Walther Sisulu Botanical Gardens

As far as Botanical Gardens are concerned I had the strange notion that if you had seen one then you have seen them all. That’s why I wasn’t all that excited when Louis phoned me up on Friday and asked me to meet him at the Botanical Gardens in Roodepoort.

“Is it pretty?” I asked, not really in the mood to be tagging along if it was the same old same old. “You’ll love it” he said.

So I took the drive out there and while still parking I noticed that I had stepped out of the dull brown of Jo’burg’s winter into an oasis of green. Sprinklers were on everywhere in the park and as Louis walked towards me he smiled and said “prepare to get wet.”

"The sights were incredible, rolling green lawns, paved walkways and incredible plant life."

We paid the fee and walked into the park. It was about midday and the sun was already beating down quite hard as we made our way … “Where are we going?” I asked realizing that Louis and Mark were obviously walking with a purpose and not just dilly dallying like they usually did.

“Look up there.”

I looked up in the direction that Louis was pointing in. In the distance I could see a waterfall. “ They have a waterfall” I shrieked with pleasure.

The sights were incredible, rolling green lawns, paved walkways and incredible plant life.

The park even has a few trails for the more adventurous type and because it is situated in a mountainous area these trails can be a bit of a challenge. We decided to face one of these challenges in our aspiration to get to the top of the waterfall.

I mean after Louis’ last episode with the mountain and having not yet fully recovered from an exertion of that magnitude you would think that this trek would have deterred him. But no, not my husband, he was eager to see were the trail went and what photo opportunities lay waiting for him.

So we walked and walked and walked and walked until we found ourselves in front of a sign that alerted us to the fact that we were entering Black Eagle territory. We didn’t see any today but we were told by other visitors that there were even new chicks in the nest.

The view from up there was spectacular. We couldn’t believe what a gem we had found right in our backyard.

"...plants and vines grew overhead and formed a canopy of shade for the walkway..."

After catching our breath, taking a few pictures and soaking up the magnificent surroundings we decided to make our way down again. We were quite exhausted when we got down but as we walked back past the river we realized that we couldn’t leave without checking out one last feature. We followed the signs to a path along the river. Trees, plants and vines grew overhead and formed a canopy of shade for the walkway and provided us with the sense that we were indeed walking in the woods. The path was aptly named the Wood Walk.

On exiting the park we passed a stage and wondered what it was used for. We later found pamphlets at the exit explaining that there were concerts held there with live musicians playing most Sundays to families and couples sitting on picnic blankets, sipping wine out of plastics goblets. Just another reason why this is the perfect weekend escape no matter who you are or what it is that blows your hair back. Needless to say, we were quite impressed and will definitely be visiting again to see what else we can find to do at this breathtakingly beautiful Park.

More Information: For more information about the gardens as well as a downloadable map, please visit: http://www.sanbi.org/frames/sisulufram.htm

Tariffs:

R18 for adults
R7 for Students
R5 for Scholars

Words By Kathy Beetge
Photos By Louis Beetge