Family Friendly Things To Do In Cape Town

#SPEND THE DAY AT KIRSTENBOSCH BOTANICAL GARDENS

If you’re a head-over-heels nature lover, a visit to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens should definitely be right at the top of your Cape Town bucket-list. The Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens is acclaimed as one of the great botanic gardens in the world. It has also won the highly esteemed ‘International Garden of the Year’ award, and to be honest, very few gardens can compare to the sheer grandeur of the setting of Kirstenbosch. This not only makes Kirstenbosch gardens one of the best gardens to visit in Cape Town, but one of its most magnificent natural gems too!

Located right at the base of Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch is one of the most incredible displays of indigenous natural beauty you’ll find anywhere in the city. It forms part of the Cape Floristic Region, also known as the Cape Floral Kingdom, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Cape Floristic Region is the world’s smallest, yet most diverse, floral kingdom. It is one of only six floral kingdoms in the world and is the only one that occurs entirely in one country. Here you’ll find a glorious diversity of fauna and flora entirely indigenous to Cape Town. Kirstenbosch covers an area of 528 hectares filled with more than 7,000 plant species, 2,500 of these from the Cape Peninsula.

Besides its vast natural beauty and top Cape Town garden status, Kirstenbosch offers visitors an endless variety of things to do and see. Not to mention some exciting adventure experiences!

Here is a sneak-peak of what you can expect on your visit to Kirstenbosch:

• Calling all wildlife and bird lovers! Kirstenbosch is home to over 125 bird species, making it any bird enthusiast’s dream come true. You will also encounter several reptiles, frogs, and invertebrates as well as amphibians such as the Chirping Frog, the Cape River Frog, and the critically endangered Table Mountain Ghost Frog.
• Avid hikers can enjoy a variety of hiking trails and walking routes. The Kirstenbosch estate can be explored via five trails of differing levels of difficulty. All are well-maintained, logged footpaths or gravel roads and are sign-posted. The Braille Trailand Boekenhout Trail are ideal forest walks for those pressed for time and the not so fit. The Stinkwood Trail is a relatively short exploration of the oldest part of the forest with some of the largest trees. The Yellowwood Trail and Silvertree Trail are long hikes that take you up to the waterfall and around the estate, through both forest and fynbos. It is also possible to climb Table Mountain from Kirstenbosch, up Nursery Ravine or Skeleton Gorge.
• Kirstenbosch boasts a variety of beautiful garden areas, including the Botanical Society Conservatory, art at the Sculpture Garden, and the Protea Garden, to mention just a few.
• For avid adventurers and thrill seekers, there are tons of hidden gems, secret spots, caves, waterfalls and so much more to be discovered and explored – so get ready for an adventure!
• Beautiful, lush lawns and large shaded trees perfect for picnics and kiddies ruuning around.
• The famous Centenary Treetop Canopy Walk, also known as the ‘Boomslang’, has fast become a fan-favourite Kirstenbosch attraction for both the young and young at heart. The Centenary Tree Canopy Walkway is a curved steel and timber bridge that winds and dips its way through and over the trees of the Arboretum. The Walkway takes visitors from the forest floor into and through the trees and bursts out above the canopy, boasting spectacular panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and Garden.
• The cyad amphitheatre which features life-size models of dinosaurs – this is a real winner with the kids!
• Kirstenbosch also has a variety of restaurants to and curio shops.