Hermanus (South Africa)

Hermanus is a small town on the coast, and was the last place we stayed in before we arrived in Cape Town. Our hotel was right on the seafront. We were all told we’d get rooms at the front, overlooking the ocean. Sadly, I did not. I got a lovely view of the car park!

The evening we arrived was another sunny evening, and I think we all took advantage of the spare hour or so before dinner, and had a wander along the seafront and took in the views. There is actually a proper path, with signs and notices along the path giving info about the wildlife. As ever, the views were amazing.

The next day, some of us went whale watching. It wasn’t really whale watching season, but it was nice to be out on the water and it was a chance to see more of the coast. The sun was still shining, and it really was a lovely day to be out on the water. I have actually been whale watching before, when I was in Boston in America (and we saw plenty of whales close up on that occasion) and although I was keen to go on this trip I did wonder how exciting I would find it.

In the end, we did actually see a couple of whales. Briefly. In a “blink and you miss them” kind of way. If you happened to be looking in the right direction at the right time, you would seen them. Briefly. These fleeting glimpses were still exciting though.

We also saw numerous seals, playing and splashing in the water, various birds, and even a baby penguin. We also saw much more of the coast than we would have done otherwise. Regular readers will be aware I love being out on the water, so it was definitely one of the highlights of the trip to South Africa. The coast was so beautiful, the water was blue, and shimmering in the sun. Just glorious! It was all helped by the crew of the boat, who were really knowledgeable about all the animals we saw, and got just as excited as us about the brief whale sightings.

All too quickly, it came to an end and we had to return to the shore.

The afternoon was a free afternoon. So, I headed along the coast path to the town centre. There are a couple of museums there that I fancied going in. One of them is a whale museum, and gives lots of information about whales, such the different breeds, how big they get, which parts of the world they live in. It was a small musuem, but I don’t think it needed to be any bigger – it provided the required information without it all being too wordy. It also has a complete whale skeleton on display.

The other museum I went in was more of a photography museum, with lots of photos from the history of Hermanus. Some of them were interesting, others less so.

After that, I decided what I really wanted to do was walk along the coast path, so I did. It was a lovely walk, just me and the sun and the beautiful views. The town centre was quite busy, and I just needed some peace and quiet, which is exactly what I got. Perfect! I could have stayed there a lot longer, but sadly, in the end it was time to turn round and head back to the hotel for dinner.