Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

When I first knew that I was going to South Africa, and specifically to Cape Town, I had been hoping for at least one or two rainy days. Mostly, because I wanted to see the famous "table cloth " of Table Mountain. 

Apparently, this may have been a case of being careful what you ask for. 

By the fourth day, it seemed like it had been cold and rainy and mostly miserable weather since I had first arrived here. This was true to such an extent that I began to wonder if it ever got sunny and warm in Cape Town. 

On Monday morning, the 30th, I wanted to start off the day by visiting Table Mountain. But it was empty when I got there, which both puzzled and alarmed me. My suspicion and fear were confirmed minutes later: they had closed off access to the mountain due to the bad weather. 

The guy who seemed to be in charge told me that they might open back up in a few minutes. But with just a couple of days left in Cape Town, it felt unwise to take a gamble that the mountain "might " open. 

So I headed back,  and made my way to the blue line of the tourist themed hop on and hop off bus line. Maybe a tour of the wine region of Cape Town would be nice. 

But the stop before that was the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. It was another thing on my list to see while in Cape Town. So I decided to get off the bus and pay this place a visit. 

Man, was I glad to have so done. 

This was quite possibly the most beautiful botanical gardens which I have ever seen.

It was made all the more striking by the incredible natural beauty which surrounded this place. 

Truly magnificent. 

Also, the weather had completely changed, which I had heard often happens in Cape Town. But this was the first time that I had experienced it. By now, it was sunny and warm, without so much as a trace of the cold, foggy and rainy conditions which had been serious enough to close Table Mountain maybe one hour earlier. In fact, it was so sunny and warm,  that I had to take my jacket off within a few minutes of my visit to the gardens. Not much later, I put my hat on to protect from possible sunburn. On top of it, I took the hat off as soon as I would hit any shade. That's how warm it was by then. The weather had indeed changed with astonishing speed.

These gardens are ranked among the most beautiful botanical gardens in the world. And while pictures do not do them justice,  it still seemed like a good idea to share the ones that I took of this strikingly beautiful place here. 

Enjoy.