James Otis once said, ‘A man’s home is his castle’ – an expression that illustrates the principle of individual privacy. If you lead on from his home being his castle, then his backyard is his fiefdom.
In my backyard is a mountain. It’s 1086 m high, with a plateau of about three km on the top, covers an area of over 25000 hectares, and has a network of over 550 different walks and hikes. It has an estimated 2200 different species of indigenous flora (just on the mountain), many of which are endemic to my mountain. Sadly, many of these are under threat of extinction. It is one of the richest plant areas in the world, comprising less than 1% of the African continent, yet sustaining 20% of its flora! I have a large staff to ensure that the garden is kept in tip-top condition.
I do not allow any picking of flowers or taking of cuttings. Rather visit my nursery at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, should you wish to have specimens to take home.
Many years ago it used to have lion and leopard, both of which were hunted to extinction. I have put a stop to all hunting. Now you will only see dassies, porcupines, mongooses, snakes and tortoises. Again, please don’t feed them – this is not a petting zoo. If you are lucky enough, you might see a rooikat (caracal) or an African wildcat – but they are very shy (especially since they saw what happened to their larger relatives in the last century).
There was once a population of Himalayan tahrs (exotic), that were controversially culled to make place for the reintroduction of the indigenous klipspringers.
My mountain is also a World Heritage site. I allow free access to anyone willing and able to explore it, but I do expect you to act responsibly, stay on the paths and to only leave your footprints please. Your pets are welcome, but picking up after them is much appreciated. You are also welcome to ride your bicycle on the paths. Whether you are an adventurous rock climber or just a Sunday stroller, my mountain has a place you can go and find a piece just for yourself – just don’t take anything home.
The name of my mountain? I call it ‘The Mountain’. On the map it’s called Table Mountain. You can’t really miss it if you’re in Cape Town, unless the clouds are very low, in which case I would advise you not to go climbing, it can be deceptively dangerous. It’s also the only terrestrial feature to lend its name to a constellation: Mensa, which means table.
Over the next few weeks I am going to share with you some of the different walks and hikes I’ve done on ‘The Mountain’. I’ve walked it from almost every angle, cried on it, eaten on it, slept on it and swam on it, but always enjoyed it.
I hope you’ll enjoy this adventure in my backyard. Make yourself at home and please always remember to leave it the way you found it.
