Cape Town Day Two: Kirstenbosch 22 June 2009

The weather was indeed inclement today. Table Mountain was closed because of high winds, so we decided to check out the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, which features indigenous plants.


After driving out to Kirstenbosch, the heavens opened up and we beat a retreat back to Cape Town without even getting out the car. The M3 is beginning to look as familiar to us as I-285 back home. The constant roundabouts are getting easier to navigate as well.

We decided to look for indoor amusements and took in the Two Oceans Aquarium - a small but fun excursion.

Next door is the Craft Market - lots of hunting for Didi and Nadine. In fact, Didi got fresh kill. She bargained with a local vendor for an ankle bracelet: starting price was 45 ZAR (approx. $8.00 to 1.00 ZAR) and Didi paid 30 ZAR. Nadine and Scott were so proud of her.

The skies cleared, somewhat, and we headed back out the M3 to the gardens again. So glad we did. Saw some amazing examples of fynbos flowers, including ericas and proteus. The king proteus is the national flower of SA. Also in bloom are birds-of-paradise - incredible colors!

If you look closely in the calla lily, below, you'll see Nadine found a little beige colored frog perched inside.

The gardens are very hilly - they are at the base of the mountains and have lots of paths going up. We had quite a work out!

The rain started again at sundown so we headed back. We reached the hotel just in time for tea. We were damp and hungry and tea never felt so civilized!!

Dinner was at an amazing Greek restaurant. The hot pita bread appetizer was to die for. Didi had chicken kabobs, Nadine had leek and chickpea soup, and Scott had fresh king klip fish broiled. We all collapsed in our hotel room and fell asleep without any problem.