To Hermanus and back

I knew nothing really about South Africa before this trip was suggested but I am SO glad I allowed friends here to persuade me to come and experience the beautiful area in which they live: having the sea and the mountains so close together is just amazing! And the coast road from Cape Town to Hermanus reminded me of some of the coastal trips I’ve enjoyed in Australia and New Zealand as well as Scotland and Wales. Spectacular views and glorious sunshine in good company.

No fears about living on the coast here, though many of the settlements are of older residents with their fair share of retirement villages.

We stopped at a botanic gardens and found some interesting plants and a group of photographers with long lenses who were either looking for birds or photographing plants at a distance: they didn’t seem to want to speak, though, so I left them to whatever it was they were doing.

Entertained for a while, we found cold drinks and moved on, enjoying the blue sky, light traffic and the sea air.

I confess to never having heard of Hermanus! Apparently, it is the place chosen by whales to birth their calves during September and October but they have just moved away and we didn’t see any. There was no lack of things to do though: an evening walk along the seafront past sea birds on their rock and a number of interesting sculptures to the old harbour with vibrantly coloured boats and old stone houses, for example.

I was interested to find a couple of statues celebrating the baboons we had seen on the road along the way: I hadn’t expected to see them here but loved the image of the baboon on guard, protecting his territory.

Fish and chips at home was the preferred meal for the evening so I waited at the Walker Bay Fish and Chip Restaurant while the car was brought and then we spent a leisurely few hours at home, eating and generally catching-up: there was a lot to cover after twenty years with minimal contact!

Having really appreciated a very full three days with other friends in Cape Town covering all my wishlist of visits and a few more, I was very happy to have a less busy couple of days before the flight from Cape Town to Windhoek which is ahead.

‘Relaxing and enjoyable’ describes these two days in Hermanus, with visits to the sea and the vineyards in the hills, good food, a glass of wine from one of the local vineyards, lots of time to process what I was seeing and hearing about and lots of sleep!

Who could complain about starting the day with this view and a delicious smoked salmon and scrambled egg bagel with good coffee alongside for breakfast?!

Needless to say, that was a leisurely meal!

We headed inland through the town, passing the Guesthouse my friends had once managed and suddenly we were climbing up a road that could have been in Thailand or even Australia. It didn’t take long before we started to see the tell-tale straight lines of the vineyards on either side of the road.

Small buildings, often white, presided over stripes of green and faded yellow and every now and again we heard voices of the workers as they communicated along the rows, exchanging gossip or a joke as they managed the vines.

This one had its own lake and could honestly have been somewhere in the European Alps, from others you could see the sea.

Although the distances didn’t seem great we managed to spend the whole afternoon enjoying the views and the general ambience without tasting a drop of wine. At our final stop we took advantage of the balcony with its stunning view over the valley, shared a bottle of sparkling water and bought a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc to taste later…..that bottle cost about £6.50 and was one of the smoothest wines I have ever drunk. My friend considered it expensive!!!

Newton Johnson Vineyard: where we succumbed…

As might be expected each place had its own distinctive style: one was an old chapel taking advantage of unusual windows for visitors to sit and enjoy the view while tasting their produce. They also had some intriguing art works.

A quiet evening, enjoying the wine we had bought at NewtonJohnson with our meal, and a gentle start to my last full day in South Africa before setting off for an afternoon in Cape Town driving ‘over the mountain’ with more spectacular views and a smoothie to keep us going was just what I needed. I had no idea when we left Hermanus that the day would include an impromptu visit to the hairdresser (making me feel MUCH tidier) and the best cheesecake ever before meeting more friends for my final meal in this country where the hospitality has been fantastic and the sights amazing.

I can’t say for sure ‘I’ll be back!’ but I’m certainly glad I came.