Who was Harold Porter?  The man honoured through having a botanical garden in the Kogelberg Biosphere on the Cape Whale Coast named after? Mister Porter was responsible for the development of infrastructure and housing on the other side of the Hottentots Holland Mountains.  Still on the coastline but away from the developments of Somerset West and Gordons Bay.  Located between the mountains and the Atlantic Ocean this garden is a UNESCO recogised heritage site and a biodiversity gem of the Overberg.  The 200 hectare garden used to be part of Harold Porter’s farm and was first called the Shangri-La Nature Reserve.  The name Sangri-La comes from the novel The Lost Horizon and is reference to the fictional paradise in the book.  Sangri-La Nature Reserve kindly donated Porter’s paradise to the South African Biodiversity Institute after his passing in 1958.

Soon there will be a biodiversity institute on the property.  This will be a huge plus for Betty’s Bay, the Cape Whale Coast and the Overberg.

Thanks to Overstrand councillor Fanie Krige for the first 2 landscape photos after the caption at the top.