Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden is the perfect place to get away from the hum of the city, or to find endless green lawns, ancient shady trees and examples of the Cape's vast and unique floral kingdom, satisfying the needs of everyone from the harassed housewife to the budding botanist. I have been walking those masterfully cobbled paths since early childhood and still never need an excuse to go there. The babbling brooks carrying the runoff from Table Mountain through the Dell soothe the soul, and plentiful resting benches donated by past wanderers have provided respite from the sometimes arduous trek for millions, locals and tourists alike.
Birdlife abounds as they can feed from all their favourite vegetation and owls roosting in trees attract twitchers and normal viewers, especially children, to admire them under their sleepy stare.
The Boomslang canopy walk is a recent addition that has brought a new perspective to the gardens, although it would benefit by another few hundred metres, I think!
It is truly a national treasure and those who live in Cape Town should take time out of busy lives to lie under a tree and recharge if they are able to.

 

Die Weskus Padstal, Yzerfontein - a short drive from Cape Town

I chanced upon a lucky find today - the Weskus Padstal at the turnoff to Yzerfontein. Who would have thought that an unprepossessing assortment of buildings would yield such a fascinating interior? The most marvellous assortment of goodies awaits the tourist and local alike inside the large shop - locally made clothing, hand-knitted jerseys and things you just don't see in too many other places are there for the picking. The usual homemade preserves and jams are supplemented by olive oils, salad dressings and other delectable delights from the Winelands and vicinity.

 

 
 Once you have browsed and bought, you can then go further into the building and find yourself in the indoor eating area, and then the outdoor area, where everything from old army dixies to glass fishing buoys adorned the walls. Artistic use has been made of the huge wooden cable reels that hold the cables laid along the sides of our roads, and tables, umbrellas, fencing and gates have magically appeared from these rather utilitarian items. Four enormous pink marble lions guard the garden and an old tree stump, very skilfully carved,
dominate the area.
A nursery is accommodated, but the plants are laid out along winding paths in small areas and so it is not immediately apparent until you see the labels. But the piece de resistance is the section with the aviaries, where you can admire everything from a budgie to a macaw. Although I am not enamoured of caged birds, these do have companions and are evidently very well looked after - a hobby of the owner, not for sale.
The coffee was excellent and the meatballs were egte boerekos. There is an extensive menu of light meals and takeaways are available for travellers on their way further afield. An added bonus is the friendly and efficient staff! I consider the drive up from Cape Town to be worth it for a half day outing for something a little different, and there is always the magnificent beach a little further down the road to go walking along should you have overindulged in the cake section!

Strolling through the streets of Cape Town

For no good reason, it has been years since I went into Cape Town, or 'town' as it is fondly known by locals, with the purpose of simply strolling the streets. The Waterfront, Table Mountain, Cape Point, Kirstenbosch and wine farms receive the most media and PR attention, probably because these have all been developed with the tourist trade in mind and with the aim of parting them from their pounds, euros, dollars and yen. There is no doubt that all these places should form the basis of the Cape Town Experience, and yet there is so much more on offer that is cheap and relaxing and doesn't involve any particular planning.

We parked in Queen Victoria Street, next to the Company Gardens, on a Saturday morning. A parking attendant relieved us of R30 and we crossed the road and entered the leafy, cool sanctuary of the gardens. For most of us, this brought back memories of primary school outings to the museum, situated in the middle of the gardens, where we would all traipse in neat lines behind our teachers and look at stuffed animals representing the local fauna, and gasp at the bones of the blue whale suspended from the ceiling. Today, although we gave the museum a miss, these displays are as they were 50 years ago, and schoolchildren still traipse behind teachers. However, we were not doing culture today, just a general overview of the CBD.

