Cape Town has some exceptionally beautiful areas of wildlife, with botanical gardens, forests and nature reserves waiting to be explored on your Cape Town holidays.

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

One of the most pleasant and relaxing ways to spend an afternoon on holiday in Cape Town is to pay a visit to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. These gardens are extremely beautiful, and are possibly some of the most beautiful botanical gardens in the world. With pretty flowers lining the edges of each section of garden, and streams full of tadpoles for children to play in, this is an extremely tranquil place to spend an afternoon.

During summer, the gardens host their ‘Summer Sunset Concert Series,’ where a variety of performers will entertain you as you lounge on the grass in this beautiful garden. From classical music to traditional African marimba groups, the performances are always pleasant to listen to as you picnic at sunset.

There are a number of great walks to go on beginning in Kirstenbosch. The gardens are large, and you can spend hours wandering through them, admiring the flowers and the mountain views. You can enjoy sniffing around the herb garden, or get a bit of exercise hiking up Skeleton Gorge. Higher up in the gardens you will find Colonel Bird’s Bath, and if you throw in a penny, you can make a wish. After a day outdoors, you can return to your Cape Town hotel for a good night’s sleep before another exciting day in this beautiful city.

Cape Point Nature Reserve

About an hour’s drive from Cape Town you will find Cape Point Nature Reserve. It was once believed that this was the southernmost tip of the African continent, because if you climb to the top of the lighthouse, you literally feel as if you are on the tip of the world. It may not be the continent’s tip (in fact, Cape Agulhas is), but it is the point where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. And it is certainly one of the must-see wildlife areas when on a Cape Town holiday.

There are a number of areas in the reserve that are good for walking in, and beaches with a distinctly wild feel are dotted around the area. There are many tours that you could book to visit the reserve when on a tailor made holiday in Cape Town, and seeing the exceptional wildlife this reserve has to offer will be well worth the effort.

Newlands Forest

Although not a popular tourist spot for those on Cape Town holidays, this is a beautiful forest, with abundant flora and fauna. It is popular spot for locals to go on evening mountain walks, and the paths are well populated in the early evenings and on weekends. The contour paths a little higher up the mountain lead to beautiful streams where you can sit on a rock and let the mountain water trickle over your toes.

On one side of the forest, you can admire the views over the whole city, where you can see all the way from the harbour at the Waterfront to the sea of False Bay. The forest is centrally located too, so luxury accommodation in Cape Town will not be more than a few minutes’ drive away.