For more than 20 years Grootbos Private Nature Reserve has been introducing locals and tourists to the remarkable diversity of the Cape Floral Kingdom, the smallest yet most biodiverse of the world’s six floral kingdoms.
Along with refurbishing the lodges to offer luxury accommodation amid the ‘fynbos’ vegetation that is endemic to the Western Cape, one of the most recent additions has been the Hannarie Wenhold Botanical Art Gallery, which was opened in 2022.
It’s a striking building on its own, but what’s indoors is even more remarkable. The Gallery plays host to Africa’s first florilegium – the technical term for a collection of botanical artworks – to offer a unique perspective on the endangered and endemic fynbos found in the Overberg region.
While applauding the ‘botany safaris’ that have made Grootbos famous, it’s the Art Gallery that cracked TIME magazine’s list of the World’s Greatest Places for 2024; one of just two destinations in South Africa to make the list. Johannesburg’s Magugu House, the retail space and showroom for designer Thebe Magugu, is the other.
And the florilegium at Grootbos is nothing short of remarkable. The gallery is spread across seven exhibition spaces, each focused on a different aspect of the fynbos ecosystem, and houses more than 250 botanical illustrations and artworks by 44 South African and international artists.
The Gallery is open daily to resident guests, but can also be visited on pre-booked half-day tours of Grootbos. The tours (R1900pp) include a guided 4x4 botanical safari through the Grootbos Private Nature Reserve, a guided visit to the Hannarie Wenhold Botanical Art Gallery, and a three-course Botanical Lunch at Bellavista Country Place adjoining Grootbos.
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