Day 5 and 6, Cape Town, South Africa

Day 5: Christmas Day at the Botanical Gardens and Scenic Drive

On the eastern slopes of Table Mt. (the side we do not see from our apartment) is a huge forested area that was purchased by Cecil John Rhodes (yup, the Rhodes Scholar guy) in 1895. He purchased it to save the land from urban development. In 1913 it was established as a botanical garden. It is called Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. 

Nature at its finest.

Alison and Bob standing by the "silver" tree, my favorite.

Enjoying our beautiful plant and mountain world in South Africa.

Alison, our landlady, invited us to have a picnic at the gardens on Christmas Day. She picked us up at 11am. We meandered along several of the tranquil pathways and then enjoyed a nice luncheon under a tree with Table Mountain in our view. We enjoyed the beautiful protea and many other species of plants in the garden. South Africa’s national flower is the King Protea. The protea is known as the pincushion. South Africa has  all 7 distinct biomes. These are unique ecological zones with marked climatic differences and plant and animal life to match. Containing over 20,000 plant species, South Africa is a botanist’s treasure-trove! We felt lucky to see some of its best plants at Kirstenbosch, plus many birds up high and down low and in trees. Good company, uphill walking, white wine and wonderful wildlife... a good mix for a great Christmas afternoon! Oh, and the salmon pate, olives and other goodies were delightful too. 

Good day protea!

This is the plant that is used to make a thatched roof.

Guinea fowl and her babies... she had about 12! Enlarge to see babies.

Protea

Loving the botanical gardens

Enjoying the view of Table Mountain from up in a tree.

Perfect wine holder

Merry Christmas day from warm and sunny Cape Town, South Africa 

Hout Bay

This cliffside road would be lovely to bicycle if there weren't any cars.

Afterwards, Alison took us on a nice ride to several beautiful areas on the Atlantic seaboard coastline; the Cape Peninsula. Climbing steadily from Hout Bay area, she drove along a road that has been carved into the cliffs along the Atlantic seaboard coastline for 9 stunning kilometers to the village of Noordhoek. Then we drove back over to False Bay to charming Simon’s Town to Long Beach and back to Cape Town.

Every March, the biggest timed bicycling event in the world, attracting over 40,000 participants rides 63 miles along this scenic route we took today by car. We have seen lots of cyclists all over our travels in and out of Cape Town, but we think they are crazy to ride on narrow roads with loads of traffic. Maybe a pack of 40,000 would be the way to stay safe. Not sure about that either.

Hout Bay is recognized by the global surfing community as one of the 16 big wave spots around the world. Just be sure to watch out for the sharks!

Not a good idea to swim here.

Day 6: Golfing at Stellenbosch Golf Course

We drove back out to Stellenbosch this morning to see if Bob could play golf. Amid vineyards and mountains lies the Stellenbosch Golf Club. Compared to those in Cape Town and on the Cape Peninsula, it is well protected from the wind. It is the 4th oldest golf course in South Africa, built in 1904. As a single, it’s usually easy to get on a course and such was the case today. I walked the course with Bob and took numerous pictures. Plus, we both got some much needed exercise! Bob’s group included a couple from Germany and a fellow from Pretoria, SA. We all enjoyed the beauty of the day. Bob will improve his golfing in New Zealand where he’ll get to play 3-4 times a week. Right now, his game suffers due to nonplay for the past 42 days!

View from Stellenbosch Golf Course

Looks like a sand trap might have some munchies for me.

A bad score, but a good day to be alive!

Beautiful day to be spending 4 hours out in nature.