Vergelegen, meaning "situated far away", was granted to the Governor of the Cape in 1700 and the property has had a long and fascinating history since that time. Willem Adriaan Van der Stel, was a man of divergent interests who transformed the uncultivated land into a veritable paradise. He planted vines, camphor trees and oaks, laid out fruit orchards and orange groves, and introduced cattle and sheep.
(taken from the official website)
As usual, everything was absolutely gorgeous, from the traditionally Cape Dutch style buildings...
...to the exquisite gardens and attentively kept grounds...
to the incredible Camphor trees which are actually protected national monuments...
to the simplest of elegant corners...
The gardens and lawns were especially beautiful, and many times we just sat and enjoyed the tableau.
Sitting under huge mulberry trees (nevermind the mulberry bush!)...
Some of the most fantastic flowers...
Ah, peacocks!
And we had tea (and lunch, sort of...) in the Rose Garden.
The wetland garden was my favourite.
I can never remember the name, but Arum lillies are my favourite. (I'm deathly allergic to most kinds.) Here I found the BIGGEST one I've ever seen in my life! As tall as my chest, with a bloom as big as my hand!
Well, from there we went to pick up AJ's aunt from the airport. After just a few hours I've concluded that's she's a pretty fantastic lady, and I'm really glad she decided to come visit the Bethke's now so I got a chance to meet her. She's one of those people who is tapped into some boundless source of energy and wit, and I doubt anything shakes her.
Not much else to report from the day. We ("we" being everyone in the house plus AJ's brother Stephen) went to a restaurant called Ashley's for a birthday dinner. I had a delicious lasagne, and if it's one thing I have to complain about when it comes to my experience with South African food it's the portions... they always give you far too much for far too little! Our waiter was a smartass named Matthew, who asked me if I needed a spoon, and when I said yes he brought back five different sizes, including a tiny teaspoon and an enormous cooking spoon. That's the second time we've gone to this establishment, and the second time we've gotten a funny and friendly waiter (or waitress, in the case of the first visit).
Matthew claimed to be a photography buff and took our picture for us; must remember to get a copy of that...
And then we came home and watched half of Fiddler on the Roof, but none of us was prepared to last through the whole thing.
Since this "Aunty Margaret" is here, I've been banished from the guest room for her sake, and am now holed up in the outside study. It's kind of nice sleeping with a bunch of books. (Creepy crawlies notwithstanding.) I could think of nicer things to sleep with though...
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