UP LIONS HEAD-CAPE TOWN.
Written by Nez, Posted in Travel, Comments: leave another one
A day before we hiked Lions head, my nephews and nieces begged me to go hike table mountain with them. Yet the next day, it was me who begged them to reach Lions Head summit. Mmmmmm…. Kids!!!
I am right behind you, take one step at a time baby girl.
No, we not turning back here. We going up, me and you. We will make it.
What?. Did he say we are halfway?. No we are not, we are almost there. Just keep moving.
We hiked Lions Head on Saturday with my two nephews (19 & 8) and my nieces (18 &12). At 8am we were on our way up. We walked a beautiful trail on a cool, misty morning. We had a glimpse of the scenery but quickly the mist covered all the view down.
We decided on Lions head instead of table mountain because we were recovering from flu. So table mountain was going to be too strenuous. We had a good time hiking. The kids liked it. Every time they see Lions head, they get overjoyed and they cant believe they have climbed the little monster.
I deliberately took the ladders and chains route. I was running out of motivational words at this point and everyone wanted to quit. But all thanks to friendly hikers. People started cheering them and telling them they are doing so good. You have to like South Africans.
Finally we reached the summit. Everyone was joyful . The only draw back was, we missed the spectacular panoramic view of incredibly beautiful city that I know very well. It did not matter much. We took a fair number of pictures and enjoyed the moment.
These three kiddos are really silly. Once we started talking about descending, they asked me to call an emergency helicopter to whisk them down. Ha! IN THEIR DREAMS.
When descending we did not take the chains and ladder route. I felt it will be risky for my 8years old nephew because the steps were a bit stretched out. He did so well. He was so brave and so energetic all the way.
I have climbed lions head many times, but climbing it with my nieces and nephews was so special. I once climbed the mountain for the first time and I will be lying if I said I had a full trust in my strength. Like them, I had moments of weakness when I looked up some rocky climbs. What’s important is they did not quit half way.
I was damn proud of them for having to face their fears head on. They are so amazing. They might have not conquered the highest mountain but for me it was one of the most rewarding experiences for an Aunt.
Take care,
Nez