Hanalie is in her 70s and an avid hiker on Table Mountain. When she noticed the painted feet marking a popular trail were fading, she went out of her way to restore them.
Cape Town, South Africa (03 November 2026) – Beverley Hawthorne is a tourist guide in Cape Town who calls herself an ‘adventure creator and memory maker.’
Recently, Beverley took to social media to share the story of an ‘angel’ she had spotted on Table Mountain while standing in the cable car queue, waiting to make her way back down.
There, she noticed a woman who stood out from the crowd.
“I was standing in the cable car queue with a client, waiting to come down, when I noticed the sportily dressed woman in front of us. She had a WET PAINT sign, a large bag and was covered in yellow paint!” Beverley writes.
“Eventually, my curiosity got the better of me and I had to ask why she had the sign.”
And that’s when Beverley met her ‘angel’. Hanalie is in her seventies, she’s an avid hiker, and she regularly walks on the mountain.
“She’d noticed that many of the little yellow feet marking the hiking trail near Maclear’s Beacon had faded and were difficult to see, particularly along the edge where the path can be dangerous when it’s misty.” Beverley explains.
And so, Hanalie bought her own ticket for the cable car, made the journey up the mountain, and set out to repaint the little yellow feet herself.
“Four hours and 153 little yellow feet later, she was heading back down on one of the last cable cars of the day.” Beverley adds.
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Honouring the Unsung Heroines Building Hope and Advancing Social Impact Across SABeverley says she was blown away by Hanalie’s selfless act, which will go on to help so many people who make use of the hiking trail.
“In a world where we’re all so busy rushing around, it was such a heartwarming reminder that there are people quietly making a difference, simply because they care.” she writes. “Hanalie, thank you! You are an inspiration! And next time I follow those little yellow feet on the mountain, I’ll think of you.”
Every hiker who follows those little yellow feet on the mountain will be following a trail that carries a little bit of Hanalie’s kindness with it. Isn’t that special?
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