Dalene van Staden (28), Caro Jordaan (29) and Magan Hanekom (25) ran/hiked a total of 128.58 km in a combined time of 40 hours and 40 minutes to conquer 15 mountain peaks – with a combined altitude of 8881 m – between Wednesday 15 October 04:00 and Sunday 18 October 15:00. They drove a total of 2697 km from one mountain to the next and only slept 15.5 hours during this time.

The idea for the adventure was born during lockdown when the country's provincial borders were still closed for leisure travelling.

Dalene, an optical engineer from Somerset West who graduated from Stellenbosch University (SU) in 2016, had been aware of three "Tafelberge" (Cape Town, Wemmershoek and Cederberg) and had been thinking about tackling all three over one weekend.

"But when lockdown hit us, further research showed that there are more than just three 'Tafelberge' in the Western Cape. We decided to tackle all of them," she said.

The trio, who are all keen trail runners, visited the website www.geonames.org and found 15 "Tafelberge": Bitterfontein, Cederberg, Ceres/Kouebokkeveld, De Doorns, Robertson, Wemmershoek, Stettyn, Stanford, Onder-Kammanassie, Bo-Kammanassie, Meiringspoort, Klaarstroom, Beaufort West, Merweville and Cape Town.

A thirst for adventure, an interest in new places, and a desire to make memories with her best friend convinced Caro, a goldsmith from Durbanville who obtained her BA degree in Visual Arts from SU in 2013, to participate in this adventure.

"I realised that this was something no-one else has done and something that not many people will do. And how privileged we are to be able to embark on such an experience and to have friends who share the same sense of adventure."

The idea of an adventure in her own backyard and its logistical and physical challenges appealed to Magan, an audit clerk at BGR de Villiers Ing. in Paarl.

"I thought it would be a wonderful way of getting to know the Western Cape and sharing its beauty with friends and family."

The women contacted all the landowners and asked permission to climb the mountains. They also scouted each peak ahead of time to get an idea of the terrain.

The sunset on Bo-Kammanassie, the fact that they encountered only one (small) snake and the discovery of their bodies’ ability to endure, count among the highlights.

"We live in an amazing country; the people, fauna and flora, and the way of life at each 'Tafelberg' are unique,” they say.

They also discovered that smiles and high fives are precious, that the expectation of pain is often worse than the pain itself, and that people are always willing to help.

"Our country is very special. If you don’t know it well, don’t worry, there’s still time. You don’t need to be rich or very fit. Your adventure lies just beyond your front door."