peak as the sky goes from grey to orange behind the Hottentots Holland. There are chains and a short ladder near the top, which put some people off and are genuinely easier than they look. It takes about ninety minutes up. Most of the city does this at full moon; we prefer it at dawn on an ordinary Tuesday, when the summit is nearly empty and you get the whole bay to yourself for half an hour before the light goes flat.
Private guide · Headlamps · Half day
Table Mountain, hiked not queued
Platteklip is the direct route and the honest one. About two hours of steady climbing straight up the front, no scrambling, no exposure, just a long staircase. The gentler options come up from the back, through Skeleton Gorge and the forest above Kirstenbosch. Either way you arrive at the top having earned it, and you can still take the cable car down if your knees have opinions. The mountain makes its own weather, so we pick the route on the morning.
Private guide · Permits · Snacks · Full day
E-bike the Cape Point passes
The motor flattens Chapman’s Peak, which is the point. Nine kilometres of road cut into a cliff with the Atlantic straight down on your right, then over into Noordhoek and south through the reserve toward the point. On an e-bike you get the views without the suffering and you cover ground a walker cannot. Baboons on the road are a normal part of the day. We ride it in the morning before the wind and the traffic build.
Private guide · Our e-bikes · Vehicle support · Half day
Hidden waterfalls & kloofs
The mountain is full of ravines that hold water long after the rains, and almost nobody goes into them. Short walks in, a scramble over boulders, and a pool at the end cold enough to make you shout. Best from late winter into spring when there is still water coming down. This is the day we take people on when they have already done the summits and want to know what else is up there.
Private guide · Picnic · Half day
Cold Atlantic & open water
Old vines, long tables
The Cape, up close
Further afield
Penguins, whales, fynbos
Plan a morning on the mountain.
Tell us when you are here and what pulls you. We will shape the day around you.