In celebration of the life of Louis de Waal, our former Chairman and Director, who passed away on Sunday, 10 March 2024, we will close at 13h00 on Tuesday, 19 March 2024 to give our staff the opportunity to say their last goodbyes to a legend who had given so much of his life to the mountain and the Cableway.

Louis de Waal had a long and illustrious career with the Cableway, which included 40 years as Director and 20 as its Chair. His time at the Cableway saw several memorable events and developments, which included two upgrades (in 1974 and the major one in 1997) as well as Table Mountain’s New 7 Wonder of Nature campaign.

De Waal retired as Board Chairperson in 2013.

He leaves behind a legacy of community involvement and giving back to the people of Cape Town. In 2002, he founded the Bicycle Empowerment Network (BEN) with a mission to provide access to opportunities through the use of a bicycle – giving hope and a step up to those who need it most.

De Waal was a keen cyclist and one of the only seven people (the Magnificent 7) who had taken part in every single Cape Town Cycle Tour. It was his idea (along with Bill Mylrea and John Stegmann) to organise a cycling event around the Peninsula to pressurise the city council to think about bicycles as part of its urban planning and look after cyclists on the (by 1978 standards) busy roads. Today, this event is what we see in the annual Cape Town Cycle Tour – the biggest timed bike race in the world.

His son, Anton de Waal, shared the following, “Beyond his beloved Cycle Tour - he was incredibly proud of his association with Table Mountain and the Cableway - and what it meant to the City of Cape Town. Even after retirement he used to visit the Cableway often, especially helping with the annual Cableway Charity Challenge, by firing the start gun and cheering the athletes on.”

The Cableway will close at 13h00 on Tuesday, 19 March 2024 to give TMACC staff members the opportunity to attend the memorial service of Louis de Waal.