Platteklip Gorge
& The Camissa River.
The cliffs of the main plateau are split by Platteklip Gorge
("Flat Stone Gorge"), which provides an easy and direct ascent to the
summit of Table Mountain and was the route taken by António de Saldanha on
the first recorded ascent of the mountain in 1503. Impressed by the mountains
seemingly flat top, he named it “Taboa do Cabo” – Table Mountain – a name it
would never lose.
Although the path is clear, the climb is steep. There is no
getting away from the fact that you have to get from 350 metres above sea level
( Tafelberg Road) to 1 020 metres at the top – a climb of just less than 700
metres, from the start, to the cairn at the top – your indication that you have
made it.
If you are not sure, arrange for a mountain guide to
accompany you. A guide can also add interest to your walk; history, people,
stories, geological features, local flora and much, much more.
Flowing down Platteklip Gorge is a river (originally known
as The Camissa River) – which deserves a mention!
I wanted to tell a story of Cape Town. For me, it's the
story of the Camissa River.
The Camissa River flows down the middle of Table Mountain, down Platteklip Gorge. It is fed by water that comes from the “table cloth” - the clouds that form on the front face of the mountain. The water vapour in these clouds condenses and forms water droplets on the fynbos, rocks and ground. These droplets form a stream that flows down into what we now know as the ‘City Bowl’.
The Camissa stream used to flow all the way down through an indigenous afro-montane forest (the beauty of which is now only visible within the protected Orange Kloof area of Table Mountain National Park), nurturing our indigenous fauna and flora.
The first Dutch and English settlers to arrive in South Africa were supposed to set up in Saldanha Bay - a much safer harbour for ships - but there was something missing. They moved from Saldanha Bay to Cape Town for one reason only: the availability of fresh water.
When the settlers arrived at the Cape, they all but obliterated the indigenous Khoisan people - the original hikers of Table Mountain and the first people to drink from the Camissa River (“the place of sweet waters”.) With the enslavement of the Khoisan came the forced washing of linen by slave women for their masters. They would beat and wash this linen on a large granite rock, over which the Camissa River flows. The Dutch called it “die plat klip” (the flat rock) and it became what we now know in Afrikaans as Platteklip.
As a result of this exploitation, we have lost the real story of the Camissa, the river that provided our most basic requirement. The crystal clear, sweet waters of this river are the reason we are in Cape Town, why our parents are here. It's the reason why all the suburbs, streets and buildings are here. Our bloodlines, culture, creed, language, heritage, everything is here because of this small river that runs down the front face of Table Mountain. If it were not for this river, we would have our routes elsewhere ....
That's a beautiful Cape Town story.
The Camissa River flows down the middle of Table Mountain, down Platteklip Gorge. It is fed by water that comes from the “table cloth” - the clouds that form on the front face of the mountain. The water vapour in these clouds condenses and forms water droplets on the fynbos, rocks and ground. These droplets form a stream that flows down into what we now know as the ‘City Bowl’.
The Camissa stream used to flow all the way down through an indigenous afro-montane forest (the beauty of which is now only visible within the protected Orange Kloof area of Table Mountain National Park), nurturing our indigenous fauna and flora.
The first Dutch and English settlers to arrive in South Africa were supposed to set up in Saldanha Bay - a much safer harbour for ships - but there was something missing. They moved from Saldanha Bay to Cape Town for one reason only: the availability of fresh water.
When the settlers arrived at the Cape, they all but obliterated the indigenous Khoisan people - the original hikers of Table Mountain and the first people to drink from the Camissa River (“the place of sweet waters”.) With the enslavement of the Khoisan came the forced washing of linen by slave women for their masters. They would beat and wash this linen on a large granite rock, over which the Camissa River flows. The Dutch called it “die plat klip” (the flat rock) and it became what we now know in Afrikaans as Platteklip.
As a result of this exploitation, we have lost the real story of the Camissa, the river that provided our most basic requirement. The crystal clear, sweet waters of this river are the reason we are in Cape Town, why our parents are here. It's the reason why all the suburbs, streets and buildings are here. Our bloodlines, culture, creed, language, heritage, everything is here because of this small river that runs down the front face of Table Mountain. If it were not for this river, we would have our routes elsewhere ....
That's a beautiful Cape Town story.
