South Africa: Kirstenbosch and Cape Point

I left you when we had returned from Table Mountain.   We had a lovely chilled afternoon until we decided to set off for the magnificent Kirsten Bosch Botanical gardens. These are, in my opinion, one of the best places in Cape Town.  You can just spend the day there reading or explore around.  We went there in the early evening where it was quiet and serene for a walk around.

We adored these pineapple flowers. That's what they are called.

This looks rather like an interesting person.

You can see Table Mountain from here and you can take a route from Kirstenbosch although I think it might take a rather long time.

There were walkways, paths and all sorts of intriguing routes to take.

I wish I had obtained a clearer picture of this. It is a Hardidar bird (which I kept hearing as 'Ladidah!'). Apparently, they are rather a pest!

This cool lake looked so refreshing and a party of people were having a sumptuous picnic here.

We weren't alone!

These guinea fowl were so pretty up close.

J loves taking lots of photos and we did lots of posing!  She cunningly gave CBC a crown. I knew exactly what she was up to!

 She is also the queen of Jump photos! She made us jump at our wedding so everyone got jumping bride and groom photos!

 I had sneaked my G penny whistle in my suitcase so I got it out and attempted to interact with some of the birds and, since we were largely alone, I decided to play tunes as we walked along.  Some 10 minutes later, we met a man, who seeing my whistle told me he heard it in the distance and it sounded incredible because of the echoes!

Alas, my camera died but we enjoyed the evening greatly and bought pizzas on our way home.

The next day, we went on a driving trip with J and her Mum and Stepdad to Cape Point and the Cape of Good hope.

The sea and the views were fabulous.

It was rather busy and it took a while to drive in as there was traffic but the walks from the carpark to the lighthouse and the Cape Point were really beautiful affording incredible views all round.

We were dressed in rather summery clothes and the sun was beating down so I recommend a wide-brimmed hat and plenty of suncream.

Here was our jolly party.  We'd brought a tasty picnic with us which we enjoyed greatly. This was our view.

We kept seeing signs for Baboons but never any actual baboons and wondered if we would ever see any!

On the way back, we headed to another vineyard where CBC bought some wine and we all enjoyed a cup of tea and cake in a very pleasant cafe.

It had been a lovely day and we were looking forward to exploring the Cape Town city the next day!

xx