Where have all the flowers gone.....

Today we are visiting Kirstenbosch, which is a world heritage site very close to Cape Town. We slip in as “pensioners” as it is free on Tuesdays. (Yes, we know M doesn’t qualify...but Keith had sorted the tickets before we realised!!) The Cape Floral Kingdom covers an area smaller than the size of Greater London and has many micro-climates which suit the 2600 species of plants grow here. Many of the species have been introduced as exotics or hybrids into the UK and so and known to us but to see these in their natural habitats is amazing, because not only do they look so much healthier, but are so big!
Unfortunately, the best season to see the gardens is in spring which of course will be September to November in the southern hemisphere and the fynbos in summer. It is probably just as well as we spent a full day taking photographs and we could have spent a few days here, rather than the 6 hours we actually walked around the gardens. Hopefully the pictures of the proteas and heathers will give you a feel for what we were able to feed on with our eyes and olfactory nerves.
Talking of food, the garden has a number of options for eating. We chose the cafe option which was very good value and exceptionally large meals. I had an open BLT with two slices, which I really struggled with. It was enormous!! Margery had a closed sandwich which had probably half the amount of filling and was probably a better bet for lunch! Our hosts insisted in paying – naughty things.
We returned to Pinelands as we are going out to a restaurant called Panama Jacks which comes recommended by Tricia and Jacques. It is deep in the docklands on Quay 500 and you would never expect to find anything like it. But as Keith our host said “It was incongruous. The quality of the food inside was in complete contrast to the outward appearance.”
We had all eaten so much for lunch that we weren’t that hungry, to be frank. The fare was very extensive on the fish front and very good quality. I overheard on person two tables away say to the waitress he had travelled 9000 miles to visit the restaurant! I think I can say that the tuna I had was probably the best I have experienced except in Raratonga on the beach BBQ. Thanks for the recommendation T & J!