Down the garden path … Cape Town Company Gardens

In the midst of Cape Town’s bust­ling CBD, abut­ting the Houses of Parliament and Tuynhuys (the President’s Cape Town res­id­ence), hides an oasis of green­ery, the roots of which extend across the cen­tur­ies to tap into our country’s his­tory – though most loc­als simply think of the Company Gardens as a cool spot for an inner-city picnic.

Named for the Dutch East India Company, the gar­dens were estab­lished by Jan van Rieebeck in the 1650's as a fresh pro­duce garden for the pur­pose of re-victualling ships and provid­ing Cape Town’s col­on­ists with veg­gies. They have been lur­ing vis­it­ors through their gates since their cur­rent incarn­a­tion as a botan­ical garden and pub­lic park in 1848. A wander around the Gardens’ lim­its will bring you into con­tact with sprawl­ing lawns, foun­tains, fish ponds, a Japanese rose garden, an avi­ary, a sun dial and the country’s old­est cul­tiv­ated pear tree, among other botan­ic­ally and his­tor­ic­ally import­ant plant-life.

Oh and squir­rels. Whether you think they’re cute and cuddly, or rats in bet­ter out­fits, pre­pare to encounter them. Many vis­it­ors enjoy feed­ing the Gardens’ per­man­ent res­id­ents, which means it’s a fairly friendly, curi­ous kind of crit­ter you’ll see bound­ing about.

The Gardens also bear test­a­ment to South Africa’s his­tory in the form of large statues scattered along the path­ways, includ­ing one of his­tor­ical col­on­ist and cap­it­al­ist Cecil John Rhodes, about whom South Africans are divided in feel­ing (some think he was an exploit­at­ive racist, oth­ers a national hero). There are also vari­ous monu­ments to South African hero­ism dur­ing WWI.

But it’s not just pretty plants and some big ol’ bronze guys you’ll find here. When you tire of sun­lit wan­der­ings in the lush park, head inside to the Iziko South African National Gallery. Considering the Gallery’s his­tory began with a bequest of 45 paint­ings presen­ted in 1871, its cur­rent out­stand­ing col­lec­tions of South African, African, British, Dutch, French and Flemish art are truly impress­ive. Constantly chan­ging tem­por­ary exhib­i­tions keep things fresh and make it well worth a reg­u­lar visit. Be sure to visit the Gallery Shop, which sells the best in tra­di­tional and con­tem­por­ary South African craft, includ­ing bas­ketry, ceram­ics and wire– and bead­work. (Open 10am – 5 pm Tuesday to Sunday. Entrance is R15 per per­son).

The Gardens also house the Iziko South African Museum, foun­ded in 1897, which boasts a col­lec­tion of one and a half mil­lion spe­ci­mens of sci­entific value (although of course only a frac­tion of this num­ber is on dis­play). It might not have fancy inter­act­ive exhib­its or mov­ing parts, but a wander through the Museum’s hal­lowed halls leaves one with a greater under­stand­ing of the earth’s bio­lo­gical and cul­tural diversity, both past and present. (Open 10 am – 5 pm daily. Entrance is R15 per per­son).

Earth too close to home for you? Pop next door to the Iziko Planetarium for what’s billed as ‘the ulti­mate arm­chair travel – a trip through the vast won­ders of outer space, pro­jec­ted onto the domed aud­it­or­ium in a recre­ation of the night sky. (Daily shows. R20 per per­son, R6 for chil­dren. R10 Adult chap­er­one at children’s show).

And of course, what would a Cape Town tour­ist attrac­tion be without some­where to get some­thing to eat? Do your­self a favour and go and enjoy warm, homemade apple pie under the eaves of tower­ing old trees at the Company Gardens Tearoom.

Company Gardens Photographs — Click thumb­nails to enlarge:

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