The only international Camellia Garden Of Excellence in Africa.

We visited the Vergelegen Wine Estate's popular camellia garden.

Busloads of tourists arrive regularly to come and see the garden, and of course there is so much to see at this wine estate.

I will show you some lovely views in other posts. But for now, let us concentrate on the Camellia flowers in here. They have been sourced all over the world, China, Japan, New Zealand, and the USA, and a renowned horticulturist, Jan van Bergen, donated some of the Camellia species to the Vergelegen garden. It is a big garden in a natural setting, and there is ample space for the Camellia bushes to grow to maturity. Camellia flowers bloom in winter and they are really pleasant on the eyes to see.

They have various gardens of all sorts, and we like to visit each of the gardens during their specified blooming time of the seasons. Vergelegen is a very big estate with several restaurants, museums, and even a library. To see everything, one would have to spend a whole day to take it all in. There are also tours to the wine cellars, and to the other parts of the farm. We love to visit the conservation programmes, where they work to protect endangered wildlife.

But back to the Camellias, so come and have a look.

Many colors of the different Camellia species in the garden.

One thing that we have noticed, is that the bees like to visit the red and the pink Camellia flowers the most.

Some more beautiful views below.

As I said, above somewhere, this garden is very popular with tourists.

The food at the restaurants is prepared according to international standards, and visitors can sit inside or outside at the restaurants with a lovely view of the mountain range, and it is also a wild bird haven. They also have a wine cellar, and its construction will amaze you as it has three floors filled with barrels below ground level. We have visited the cellars and the one floor that is above ground level has tremendous views of the surrounds. One can even see the ocean, the mountains, and the farmlands.

During one of the tours that we were on, in a large 4 x 4 truck, I saw a little Duiker Buck grazing in one of the grape vineyard lanes. They also farm their own honey and use it in their beauty product range. These, along with their wines and other products, are sold in their gift shops. So, there is a lot going on every day at the wine estate. The staff are all well trained and the waiters in the restaurants are very friendly. The estate looks very well after the staff and their families, which is so good to see. Now we are looking forward to the spring blossoms around middle to late August.

Should you want more information about the Vergelegen Wine Estate, then please visit their website.

https://vergelegen.co.za

I hope you have enjoyed the pictures and the story.

Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.

Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.

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