Tania Morkel raises over R64,000 for rescue crews who saved her after 18-metre mountain fall

CapeTalk's John Maytham speaks to Tania Morkel—conservationist, hiker, former wildfire fighter, and a woman with a remarkable story to share.

Listen below:

In September 2023, 64-year-old Tania Morkel hiked the 13-peak challenge with her niece, and as she approached the second peak, she slipped and fell 18 metres down a ravine, instantly sending her to the ICU with multiple severe injuries and fractures.

Morkel made a remarkable recovery and took on a Herculean effort to not just go back to climb Table Mountain, but to do it 64 times and to raise R64,000 for the Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) and SANParks who saved her.

At the time of this interview, Morkel had completed 45 out of her 64 climbs and has raised over R68,000 (still climbing)—surpassing her initial goal.

"My niece took a photo with me at the waterfall area on the contour path... and the next thing the Table Mountain sandstone and the ground it's made of was starting to shift under my feet, and I was trying to backtrack, but I couldn't do it fast enough and the next thing, I was airborne and I shouted at her and I said, 'I'm falling' and then it went black."

- Tania Morkel

"Unbeknownst to me, there was an Austrian hiker (she lives in the alps) who was on the wrong path that day... it was her first day on Table Mountain and she is an experienced mountaineer and physiotherapist, and she heard my niece calling for help... she came running and got to me and put me in a recovery position and said to me, I will survive."

- Tania Morkel

With 19 more climbs to go, Morkel is overwhelmed with gratitude for everyone who has contributed and says the journey to recovery and climbing these mountains have been challenging mentally, but worth every step.

"I thought it was going to be a physical journey, but it's actually been more of a mental journey and a lot of things happened while I was doing it... my husband fell, was twice in hospital... many things happened and it became a mental journey and I had to show a lot of mental toughness, but it has been the most incredible experience... I've met the most incredible people and learnt so much about myself and learnt about resilience all over again."

- Tania Morkel

If you'd like to donate to Morkel's cause, you can contribute here. 

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the full conversation.