Cape Town - Enjoying Cape Town’s natural scenic sites is a summer highlight and for families planning a picnic there are plenty of public parks for adult leisure and children’s play.
With beautifully manicured greenery and picturesque views, our city parks are a no-cost way to enjoy a day in the sun.
The City of Cape Town manages and maintains literally thousands of hectares of parks. On its website, the local government encourages people to “explore these areas of freedom, fun, flowers and fresh air”.
It adds: “Our parks are a wonderful place to de-stress, get fit and enjoy some healthy living.”
Central Cape Town’s historically rich Company’s Garden (at the top end of Adderley Street) remains a spot where families from near and far gather on picnic blankets on weekends. It opens daily from 7am until 8.30pm in summer.
Aboriginal Khoisan land, locals refer to it simply as “The Gardens” and it was part of the seasonal dominion of Chief Gogosoa’s clan before coloniser Jan van Riebeeck “formally” turned it into a vegetable garden for the Dutch East India Company in 1652.
Presently, it encompasses a number of landmarks: Parliament buildings, the Iziko South African Museum and Planetarium, St George’s Cathedral, the National Library of South Africa, the South African National Gallery, as well as Tuynhuys, the presidential house for state occasions.
The garden’s interesting features include the oldest cultivated pear tree in South Africa and a well dating to 1842.
A landscaped rose garden built in 1929 is blooming, as is a Japanese garden which has an intact lantern dating back to 1932.
On a recent Sunday, Ndileka Memane and her boyfriend travelled from Stellenbosch to the garden for a day-long family outing.
“This place is quiet and I enjoy sitting here. I came here many times to have a picnic and take photos. There are places to go to in Stellenbosch but I like this garden,” said Memane.
“I came with a train. We left before 10am. I pack snacks but buy chicken and drinks in the city. I came with my family and boyfriend.”
Nosiphiwo Xhego from Paarl joined Memane for thepicnic. “I visited Ndileka and she told me let’s go to this garden. It’s my first time to come here. It’s something new for me. It’s beautiful,” she said.
Keethon Botha and Ashlin Martin from Tafelsig in Mitchells Plain were also having a picnic with their son Keano Martin and his niece Toshcka Leigh Marton.
Martin said: “We come here for picnics once in a while. It’s quiet and peaceful here. We also sit in the shade. And you don’t have to pay any entry fee.”
Toshcka giggled: “I like the squirrels. That’s why I come here.”
Picnics are also popular on the large lawns of the Green Point Park. It also has various paths that lead to interesting features, including a biodiversity garden that cultivates 25 000 indigenous plants, trees, shrubs, bulbs and groundcovers.
It also has 300 different plant species.
The Green Point Park is open daily from 7am until 7.30pm in summer. It can be accessed from Beach Road, Green Point.
PARKS AND ENTERTAINMENT
While a number of free public parks is host to picnics and playgrounds across the city, two parks in particular offer a cultural programme that comes at a cost.
l Maynardville Park on Church Street in Wynberg is generally open to the public from 7am until 8pm daily in summer. It has a water feature and children’s playground.
The park is well-known for its open-air theatre, which stages selected Shakespeare plays at the beginning of each year.
The Bard’s Othello will be performed come New Year.
“Jealousy, passion and obsession powerfully combine in this devastating domestic tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, who, betrayed by his close friend Iago, kills his beloved Desdemona,” reads awebsite synopsis by Artscape.
Patrons usually pack a picnic basket and savour a night of theatre under the stars.
l The Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden on Rhodes Drive in Newlands has an entry fee. Annually it hosts the Summer Sunset Concerts, which have already started and run until April 3.
This year’s concert features Mango Groove, The Parlotones, The Soil as well as The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra.
OTHER PARKS IN CAPE TOWN
l De Waal Park is located in the heart of Cape Town. Originally noted for its wide variety of trees, it is now known for the social interaction of dogs, owners and children.
A cool retreat in summer, dogs delight in the pond while the children have fun on its playground. It serves a diverse community, providing a peaceful, relaxing green belt within the bustle of city life.
Open daily 8am to 6pm. Upper Orange Street in Gardens. Contact: 021 400 2521
l Trafalgar Park: This park in Woodstock is a safe spot for children to play and for nearby workers to take a leisurely stroll during a lunch break.
Open daily 8am – 6pm. Corner Victoria Road & Searle Streets, Woodstock. Contact: 021 400 3031
l Wynberg Park is where the spring of the Krakeelwater River begins. This district park features a conifer garden, children’s playground, duck pond, lawns, and is ideal for walking dogs, picnics and braais.
Open daily 8am to 6pm, Corner Klaassens & Trovato Link Roads, Wynberg. Contact: 021 689 4185
l Durbanville Rose Garden: This district park is an historical site. It has 500 varieties of rose bushes and one can enjoy tea at the Tea Room on Sundays during flowering season. Open daily 8am to 6pm. Durban Road, Durbanville. Contact: 021 970 3129
l Westridge Park: This community park, in the residential part of Mitchells Plain, features a variety of botanically significant flora, including indigenous Cape fynbos. There is a pathway for gentle walks and the grassy areas provide ample space for picnics and taking wedding photographs. A skateboard ramp attracts youngsters. Community concerts and festive programmes are held annually.
Open daily 8am to 6pm. Corner Morgenster & De Duin Avenue in Westridge, Mitchells Plain. Contact: 021 371 3191.
l Khayelitsha Wetlands Park This district park has a growing eco-system populated by birds. There is a playground for children and African mosaic murals.
Open daily 8am to 6pm. Makhaza (between Lansdowne and Hlanga Roads) in Khayelitsha. Contact: 021 364 0960.
l Zandvlei Recreational Park is an open water wetland, river system and estuary near Muizenberg. The park, bordered by Lakeside, Muizenberg and Marina da Gama residential areas, is used for a variety of recreational activities, including canoeing, sailing, windsurfing and fishing. Grassed areas are equipped in places as braai and picnic spots.
Open daily 8am to 6pm. Promenade Road in Muizenberg. Contact: 021 701 1233.
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