Day trips from Hermanus
Day trips from Hermanus
As a visitor to Hermanus, and a guest at Eastbury Cottage Self-Catering and B&B, you might have just missed the whale watching season which happens from July to the end of November each year and the annual Whale Festival! Don’t be disappointed, there are more than 300 things to do in Hermanus and its natural surroundings that will entertain and interest you and your family. You’ll find that you will want to extend your stay in this, our beautiful Riviera of the South. In the following blogs, we will outline a number of day trips from Hermanus to the Overberg and Cape Whale Coast of the Western Cape that will keep you coming back for more!
Day trip 1: to Bredasdorp, South Africa’s first town, via Stanford and Napier
(Hermanus to Bredasdorp is about an hour’s drive – 200kms in total there and back)
Drive east heading out of Hermanus along the R43 (main road) in the direction of Stanford, along the foot of the majestic Maanskyn mountain range to your left and the bird rich Kleinrivier Lagoon on your right. Continue past fynbos flower farms, vineyards, mountain springs and waterfalls until you reach the turnoff to Stanford (28kms). Turn right into this charming village situated on the Klein River, famous for its boating and canoeing, fynbos flower cutting, abundant bird watching, quaint restaurants and many resident artists. Enjoy a farm fresh meal at the local farm stall and then wend your way back to the entrance to Stanford and continue along the R326 towards the N2, not forgetting to stop at the Birkenhead Brewery and Kleinrivier Cheese factory a few kms out of Stanford.
Enjoy the beautiful scenery of wheat farm lands and vineyards along the way until you reach the cross road. Turn right onto the R316 to Bredasdorp via Napier.
Napier is famous for its annual Potato Festival each year and is surrounded by a sheep and wheat farming community. Well known for its warm hospitality, stop for a rich cup of “Boere” coffee and a home baked cake or scone at one of their coffee shops and eateries that line the main road.
Bredasdorp, with its busy railway terminus for the area’s wool and wheat farming, is just a few minutes further along the road. Here you will find a wonderful Ship Wreck Museum to sail you into the past as you observe the many salvaged artefacts. The Kapula Candle factory is a “must see”. Make sure you give yourself enough time to wander through the showroom of the factory with its amazing hand painted and scented candles. Make sure you have enough space in your luggage to take home these delightful souvenirs. Visit the Heuningberg Nature reserve and Garden and the old milkwood tree at Renosterfontein.
If you have spare time, do drive a further 23kms on the R316 Arniston, a small fisherman’s village so named after a British ship which was wrecked here in 1815. Visit the national monument, Kassiesbaai, which historically, is home to Arniston's fishing community. The South African name for Arniston is now popularly known as Waenhuiskrans due to the close proximity of a huge cavern in the cliffs. It is said that an ox wagon and its oxen could be turned full circle in this cave, hence the directly translated name “wagon house cliff”. I’ll chat more about this picturesque village in our day trip to L’Agulhas via Elim.
