Kirstinbosh Gardens

 I cannot believe I slept til almost noon today.😡That’s what jet lag does to you. 

Still got to take the Hop On Hop Off bus and spend some time at the Gardens. 

Entrance to the gardens 

This Botanical Garden is quite an interesting place in Cape Town, but in the true sense, it is not a botanical garden anymore but rather a conservation center for plants. 

One view of Table Top Mountain 

It sits on 1300 acres of land below the impressive and ever-present 10, 000 ft Table Top Mountain. 

There is a section dedicated to the great Nelson Mandela. 

Castle Rock peak

As I said, they are into conservation and collect species from all over the world which face extinction. They are hoping to propagate them for posterity.

One that I learnt a bit about is the Cycad, a specie of   The Saga palm which we have in Jamaica. 

Young Cycad with the sculpture of a dinosaur on top

It is supposed to be the most endangered life form in earth, so has become a target for smugglers. 

Those in the gardens have chips in them to allow recognition if they are stolen. 

Problem is, you have to find them for the chip to work!

The Cycad is supposed to have been around from the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth.

As I listened to the ongoing tale about this ancient specie, I recalled doing a tour of a section of Miami Beach where the rich and famous have holiday homes. 

One that was pointed out was owned by the doctor who developed Viagra.

 He had the most beautiful palms in front of his lavish home and the guide did say he imported them all from South Africa.

 Hmm. It had me wondering today if those were some of the stolen trees?

The Silver Tree grows best the closer it gets to the top of the mountain. 

It is absolutely beautiful.

The Silver Tree

There is also a swinging bridge/walkway to enable you to get a better view of the tree canopies.

It’s made flexible to prevent the steel underneath from breaking.

This young King Protea will be in full bloom in 2 months

The King Protea is the national flower of South Africa 

Memories 

A section of 12 Apostles Mountain 

 

An Aloe Vera  tree planted in 1867. Africa has 7 types of aloe Vera trees

 

View of a section of Cape Town on a cloudy day