Kirstenbosch Gardens

In the rain. Again.

Cape Town's Kirstenbosch Gardens spread up the hillsides to the rocky peaks that make up Table Mountain

The Welwitshia is possibly one of the world's most amazing and weird plants. Kirstenbosch has a greenhouse full of these desert survivors. They are mostly found in the deserts of Namibia which. like most desert areas, get almost no rain - yet some of these plants are estimated to be up to 1000 years old. Their survival relies in part on a very deep tap root as well as the ability to take moisture from the fog that often blankets the coastal areas.

As it was pouring with rain and blowing a gale on our visit most of these images were snapped in the greenhouses in the garden.