The Botanical Gardens

We woke to a beautiful day, hazy sunshine and no rain so having completed our packing we made our way by taxi to the Botanical Gardens. Our taxi driver was very keen for us to visit a place that sold jewellery as by doing so he would get a petrol voucher we told him that we didn’t have any money left but undetered he said that we didn't have to buy anything and it wasn't out of our way, so as not to disappoint him we agreed. There was some lovely jewellery there but very expensive and having fulfilled our obligation we continued our journey (the taxi driver was delighted with his voucher). The garden covers 63 hectare (155.7 acre) and is home to a diversity of tropical plants set in a beautiful landscape and with plenty to offer. We visited the Ginger Garden which displayed hundreds of species of ginger and included a waterfall that you could even walk behind. Swan Lake which was completed in 1866 not only boasted white mute swans from Amsterdam but was also home to terrapins, catfish and several other types of fish. The centre piece of this was one of the many sculptures displayed around the gardens which was of flying swans and was absolutely enormous. We missed out the rain forest as we did not relish the thought of being bitten prior to our journey. Palm Valley was home to an enormous array of palms both big and small and there was also the bandstand that in its heyday had been the scene for many regimental performances but is now no longer used. It gradually got hotter and more humid so having had lunch we visited the Evolution Garden and then decided to make our way back to the hotel and prepare for our departure.