It’s another cracking fine day here in Capetown and we’d planned to go to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. The gardens are nestled at the eastern foot of Table Mountain in the suburb of Newlands. When the British took over the colony in the land was granted to a British offocer who built a house and planted chestnut trees before being farmed more formally, being planted with oaks, fruit trees, and vineyards. Later the land was purchased by Cecil Rhodes and the area declined, with feral pigs taking up residence. The famous Camphor Avenue was planted in 1898 and the land bequeathed to the nation by Rhodes, who died in 1902. When Kirstenbosch was officially founded in 1913, it’s mission was mainly to preserve the flora native to the South Africa’s territory and in particular species native to the Cape region, highlighted by the spectacular collections of proteas.
Around the gardens there are plenty of birds to be found. We were greeted on entry by a male Egyptian Goose, there are guinea fowl, pigeons and some European swallows have arrived on their yearly migration. It was interesting to walk around with out the raucous cawing of crows, laughing kookaburras or cranky magpies. There are also currently some sculpture installations placed around the park, mostly the work of renowned South African sculptor, Anton Smit.
After another partly health lunch, we made our way to the Table Mountain Cable Car. One of the challenges with attractions these days is that there are so many ways to buy tickets, like Viator, Get Your Guide or even Booking.com. So when we rocked up with our tickets, they had apparently already been used, likely issued to other people as well. A helpful employee called Lincoln rang them for us and new tickets were issued and all was good. The cable car is quite unique because it rotates as you go up, so every one can enjoy the view if you’re no busy battling vertigo. Below is the Cable Car and a picture of the view before we made the ascent.
Once on top, there are commanding views all around Capetown and it is really easy to walk around taking lots of pictures. Table Mountain is such a feature of the Capetown landscape that it was nice to see the city from the highest point. The views are amazing and I’ve shared some below. One can hike to the top of the mountain by foot, which Richie McCaw did just yesterday. This was not an option considered by either of us.
Until tomorrow
Leave a Reply