Visiting Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden

One of the special highlights for our group of orchid lovers was a visit to Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden with a tour by its current director.

He was so knowledgeable, energetic and funny as he led us through the gardens.

Our first stop was to see a yellow Bird of Paradise that has been named for Nelson Mandela.

At this time of year, the "pincushion" Proteas were in full bloom and they come in so many beautiful colors.

The King Protea plants were just starting to bloom and I think they're my favorite.

 

A sugar bird found a nice perch!

 

One of the newer parts of this garden is their Tree Canopy Walkway called the Boomslang, which is Afrikaans for tree snake. Unfortunately by the time we started walking on it, the showers and wind we had earlier turned into rain and we hustled along the walkway. It must be a really beautiful walk in nice weather.

 

 

The cable car to the top of Table Mountain was closed for the day due to the inclement weather so our next stop was the South African Museum. We enjoyed their large collection of taxidermied African animals displayed in glass cases. Then we were off to a restaurant at the V & A Waterfront for a late lunch. We certainly never got bored on this trip!