There are some things in Cape Town that you can’t help but be aware of. The obvious one is Table Mountain overlooking the City Bowl but one other is the Noon Gun. Everyday (apart from Sundays and public holidays) at noon, from the Lion Battery on Signal Hill, The Noon Gun elicits a blast so impressive that it puts even the cacophony of a thousand vuvuzelas to shame!

Noon Gun canon on Signall Hill

Noon Gun going off on Signal Hill

Being a keen hiker I decided to embark on a walk from the top of the hill down to the battery, which is situated about two thirds of the way up the hill, in the hope of finding out a little more about this almost daily occurrence which has been part of Cape Town folklore for more than two hundred years. I started walking from the main parking area at the top of the hill, and after crossing the road proceeded sharply downhill along a jeep track. I was lucky that it was a sunny day which meant that the views of the city, the harbour, The V&A Waterfront and the Atlantic Seaboard were breathtaking. After making one left turn along another jeep track I arrived at the battery.

View of the harbour and V&A Waterfront and Atlantic Ocean

View of Cape Town Stadium from Signal Hill

The battery is open to the public (Monday to Saturday 10h00 to 16h00) and is easily accessible by car from the city below. After signing in I set off into the grounds with an air of excitement about me (being male I suppose that the air of excitement was inevitable!). I enjoyed exploring the premises and revelled in all the sights and sounds that make up a battery. I was also fascinated to find out some very interesting facts:

Tourists by the Noon Gun canon at Signal Hill

In days gone by ships relied heavily on their chronometers for navigation. The noon gun had the very practical purpose of allowing the ships in Table Bay to reset their timepieces. However, because the sound of the gun took six or seven seconds to reach them out in the bay, their timepieces would be out by this margin. That amount of time translated into a massive error in navigational terms! The solution to this problem was that the gunpowder was specially formulated to give off a large puff of smoke at the exact moment the gun is fired. This practice has continued to the present day and as such if you are outside the CBD or in the bay and want to know when noon has arrived, peer towards the battery just before the sun reaches its peak and look out for the puff. Midday is when you see it, not when you hear it!

One of the canons on Signal Hill

When leaving the battery that age old saying of “seeing is believing” was at the forefront of my thoughts.

Ross Clarke is an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys exploring all manner of places. He has been infected by the travel bug since his first venture beyond South Africa’s borders in 2003. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/rossclarke100