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Cape Floral Region

Cape Floral Region
Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden
The Cape Floral Region Protected Areas consists of eight sites covered with fynbos and known for their rich plant life. They are located in the Mediterranean climate region of South Africa Western Cape Province and the Eastern Cape Province.

The following 8 areas are included:
- Cape Peninsula National Park
- Cederberg Wilderness Area
- Groot Winterhoek Wilderness Area
- Boland Mountain Complex
- De Hoop Nature Reserve
- Boosmansbos Nature Reserve
- Swartberg Complex
- Baviaanskloof


Year Decision Comments
2004 Inscribed Reasons for inscription
2000Requested by State Party to not be examined at WHC sessionPostponement requested
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Reviews

Adrian Lakomy (Slovakia):
Visiting Cape Town a collector can visit 2 sites. First is Robben island and second is Cape Floral Region.
This site consists of six (?) parts which are geographicaly in whole region of Western Cape.
So I visited only the "Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden" and Cape Point National park. The whole region is a housing of Fynbos ("fine bush") which is rare only for this part of world. The natural location is very nice and I enjoyed my stay there, especialy on Cape Point even it is very windy. Just be prepared that you will need a whole day for such a trip.
Pic: Lighthouse on Cape Point surrounded by Fynbos
 
Kelly (South Africa):
Situated with the spectacular Cape Floral Kingdom, Table Mountain is a famous landmark and icon for all those that live in the Cape. Being from Johannesburg I had never actually been up to the top of Table Mountain and always wanted to. When eventually including Cape Town in our holiday it was decided that a visit to the Cape Floral Kingdom and the top of Table Mountain was a definite.

Even though it was rather hot, we knew it would be freezing up on the mountain. After clothing ourselves with at least 3 layers of clothes and packing our picnic basket, we headed our way to the famed Table Mountain. We boarded the Cableway which would transport us up to the top of the mountain. The view was spectacular! The cable car’s rotating floor enabled us to see a 360 degree view of the entire city and floral wonderland below! The scenery was absolutely exquisite.

When we arrived at the top of the mountain, I could not wait to see the view. The entire mountain boasts walkways and seating positions from which the city can be admired. On the one side we could see Camps Bay and watch how the sun caused to entire sea to shimmer. On the other side we could appreciate Cape Town’s sheer expanse and could even spot Robben Island! It is so quiet up on the mountain. It is almost as if the world stops when you admire the view up here! Everything else stops and becomes silent.

There is a restaurant up on Table Mountain serving lovely hot chocolate to keep you warm. We found a perfect spot on the rocks for our picnic. As we feasted on our goodies and sipped on champagne, we admired the spectacular sunset and the pure radiance of the sky. It was truly exquisite.

When the sun retired for the day, it became extremely cold! That’s when we headed off to the restaurant for that warm hot chocolate and cuddled inside!

When at night, the city’s myriads of lights illuminate the entire sky! What a breath taking sight. We could truly appreciate Cape Town’s size when admiring the expanse of lights. In fact, we could see lights as far as the eye can see!

As I sat there admiring the beauty, little did I know that very soon, in a few months, I would be proposed to here at this very spot! Table Mountain holds many wonderful and unforgettable memories for me. It is an exquisite place I will always return to and admire. No matter how many times you visit Table Mountain, the spectacular view never becomes boring!

There is a great photo gallery of Table Mountain available at the following site and I've included a few other useful links for those who are interested in visiting Table Mountain and Cape Town:

Table Mountain Photographs: http://www.sa-venues.com/table_mountain.htm
Table Mountain National Park (Cape Floral Kingdom): http://www.sa-venues.com/game-reserves/wc_tablemountain.htm
Robben Island: http://www.sa-venues.com/attractionswc/robben-island.htm
The Western Cape: http://www.sa-venues.com/westcape.htm
 
Paul Tanner (UK):
The WHS additions in July 2004 were a mixed lot in my opinion but 1 stood out for me –the “Cape Floral Region Protected Areas”. Alongside the usual litany of uninspiring/mediocre European sites (Liverpool, Muskauer and Andorra Valley?) and shady political dealings (The Koguryo China/N Korea “compromise”!) here was a site whose selection showed real imagination. A site of genuine uniqueness and justifiable preservation. Yet it took UNESCO from the year 2000 with 2 “deferrals” to get this nomination accepted! So typical of bureaucrats to concentrate on “Dotting the I’s” rather than on the value of the concept!

To quote
“Although the smallest of the world’s 6 principle floristic regions and in a temperate zone it has a degree of species richness comparable with most tropical hotspots. In less than .5% of the area of Africa it has nearly 20% of its flora and in less than 4% of the area of Southern Africa it has nearly 44% of the sub-continental flora of 20367 species. Nearly 69% of its vascular species do not occur naturally anywhere else in the world”

From within this “kingdom” 8 areas have been inscribed stretching as far as 450kms from the city of Capetown. The most famous and easily accessible is that of the Cape Peninsular itself although this is the second smallest - you will go through it if you go down to the Cape of Good Hope (as we did).

To quote again “The distinctive flora which contains 80% of its floristic richness is a shrubland known as “Fynbos”. The most famous genera found in this habitat are the Proteaciae. The Protea in its various forms is a magnificent plant often now sold in Europe for flower arrangements having been flown in from S Africa.

These, and many other wonderful plants, are easily viewable growing naturally as you drive around the Cape Region. My photo is of a stand in the flower show of a pleasant little town called Clanwilliam near to the Cederberg Wilderness area of the WHS showing a variety of Proteas.

August/September is the best time to see the flowers – we took them in as part of a drive down from Namibia via Namaqualand with its own wonderful flowers. As you drive south you “follow” the blooming of the flowers all the way until you finish up at the Cape itself – a wonderful trip!
 


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