Kirstenbosch and Boschendal

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After breakfast Avis brought our hire car to the hotel. David had been worrying our route out of town might take us through the inner city, but Google Maps guided us onto the highways and we reached Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in about 15 minutes. The gardens sit nestled at the foot of the rear of Table Mountain in what must be the most stunning setting for any gardens. They were inevitably a Victoria creation, initially managed and directed by a gentleman from Kew Gardens. The weather had finally picked up and it was warm and sunny with not a cloud in the sky. We wandered around for over two hours, taking in the huge variety of Cape and fynbos vegetation. There are six broad regions of flora in the world, and the Cape is by far the smallest of them. It’s home to 3% of the worlds’ species of plants despite covering a mere 0.04% of land surface. We were worried there would be few flowers as it was only early spring, but it was a blaze of colour, especially the proteas.

From Kirstenbosch, after clearing the greater Cape Town area which is populated by depressing shanty towns built of corrugated steel, the scenery becomes dramatic, the mountains rising dramatically as the road rolls up and down. Vineyards and wineries are everywhere. En route we stopped in Stellenbosch to see the old Dutch colonial buildings that still remain, then it was a short drive to the Boschendal estate. It’s a winery that has branched out into accommodation. We checked in, only to find we needed to drive back out and across the road, then drive down a long drive through the vines for a couple of miles to reach our cottage. We had been upgraded to a two bedroom cottage which to our amazement came complete with a living room and kitchen. We look out onto trees with mountains in the background with peacocks strutting the grounds. There is a minibus shuttle to take you back and forth to the main building and the restaurants. Idyllic!

Next morning was less idyllic. The sun had vanished, it was raining and cold. We had a far too substantial breakfast (tasty at the time but remaining with us far too long) and a short walk around the main part of the estate and the shops. After that, we summoned the minibus and retired to our cottage to sit in front of the fire and read our books. We made a couple of efforts to go for a walk but the rain started up again within 5 minutes, so we gave up!



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