Mother Goose

The Helderberg Nature Reserve on the slopes of the Helderberg Mountain is owned and managed by the City of Cape Town with the support from the Friends of the Helderberg Nature Reserve. There are a number of interesting trails and walks to suit all ages, and a very nice tea room and visitors centre. This gate depicts Peggy, the one-legged Spur-winged Goose that made the reserve famous in the adjoining town of Somerset West. This famous goose is even depicted on the Christmas lights in the centre of town each December.

A Faraway Place

Escaped from reality today - on a "biodiversity tour" of Vergelegen, the historic wine estate that belonged to the infamous Willem Adriaan van der Stel. After the tour and lunch, we lingered in the late afternoon sun in the Octagonal Garden that was apparently once a vege garden laid out by WA in about 1700. Years down the line, its shape inspired the new winery on the estate and landscape architect, the late Ian Ford, restored and developed the grounds around it so that lucky us, the public, can visit it for the princely sum of - wait for it - R10 per person! The art and antiques in the homestead are also amazing.