💜 A Tour of The Company Gardens with Princessmewmew 💜

The Company Gardens in Central Cape Town is one of those places that you just can't miss when visiting Cape Town. It's something of a tourist rite, and I'm sure at the very top of every visitor to CT's To Do List. Even as a local, I love to visit the Gardens.

Located in the very centre of Cape Town, the Gardens span a large area of downtown Cape Town. I love to walk through the Gardens to get downtown, instead of driving or walking through the city. The Gardens are incredibly beautiful, filled with all kinds of fauna and flora. Squirrels, Egyptian geese, herons, tons of pigeons and all types of other creatures call these Gardens their home.

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The Elusive Albino Squirrel - source</sup>

The Company's Garden has a very special place in the history of the Cape. The Garden is the oldest in the country, first built as Jan Van Riebeeck's vegetable garden in 1652. Ships from the Dutch East India Company passing through the trade route would stop at the Cape Town port to top up on fresh vegetables, water and other necessities. Thus named "The Company's Garden."

There are all kinds of historical landmarks in the Gardens, including South Africa's oldest pear tree, thought to have been planted around 1652, my favourite spot, the rose garden built in the 1930's, and many statues and monuments.

My favourite monument is the Rutherford Fountain, an understated temperance fountain which was built in 1864. The following words are etched at the bottom of the statue:

"Jesus said whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst But the water that I shall give him shall be in him as a well of that I shall give him shall never thirst water springing up into everlasting life"

And I just found in my research today:

A temperance fountain was a fountain that was set up, usually by a private benefactor, to encourage people not to drink beer by the provision of safe and free water. Beer was the main alternative to water, and generally safer. The temperance societies had no real alternative as tea and coffee were too expensive, so drinking fountains were very attractive.

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Other attractions in the park include an aviary, a fantastic restaurant, a herb garden, the amazing Planetarium, the Iziko South African Museum and the Iziko National Art Gallery. The museum, art gallery and planetarium are all musts in my book, especially the art gallery, as it showcases many local artists.

^{The Iziko South African Museum}

^{The Peeking Roof of the Planetarium}

^{The Delville Wood Memorial, commemorating the South Africans that died in the First and Second World Wars.}

^{The Herb and Succulent Garden being overlooked by majestic Table Mountain.}

It's a beautiful place, and I wouldn't miss it if I was planning a visit to Cape Town.

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