Lion's Head

We did the Lion's Head climb, a steady ascent with amazing views as you spiral your way to the top. The aptly named, Lion's Head, is for it's distinctive shape. It is located in the area of Table Mountain and Signal Hill (where a canon goes off every day at noon which in the 1800's was a signalling station for ships arrivals).

In the 17th century the peak was known as Leeuwen Kop (Lion's Head) by the Dutch, and Signal Hill was known as Leeuwen Staart (Lion's Tail or Lion's Rump), as the shape resembles a crouching lion or a sphinx. The English in the 17th Century called the peak Sugar Loaf.

I took in all the beautiful scenery as we were hiking around the base and even as we got higher. At some point however, I realized how steep the drops were and that we'd eventually have to climb down. And thus the heights panic creeped it's way into my brain. I muscled through and made my way, scrambling up some rocky climbs, hiding under my wide-ish brimmed hat until I had climbed to the top. Once there, we stopped for a rest and apples. And at this point, I had to admit I was pretty overwhelmed. Jeff knew something was up as he noticed I was talking in a little voice ;)

Ultimately, the panic faded and the climb down was really no big deal at all. It was quite a journey for me as I've missed many other sights around the world from fear of heights and claustrophobia.