 
 


The Gardens were peaceful, clean and well kept and the huge old trees, some of which date back to the early days of the Cape settlement, provided ample shade for those relaxing on benches and meandering along the paths. The Gardens abut on upper Adderley Street and from there it was just a block to the leafy St Georges Mall. Back in the day, when I worked in town, this was one of the busiest roads, but its transformation into a bricked walkway with traders, pavement cafes and deciduous trees providing shade in summer and sunshine in winter have made it an oasis for city workers at lunch time. The traders are all the same - the African curios and knock-off bags that are found at every opportunity throughout the world, and yet they are bright and colourful and no one is hassling you to buy. Law enforcement officials are in evidence, but there was no sign that they would be needed. One street lady did approach us as we refreshed ourselves with smoothies and fresh juice at a cafe, but only in a half-hearted way and soon moved on.

We passed through Greenmarket Square simply because the reports list it as a must, but I found it to be without any special characteristics and we headed for Church Street where art galleries and antique shops abound. The highlight of the day was visiting the exhibition of cartoons by our most outspoken cartoonist, Zapiro, who unflinchingly exposes the truth behind the smokescreens of our politics - his workbooks are also on display, providing a fascinating insight into the work bchind what eventually appears in print.

Long Street by day is an excellent place to browse in the really old buildings of Cape Town, where exclusive boutiques share walls with cafes and music shops, speciality restaurants and shuttered nightclubs, a varied and eclectic mix of cultures apparently getting along just fine, thank you. This street needs more hours than we had to spare for a thorough exploration, as many shops closed at lunch time, being a Saturday. Which brought us to lunch...the subject of future blogs!

Our town experience reinforced the reasons why we live here - there didn't seem to be any good reason why not!

The Boomslang, a treetop walkway at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

The Tree Canopy Walk has opened at Kirstenbosch and I went to try it out today. It was a beautiful mild day, well suited to a gentle stroll around these magnificent botanical gardens with an elderly friend, and it seems that Cape Town is full of tourists at the moment enjoying all that we have to offer. Although perhaps it could have been a little more obviously signposted, we eventually reached the foot of the 'Boomslang' as it has been named. It became apparent why as the structure snaked up into the treetops, its layout and fencing reminiscent of the ribcage of this snake which inhabits trees in search of its next meal.

We were warned that the Boomslang would move as we walked along it and assured that it had been engineered to do that and it was part of the design. As I took my first steps, I could immediately feel the very slight movement, and my friend clung to the handrail somewhat nervously, as she is not steady on her feet at the best of times. I would say that anyone who is prone to motion sickness might find themselves a little queasy, particularly if there are lots of people on the walkway, and as you reach the central curve, the movement is probably all of six inches.

At the middle section it is fairly high from the ground, but there is absolutely no chance of falling off. The views across the Cape Flats to the mountains beyond will be marvellous on a clear day, but there was a bush fire somewhere causing pollution today and not much in the way of views. I didn't see any birds, but then they would possibly have been chased away by the boisterous crowd enjoying the novelty, and I'm sure on a quieter day there would be plenty to see. The aloes are at their best at the moment, and sunbirds abound.

At just over 100m, the Boomslang is just right for its purpose, although I did overhear a young American girl say she wanted it to go all round the garden!

What you can expect from this blog

Cape Town is one of the most sought-after holiday destinations in the world, but there are many places which do not give value for money, suitable service standards or even acceptable food.

I will be dropping in on tourist spots, local eateries, public spaces, museums, art galleries, wine farms and any other venue of my choosing that could be of interest to either tourists or local visitors, with the purpose of assessing the experience. I will always have company to provide a balanced viewpoint and will approach each situation with an open mind and take into account surroundings, price range and any expectations which may have arisen from previous knowledge or advertising.

The intention is to comment on each experience, to give readers an opportunity to choose from the multitude of places to spend their hard-earned cash without disappointment. The standards of service in particular leave much to be desired and value for money needs to addressed if we are to retain a significant place in the list of top tourist destinations of the world.

Table Mountain and the sea may not always be enough to bring visitors back to the Mother City - we need to make it their second home.