Natural Wonders of South Africa (1. Table Mountain 2. Kango Cave)
Natural Wonders of South Africa (1. Table Mountain 2. Kango Cave)
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1. Sunset on the world's oldest mountain
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A unique mountain rises above Cape Town. It is unique not in height (only about a kilometer), but in its flat, like a table, shape. The mountain is called the dining room.
And it is also unique in that this mountain and the satellite rocks surrounding it are the last remnant of the mountain range, the oldest, which collapsed long before the dinosaurs.
These remains look very old, collapsed, like the remains of a sand castle after rain (photo: old mountain)
Some remnants managed to almost completely level with the ground - still, after all, this mountain range began to form 800 million years ago - in those days there were not only dinosaurs - no one lived on earth then...
And once this hill next to the table mountain was a huge mountain with a sparkling snowy peak
Table Mountain experienced the greatest rise 280 million years ago, when the primary single land (Pangea) split in two (much later, this pair will split into 6 more parts, which we now call 6 continents). At that time, the first fish had already come to the ground and turned into amphibians and reptiles.
Perhaps these distant ancestors of dinosaurs walked along the main mountain table right here - where people now walk. The only difference is that people walk along the paved paths and take pictures against the background of its satellites : )
. . . who drown in the ocean that washes them away
Probably, soon (by geological standards soon) this whole ancient mountain range will also sink
It is best to climb the table mountain before sunset - then you can see how the cliffs gradually turn red...
And if the evening is already on the way, you can see how the huge African moon rises above the highway
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2. Kango Cave (or Kangu)
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The San tribe once lived in the Kangu cave - in those days when they were still cavemen. Lived and painted on the walls - graffiti : )
But tourists have already touched their drawings, from which, as a result, almost nothing remains.
But in the cave one of the oldest stone waterfalls in the world has been preserved. . .
. . . and one of the tallest stalagmites in the world
In Canggu Cave there is an excursion to the nearby caves and a semi-speleological hike to the far caves. The price difference is one and a half times. The hike is more fun, but the pictures are better from nearby caves. There in the cave forms you can see the castles
And also the jaws of a browed monster, which romantic guides stubbornly call the marriage bed (more precisely, of course, not "romantic guides", but "pragmatic guides inventing romantic brands" : )
And another man in a wig
whom they, highlighting in red, call the devil
From this diverse illumination, a green coating of mold and simple algae began to grow in the cave, which is very difficult to fight (on the photo it is especially clearly visible at the bottom left).
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Ales Mishchenko