Die Ander Tafelberg(e)

Dalene van Staden developed Die Ander Tafelberge* project, recruiting Caro Jordaan and Magan Hanekom to summit all 15 Tafelberge in the Western Cape, ending with Cape Town's Table Mountain.

- Magan Hanekom

* Afrikaans for 'The other Table Mountains'.

The trio summited 15 mountains over one long weekend, fueled by just 15.5 hours of sleep. Magan Hanekom shares the story...

The first of many

Two 80 litre crates, two Ultimate Direction crew bags, one Ultimate Direction fastpack, four hydration vests, a few pillows, and about eight pairs of Altras filled the car as we pulled out of Paarl and hit the road towards Bitterfontein. This settlement in the Knersvlakte, the northernmost area of the Westen Cape, is home to South Africa’s first desalination plant.

Starting at the Knersvlakte seemed apt, as it set the tone for the next five days. We would need to kners op ons tande and carry on… and on and on.

The Bitterfontein-Tafelberg, situated on a farm next to a nameless gravel road heading towards Pofadder was to be our first mountain of the trip, which officially started at 4am on Wednesday 14 October 2020.

The three of us – Dalene, Caro and I – had the support of Rae Trew-Browne. He started off behind the lens, but graciously stepped in to sit behind the wheel and pour coffee when the running became rough and opportunities to sleep disappeared.

On Tuesday evening, we pulled off the road. With the Bitterfontein-Tafelberg silhouetted on the horizon, we set up camp for the night: groundsheets, sleeping bags, and nothing much around us. It felt quite surreal, starting our adventure under the unpolluted sky, in a place that most people will not be able to find on a map. We drifted off into the warm night air filled by the sound of insects, far-off bleats, and baboonish grunts (for three hours. At 3:30am, the alarm sounded the start of our summit).