Hermanus

After Mossel Bay, we head closer to the Cape, stopping off at Hermanus, on the advice of our friend Marion.

Hermanus is a nice place. It's quite fancy which comes as a bit of a culture shock after backpacking for months. We stay at a Backpackers place which, whilst not the most comfortable, is by far the cheapest place around here.

In the evening, we head to a well-known wine bar for a tasting menu. We sample lots of wines from the region, a sneak preview of what we will be drinking when we head to the wine regions after Hermanus. After trying many wines, we head out into town, trying to find another bar, but everything is a little too fancy for our budget. Instead, we head back to the hostel and have a glass of our own wine.

The next morning, we had planned to head to Franschhoek, famous for its wines. We were about to set off when one of the hostel staff told us that the kayaking company had spotted whales, and asked if we wanted to head out. We jump at the opportunity, and quickly head over.

In our kayaks, we head out into the freezing-cold Atlantic ocean, and are led around, trying to spot whales and dolphins. We come across a group of male seals, who swim around us, curiously bobbing their heads up and approaching our kayaks for a closer look. We paddle around the coastline, avoiding the currents that crash onto the jagged rocks, whilst trying to get as close as possible to the seals on the cliffs. We take some of the seaweed that floats to the surface here and eat the little "olives" that grow on it. It is, as you would expect, pretty salty, but not at all bad.

After a while of paddling around, our guide gets a call on the radio to say that a humpback whale has been spotted back near shore. We kayak over as fast as we can, but we're too late. A little disappointed, we head back and finish our kayak tour. But, as luck would have it, the whale comes back, and we're able to see it breach, it's distinctive tail crashing against the water. It's a breathtaking sight, and we leave Hermanus happy.En savoir plus