  Table Mountain: Since
the first person laid eyes on Table Mountain, it has exerted its powerful and charismatic
pull, enchanting and drawing any and all who fall under its spell. The way to the top has
never been easy, and for many centuries only a handful of bold and enterprising people
could say that they had climbed it. By the late 1870's, several of Cape Towns more
prominent(and possibly less fit) citizens had suggested the introduction of a railway line
to the top. Plans to implement a proposed rack railway got under way but the outbreak of
the Anglo-Boer war put a halt to the plans.
By 1912, with a strong desire to gain easy access to the top of Table Mountain, the Cape
Town City Council commissioned an engineer to investigate the various options of transport
to the top. The engineer, a Mr. H.M. Peter, suggested that a funicular railway running up
from Oranjezicht through Platteklip gorge would be the most suitable option. A vote was
held with the vast majority of Cape Town's residents voting in favour. This in spite of
its cost a staggering (in 1913) 100000 Pounds.
 The Table Mountain project was delayed yet again by war; this time the
outbreak of the First World War (1914 - 1918). The plan was resuscitated in 1926 after a
Norwegian engineer, Trygve Stromsoe, presented plans for a cableway to the top of Table
Mountain. The plan caught the collective eye of a group of eminent local businessmen. The
idea that an easy route up would finally become a reality drew them together, forming the
Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company (TMACC) to finance the construction. Work began
soon afterwards and the project was finished relatively quickly. On the 4th of October
1929, the Mayor of Cape Town, Rev A J S Lewis, headed the official opening ceremony that
was attended by over 200 other guests.
Since it's opening, 75 years ago, over 16 million people have taken the trip to the top of
Table Mountain. The Table Mountain cableway has since become something of a landmark in Cape Town, and has
carried some of Cape Town's most illustrious visitors including King George VI and Queen
Elizabeth II, as well as Oprah Winfrey, Sting, Stefi Graf, Arnold Schwarzenneger, Magaret
Thatcher, Prince Andrew, Micheal Schumacher, Brooke Shields, Micheal Buble, Tina Turner,
Jackie Chan, Dolores O'Riordan, Skunk Anansie and Paul Oakenfold. In 1993, Dennis
Hennessy, the son of one of the founders of TMACC sold the company. The new directors
immediately set about planning an upgrade to the existing Table Mountain infrastructure.
 Apart from upgrading the restaurants and machinery, new cars were purchased.
Unlike their predecessors, the new cars, or Rotairs, have a revolving floor that allows
passengers a 360-degree view of the city and Table Mountain as they travel. Work on the
upgrade began in January of 1997 and, for several months cranes and the comings and goings
of large helicopters carrying building materials dominated the mountain skyline. The new
cableway was officially opened on the 4th of October 1997, the anniversary of the original
launch, almost 70 years previously.
The Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company celebrates its 77th anniversary in 2006 and
remains the most popular tourist attraction in Cape Town!
Facilities: The Restaurant - The self-service restaurant at the top of
Table Mountain offers a wide range of foods ranging from our hot breakfast, the hot meal
of the day, snack menus and coffee bar. Meals may be complemented by a selection of fine
local wines. The restaurant seats 120 people. Please follow the signs once you're on top.
Cableway Cocktail Bar - Watch the sun set over Camps Bay and
the twinkling lights of the Mother City. Sit and linger over one of our special cocktails
while looking out over the bay and Table Mountain. Up to 120 people can be hosted for
cocktail parties. The Cableway Cocktail Bar is situated inside the top station building. |
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