Lion’s Head – by the light of the moon

A hike up Lion’s Head at full moon has been on my list of things to do since my family moved to Cape Town in 2002 and I first heard about it. Every year it has come up in conversation around the braai on various occasions followed by “we must do it! When is the next full moon?” but it’s never happened; until now that is! Yesterday the weather was as near perfect as can be. No wind, clear skies with great visibility and while the moon wasn’t full (that happens on the 28th) it was very nearly there and more than bright enough for our hike. We met at the start point at 6:00pm and started up the winding path that resembles the ridges of a snail’s shell spiralling up the mountain. Being one of the hottest days this summer, we soaked up the shade on the city side of Lion’s Head where we took a break to sip on some water and marvel at this view of Cape Town.

It took us just under an hour to make it to the top, nearly 2200ft above sea level, where we chose a comfy-looking rock from which to enjoy our dinner and a Hunter’s as we watched the sunset over the Atlantic Ocean.

After the sun had gone we continued to enjoy the magical evening as the lights of  Camps Bay below became brighter and brighter but it was when we were getting ready to leave that we went over the other side of Lion’s Head and were stunned by the lights of the city and the moon reflecting off the still water of the Table Bay roadstead.

We ended up staying a little longer and experimenting with long exposures to capture the amazing scene that lay below.

Almost more amazing than the lights of the city was how Table Mountain came out in this 20 second exposure.

So if you are like me and have been talking about doing a full moon hike up Lion’s Head for years now, hopefully this will inspire you to do it sooner rather than later.

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