The Harts Honeymoon in South Africa: Lions Head Hike

When I think back to our honeymoon, there are so many wonderful memories, so many lovely moments. I LOVED our honeymoon. But one morning stands out among two weeks of mornings as the most magical, the most perfect of them all.

The morning was dark as we began our climb, Lion’s Head looming large above us in the shadow of the early morning. Our headlamps lit a small portion of the trail in front of us as our guide shared more about the flora and fauna we could expect to see as the world brightened. The trail began easily enough, the wide path rising consistently, but manageably, as the sun began to rise over Cape Town.

One could be forgiven at this point for thinking this 3.4 mile (roundtrip) hike would be simple. But just as the beauty and the well maintained trail lulled one into complacency, things began to change. The trail got thinner, rockier, with more switchbacks. Oh, and there was this:

I’ll be honest. There were moments where this hike was not easy. In fact, there were times when Brandon thought I would not make it with my clumsiness and short legs. But even when I was climbing up the mountainside using staples and scrambling up and down rocks, the hike was absolutely worth it. We took a pause to watch the sunrise before making it the rest of the way to the top.

Make it to the top we did, as the gentle morning light turned the city golden. Table Mountain and the Twelve Apostles were alight with the dawn. It was more than worth every challenging step.

Although the Lion’s Head hike can certainly be done independently, I am so glad we booked a guided hike with Mother City Hikers. From the initial email to book the hike to a follow-up afterward to make sure everything was perfect, the entire experience was friendly and welcoming. We learned so much about Lion’s Head and Cape Town from our guide and the ease of not having to worry about buying water, bringing headlamps, and transportation made having a guide worthwhile. We even got a special surprise to celebrate our honeymoon. If you’re thinking about a guided hike in Cape Town, I can’t recommend Mother City Hikers enough! Guided or not, definitely try to make the time for a hike while in Cape Town.