When the cannons of Lion Battery boom across Cape Town city tourists are easy to spot, jumping in alarm with the frenzied look of someone under attack. But the two 18-pounder smooth-bore muzzle-loading guns on the slopes above the city have not been fired in anger since the short-lived Battle of Muizenberg on 7 August 1795.

Visit the Lion Battery on the rump of Signal Hill where you'll find an officer from the South African Navy telling a small crowd of tourists and curious locals the history of Cape Town's oldest living tradition.

The daily noon firing was started to allow ships to set their chronometers to the correct time - vital information when navigating by sextant on the high seas. During the First and Second World Wars the daily firing was also used to mark a two-minute silence for the fallen.

The two cannons - only one is fired, but both are loaded daily in case of a misfire - are the oldest of their type in the world and, as the signboard at the Battery will tell you, have been fired over 63 800 times since 1803. In all that time it has failed to fire only once - in January 2005.

Although the Battery now falls within the Table Mountain National Park, the South African Navy is still responsible for firing the guns six days per week. Sundays are for rest ... and peace and quiet.

An electrical signal is sent from the South African Astronomical Observatory (which has an unfailingly accurate atomic clock) a few milliseconds before noon. This signal ignites the firing cap on the cannon, sparks the gunpowder and ... boom!

Just a short walk from the cannons at the top of Longmarket Street the last house on the left is home to one of Cape Town's loveliest restaurants, the Noon Gun Tea Room and Restaurant. Here you'll find delicious bredies, breyanis and bobotie cooked up by Zaini Misbach and her family.

This is certainly one corner of the Cape's colourful history worth exploring.

Noon Day Gun
Lion Battery, Military Road, Bo-Kaap
Turn from Buitengracht into Bloem Street, and follow the signs
Arrive before 11.45am to hear the history of the Noon Day Gun
Admission free

The Noon Gun Tea Room & Restaurant
273 Longmarket Street, Bo-Kaap
+27 21 423 9978
Open for lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday. Lunch only on Sundays
In keeping with Malay culture, no alcohol is served, or allowed, in the restaurant

Source
Media Club South Africa