Spring tide, sun set, moon rise

Last night Julie and I joined most of Cape Town’s young crowd in climbing/hiking up to the top of Lion’s Head to watch the sun set and moon rise. I’ve never been up there before, and it seemed as if last night was the night to do it. The panoramic views of the city, Table Mountain, beaches and the ocean were spectacular, and I had a hard time keeping my eyes on both the path at my feet and the spectacle all around me. I almost fell of the mountain once!

Julie and Dan with Table Mountain in the background; and the city from Lions Head.

We made it to the top at 7ish after an hour’s hike, met Dan and his gang and settled down for a lite picnic. As the crowds poured on to the mountain, I managed to see a Frisbee team mate with a telescope, and Julie found a work colleague and two school friends of hers enjoying the evening too. The sun set at 8pm over the ocean in the West (as it is wont to do) and was as good as sunsets over the ocean get. But wait, there was more. Last night was spring tide, and 10 minutes after sunset, in the East over the Stellenbosch mountains a full moon rose. Now that was impressive! For a while I didn’t know where to look - at the big yellow full moon over the city lights, or at the receding pink and red clouds and ocean in the other direction. A most worthwhile experience! "Day and Night" as ever chirpy Dan said.

The Twelve Apostles (mountains) and the Atlantic Ocean

The Moon over Cape Town city and Table Bay.

Thinking the show was over, we joined the multitude of people making our way back down to the car at about 8:30. Because it was dark, and there are some ladders and chains to climb down, there was quite a queue down the mountain. Thankfully we had the entertaining conversation of Nic Marais (a work colleague of Julies, and the host of SA’s biggest breakfast radio show) all the way down. So, laughing and admiring the city lights, we made our way down slowly, getting to the car at 10pm. A great night out! See you next year.