Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens & Historical City Tour

While one roommate woke up 6 am to catch a flight, and another roommate woke up 7 am to catch a Table Mountain hiking tour, I took my time ate breakfast 8 am then moved to another room (hostel overbooking so upgraded me), and then Ubered with my Thai hostel mates to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. I gave up hiking Table Mountain or Lion Head today due to the rain, which turned out to be the right decision. Cape Town has an average of 103 rainy days per year. The months of June and August are the ones with the most rainy days, on average, each have more than 13 days of rain. This was also the reason it was the ship water source before the opening of Suez Canal. 

In the Garden, We took a 2-hr walking tour in the rain, took a lunch break in the restaurant, and then hiked to the Skeleton Water falls (park of the Skeleton Gorge that leads to the peak of the Table Mountain). Red River water takes place when microscopic algae rapidly reproduce to cause 'blooms’.

The Garden was on land given to the South African people by Cecil Rhodes Kirstenbosch, and at the stunning location set below the Castle Bustress cliffs of Table Mountain. It has hugely diverse and beautiful plants and flowers of the Cape flora, including Plants from all of the regions of South Africa, such as rare succulents from the Richtersveld, a giant baobab tree, interesting medicinal plants, etc.  Numerous paths wander through the grounds situated on the back side of Table Mountain. Its elevated wooden pathway through the tree tops sways in wind and can support 6000 pedestrians at once. 

The weather in Cape Town is influenced by two currents: the warm Agulhas current from the Indian Ocean side and the cold Benguela current on the Atlantic side. It was raining heavy on the garden side, yet not as bad in down town. 

After getting back to town, we went grocery shopping at the Food Lover’s Market and had a dinner there. We all ordered the most popular fish (hake) and chip for only R75, half of the price of the Seaforth restaurant (1/4 of the kingklip price I ordered the other day). I skipped the fries due to the huge volume. 

I then took the 4:20 pm Historic City Tour in rain. The guide talked about the different eras of Cape Town and South Africa’s history and some of the people who shaped it, including the heroes and villains of colonialism.  The landmarks included the Company’s Garden, and the oldest living “citizen” in Cape Town, Parliament, Green Market Square, The Castle of Good Hope and The Slave Lodge.