WESTERN CAPE: THE UNEXPECTED WOW OF HERMANUS

I’m not exactly sure what we expected in/of Hermanus, but we were astonished. We did still have our rose-coloured goggles in place from our amazing day on the road (read all about it here) as we entered Hermanus, but they can’t take the credit for the wow that Hermanus surprised us with.

Hermanus was never really on our list, but since we were there so close to whale season (what they’re most known for), we decided to take a chance and make this one of our destinations. The whales, unfortunately, did not wait for us and were gone by the time we got there.

This luckily did not break our spirits…

Hermanus Accommodation.

We once again made use of Airbnb for almost all of our stays during this trip. We found a lovely hosting couple. The apartment/flat is on the property where they live as well. They were super friendly, informative and helpful. The apartment was spacious and well equipped.

But what stood out most for us was her garden and the location. The location was at the foot of the mountain, overlooking the ocean from the porch. It was walking distance from the beach but outside the Hermanus hustle and bustle. And the garden was stunning! It’s clear at first sight that the garden is her pride and joy. The complete picture she created with the garden, stunning house and mountain was something out of a lifestyle magazine.

Hermanus.

As mentioned earlier, Hermanus is most known for the breeding spot of the Southern right whales and the reason that got us there in the first place. But they have so much more going for them.

Hermanus has a perfect balance between the ocean and mountains, and they even managed to balance the human element and nature. We really do hope they keep that balance and don’t overdevelop.

Artists get their inspiration all over town. Apart from the inspiration, we saw how the art culture oozed out in every corner.

All of this is brilliant, but the thing that stood out for us was the Fernkloof Nature Reserve Cliff Path. It’s a 12km long walkway, all along the coast, through some bushes/woods, along some sandy beaches and atop some cliffs. And every few meters, there would be a bench accompanied with a more spectacular view than the previous.

The untamed beauty of the ocean, waves and rocks had the ability to slow down our minds to almost a trancelike or dreamy state. It felt like we could spend hours looking at the waves and solving all the world’s problems.

Once in a while, we even had some furry friends popping by to see what we were up to, and at other times they just parked off on a rock and took a nap.

Daytrip.

After a few spectacular blue sky days, a rainy day was just what we needed. It’s easier to step away from the beach/outdoor for a day trip in rainy weather.

We left early towards the Hemel & Aarde (Heaven & Earth) Valley searching for some wine tasting. The plan was to

stop at a farmstall for quick coffee until we find a breakfast spot
have some breakfast
visit a few wine farms

PADSTALLE – also known in English as Farmstalls

Farmstalls has to be one of the main ingredients to any road trip in the Cape. It originated a few years ago as a small “pop-up-like” shop next to the road selling all types of handmade crafts and fresh or farm-made produce as an extra income for the farmers.

This has exploded to become a big part of SA culture. Most of these stalls has now also been expanded by adding a coffee shop. With the coffee, they would sell homebaked goodies such as koeksisters, melktert and mosbolletjies.

Oumeul Padstal

Oumeul is a franchise padstal. In our future days, we would find it a few times, but at this point, however, this knowledge was unknown.

This was supposed to be our coffee stop of the morning in search of breakfast. The thing about a padstal is, you very seldom walk out of there with only the intended products. There’s always something jumping and screaming at you “pick me” or “don’t you think I look yummy” or “you’ll think of me the rest of the day if you don’t buy me now”.

And who are we to argue with all of those treats and their arguments?

So we decided on a “filler” until breakfast and would call it the pre-breakfast breakfast (sounded so much sexier than a breakfast starter).

The thing that T decided to listen to was a rooster brood. It’s made of bread dough but grilled over an open fire and charred a bit on the outside. There are various filling choices, but T’s decision was set on jam and cheese.

I can’t remember the actual breakfast/brunch for that day cause the pre-breakfast breakfast was just SO GOOD.

Wine Farms

T has always enjoyed a glass of wine. On the other hand, I was and am very slow at developing a taste for it. T has tried getting me to drink with him numerous times before, but I’ve always prefered a sweeter drink.

I’m quite a picky eater, but in the last few years (since moving to Dubai), I’ve really tried to expand my pallet and try new things.

We’ve made some great friends in Dubai, who are absolute foodies and love a good drink. They’ve introduced us to Prosecco, and I actually liked it. So my slow evolution to wine (or at least wine with a bubble) has begone. I still feel pretentious sipping out of a champagne glass, but I really enjoy the taste and mostly the dance-like sensation the bubble creates on my tongue.

Wildekrans Wine farm

The thing about wine shopping in the Western Cape is you have an excellent chance of buying a delicious bottle of wine by just walking into any liquor store, even the one on the corner.

This was how we found our favourite MCC (Method Clap Classique) of the entire trip. After we stocked up on some fresh supplies, we popped into the liquor store next to it, bought a few bottles, and the Wildekrans Demi-sec MCC was among them.

So naturally, we had to visit the farm as well. As with most farms, it’s got that luxury charm to it. They also have some accommodation, and we would definitely consider spending a night or two there in the future.

Creation Wine farm

Creation wine farm is one we just stumbled upon in the Heaven and Earth Valley and the last stop for the day.

Neither T nor myself have any wine knowledge, and I won’t count on our word solely for this, but the Creation wine didn’t really appeal to us. They had a tasty Chardonnay, but the taste didn’t match its price tag.

Although we left without any wine, the farm was stunning, the tasting room special, and the gardens out of a book. The entire tasting experience there was probably one of our best.

Once again, the time in Hermanus has passed way too quickly. I would really recommend that anyone visit Hermanus despite it being out of season for them. They had way more to offer than what we expected from it.

In our next post, we head to the Paarl/Wellington region, refuse it to be our last destination for the trip, and T throws a rusk at a guineafowl.