A walking tour of the rocks and mountains of Cape Town by Emeritus Professor John Compton

Date: 28 September 

Time: 13:00 to 17:30 

Fee: R450 (includes field guide); staff and students R350 (includes field guide) 

Maximum number of participants: 20 

Booking is through Webtickets:  

The scenic and beautifully exposed rocks and mountains of Cape Town provide the perfect place to explore and learn about geology. This walking tour commences at the Rhodes Memorial with an introduction to its scenic vistas. We proceed on foot up to the King’s Blockhouse, with several stops to catch our breath, looking at the views and considering some rock exposures of ancient rock falls, the Malmesbury Group shale and active erosion. From the King’s Blockhouse we traverse the contour trail to Tafelberg Road, seeing exposures of the Graafwater Formation, a recent rock fall and the contact between the highly deformed Malmesbury bedrock and the overlying horizontal Table Mountain Group sandstone beds. We then walk back to Rhodes Memorial along the lower contour road. 

Participants need to be fit enough to go on a four-hour hike up steep slopes and need to wear appropriate foot gear and clothing for the weather conditions. They need to bring a minimum of a litre of water. 

Participants will receive a copy of Compton’s The Rocks & Mountains of Cape Town as a field guide. 

For further information please contact Bronwyn Geldenhuys at ems@uct.ac.za or Medeé Rall at medee.rall@uct.ac.za.