South Africa: Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

We were lucky to visit Kirstenbosch when we did. Over the Christmas season the gardens were relatively quiet before Christmas Day and we spent several hours wandering around the gardens. It is one of the most acclaimed Botanical Gardens in the world, set at the foot of table mountain. It was an unusual mixture of groomed and landscaped, mixed in with mountain trails that lead up on to Table Mountain itself. We hardly saw a quarter of it, but loved what we saw and really wanted to return for a picnic later in our stay. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be as the holiday crowds descended, making parking impossible by 9.30am. But fantastic place to visit. I don’t have much to say. The pictures speak for themselves.

Groomed meets wild. Table mountain makes a dramatic background to the beautifully groomed gardens.

Tree canopy walk, kirstenbosch botanical gardens

From the tree canopy walk. You can just stand there and take in the view. Beautiful

The Protea is the national flower of South Africa and looks like a colourful artichoke. The Protea gardens were only in partial bloom and although this doesn’t look like a typical Protea, I believe its from the Protea family.