The Cape Floral Kingdom is in the heart of the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve (KBR). Although it is the smallest of the world’s floral kingdoms, it is the richest by far with 9,087 different plant species of which 6,218 are endemic (found nowhere else in the world) compared to the 20 endemics of the British Isles. The KBR is a photographer’s dream come true! Magnificent seascapes and sunsets, towering mountains and fast changing weather – and often as many as 50 different flowers within a 500m stroll.

The Cape Floral Kingdom has 1,300 species per 10,000 square kilometres. The next most biodiverse area is the Amazon basin with just 400 species per 10,000 square kilometres!

Scientists believe that this amazing biodiversity is the result of the southern tip of Africa having escaped the last ice age that destroyed numerous plant species around the world. As such, many of the 8,560 different plant species found in the Cape Floral Kingdom are literally ‘living fossils’. The Cape Floral Kingdom also has more endemic species for its area than anywhere else in the world … some 5,800 species. To put this in perspective, the whole of the United Kingdom only has 20 endemics.

The KBR is known as the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom – no wonder it was the first UNESCO ratified biosphere reserve in southern Africa.