OVERNIGHT TABLE MOUNTAIN HIKE

Go on an overnight Table Mountain hike and discover the secrets behind this World Wonder of Nature. You’ll enjoy a fantastic hike with plenty of easy walking, amazing views of both oceans and the day ends at a private tented camp, hidden away in Table Mountain’s indigenous forest.

The next day you can return to Cape Town after breakfast or head for Cape Point for a hike, taking in dramatic scenery and wildlife. There’s usually time to fit in the penguins at Boulders Beach too.

You’ll need a backpack for an overnight Table Mountain hike though there’s not much to carry except water, a change of clothes and your personal items. You’ll need a sleeping bag. Lunch is carried for you and dinner supplied at camp.

First, you need to get up Table Mountain. The cable car is the easy option but there are several ways up that are safely negotiated by hikers with overnight packs on. Once at the top, the scale of Table Mountain quickly becomes apparent as you move into its interior. Different hiking trails lead into deep valleys and along cheerful streams, thick with orchids in summer. There are whiskey-coloured reservoirs flanked by long white beaches and pockets of shady forest – perfect for a lunch spot.

The hiking is easy on top of Table Mountain and the way down is on a jeep track, winding its way into thick forest until the welcome sight of Orange Kloof Tented Camp comes into view.

Set in Table Mountain’s restricted-access interior, the camp lies under trees ringing with bird song. It sleeps up to 12 people in timber and canvas accommodation. Equipped with electric lighting, each chalet is raised off the ground and has beds with mattresses but no linen.

Interconnected by wooden walkways, the camp has communal bathrooms with hot water and flush toilets. There’s a big, open-plan kitchen with gas cooker, microwave and fridge/freezer – and a place to recharge batteries. Outside, the open-pit fire is ideal for barbeques under the stars.

Orange Kloof Tented Camp is accessible by private road – great for resupplies and transport logistics – and park rangers are located close by.