Constantia Valley is for everyone ... if you have time!

M3 freeway with Constantia Valley and Muizenberg Mountain beyond.

I have been involved with the bed and breakfast industry in Cape Town and South Africa for a number of years and one of the most entertaining requests we ever received for accommodation was when a Canadian couple phoned us to say that they had landed at Cape Town Airport that morning and were now phoning us from Cape Point. We assumed that they were looking for accommodation somewhere in Cape Town. "No" they said. "We are in a bit of a hurry and would actually like accommodation in Stellenbosch as we fly out again tomorrow!"

They would probably have driven through the valley on the M3 freeway, but with their super fast travel itinerary they would got from one end to the other in less than 10 minutes and this blog would certainly not have been of any interest to them!

Silver Trees along the M3 on Wynberg Hill

Some travellers have a lot of world to see in a very limited time and at times I have also suffered the disadvantages of high speed itineraries, but at such times we do tend to miss out on some of the interesting detail about places.

For example these fairly rare Silver Trees in the median between the freeway lanes accessing Constantia, could be overlooked. Wynberg Hill is one of the few spots where the Silver Tree grows naturally. This tree is almost entirely confined to the slopes of Table Mountain. There are more silver trees further up the slope on the west side of the feeway. I assume that these trees are growing here naturally, but it is possible that some of them may have been planted.

The silver colour to the leaves is from many fine hairs growing on each leaf. These lie closer to the leaf in very hot weather and thus provide extra protection, but exhibit a more pronounced silver colour. In cooler weather the hairs are more erect, allowing better circulation of air and the leaves look less silver.