Hotel of the week

Hermanus Tours does a weekly selection on various hotels in our area. The selection is based on a small but effective criteria. This weeks hotel is Lavender Manor.

Lavender Manor is the ultimate owner managed luxury guest house and offers spectacular sea view accommodation and warm, relaxed hospitality at an affordable price. Overlooking popular Blue Flag Grotto Beach and the whale sanctuary of Walker Bay, you are within two minutes walk of the various magnificent beaches in the area as well as the famous scenic cliff path. Relax in the cosy pool area, enjoy a refreshing drink at the fully licensed sea view pub, and watch the magical whales and the incredible sunsets over the Atlantic ocean from the upstairs patios and sundowner decks.

Lavender Manor offers incredible specials at he moment. You can contact Hermanus Tours at info@hermanustours.co.za

World record shark catch

In April 1922, Bill caught his record
man-eating shark of 2,176 lbs (967 kg) which took him five hours
to land. In 1969, Coena Haman gave a vivid description of this drama
to a visiting reporter of Die Burger newspaper.

‘It was at 12:30 that day when the news
came of sharks in the harbour. Bill and I went to Frans-se-klip, the
rock in the harbour from where he caught the other sharks. We could
see it at once. It was huge. Bill immediately put out the two
paraffin tins with kabeljou as bait. The shark disappeared, after a
while came back, took the bait and tore away with it. The bamboo rod
bent under the strain while the line whirred through the reel.

Bill was all concentration while a
crowd collected. It was a titanic fight as the shark made Bill run
across the rocks to the harbour. Across Piet-se-klip while man and
shark were fighting each other, Selkirk had to draw on all his skills
to tire out the monster and keep it from breaking the line on the
reefs. The fight continued until seven that evening when he, with
aching back and arms, at last had the shark on the sand. It was the
largest fish to this day, caught by rod and line from the rocks. The
huge shark was claimed as a world record, but this was contested
because, it was said, he had used a float. According to the rules,
floats were not allowed.’

Bill Selkirk was a direct decendent from Alexander Selkirk alias Robinson Crusoe

Hermanus Central

http://southafricatravelchannel.com/videoclips/play.php?vid=60

Fabio’s Pizzeria

Fabio’s Ristorante has all the appeal of a Neapolitan pizza parlour despite its unlikely location. Queuing is almost essential although thanks to the speediness of the service, this is usually limited to 10 to 15 minutes at the most. Locals dine to a chorus of kitchen staff, waiters and squawking seagulls which all adds to the lively atmosphere. The clientele is generally a loyal bunch, who have taken the restaurant into their hearts.

Dolphins Engulfed Kayaks

An early morning kayaking trip in Walkerbay Hermanus gave the fortunate guests a surprise with a visit of more than 400 dolphins surrounding them.

With oo’s and aaa’s for most of the time while the dolphins carried on with their feeding spree on millions and millions of sardines currently in the bay. Usually the dolphins which are much faster than the gigantic Brydes Whales chase the sardines into shallows and huge fish ball’s for these whales to consume.

At the moment is a feeding mayhem in the bay with Dolphins, whales, bronze whaler sharks leaping out of the water and the occasional great white investigating the proceedings. Hermanus is enjoying a fantastic marine life activity and its like walking in the Kruger Park with mammals in their natural habitat, just better!!!!

Kelp

It has been a while since I have blogged but here it is. There has been lots and lots of controversy about where exactly does the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet. The other day I had some German clients asking me if there is a clear line or even a fence that proves this and that made me wondering? If we have ocean current shifts and ocean drift of 13km/h from east to west where do they then meet. Well, firs I went to the map guys and requested infra red satellite pictures and by golly there was the proof that it is not close to Cape Agulhas but at Witsand. A mere two weeks later close to Cape Point. So Where do they meet and where will we find the accurate and exact place.

After a lot of research and I should have known the answer was lying right before my eyes. Every day we as Hermanites walk past the answer, every single day. Kelp. Yes Kelp? Let me explain. Kelp only grows in the up welling waters of our coast. We or rather our coastline and the West coast are nutrient enriched by the cold southern ocean currents that run from south to north and then onto our shore line, which then pushes the warmer water backwards away from our coast towards the south. The strong Benguella current helps with this by pushing from east to west at a great speed keeping the cold water away from Struisbaai.

Now you are asking what does kelp have to do with this. Well you don’t get kelp to the east of Cape Agulhas. So there’s the proof Kelp lives in nutrient enriched cold waters ( Atlantic) and not in warm water (Indian) so no kelp east of Agulhas.

Did you know that….?   Kelp leaves called fronds can grow up to 50 centimetres a day.

Kelp forms dense canopies up to 35 metres above the seabed.

Most of us eat kelp regularly, by consuming ice-cream or jelly. Products made from kelp are used to thicken these foods, and other products like toothpaste.

Tasting the Valley

Hermanus offers a variety of excellent wines in and around the region. When I do a wine tour I try to involve my guests into a kind of game where they have to select 4 wines from our region for export quality, value for money and wine that they would select for a restaurant. It is of course based on individual palette, nose etc. Then after their selection we sit down at lunch and compare their findings with the John Platter’s ratings.

Today was one of those day’s with my very Chilean/ Swedish combination of husband and wife. Now keep in mind that Chili produce exceptional wines. Then after tasting , sniffing, touching and even listening  to the wine an expert determines when its a fino, amontillado or oloroso. So when tasting wine comes to the equation of open bottle and open mind. Every glass contains a lesson in history, geography, agriculture, botany, sometimes anthropology, religion and even psychology. I believe the  only beverage that appeals to both the senses and the intellect.

But let me not get carried away, today was no exception when my clients chose the superb Arnoldus & Die Bartho from Hermanuspieterfontein and the Hannibal from Bouchard Finlayson. Their Day drinking wine selection did not come as a surprise when they chose the Southern Right Sauvignon blanc and grant me this opportunity to whish these 3 vineyards and wine cellars a well deserved congratulations on your expertise and knowledgeable representatives that serves the tourists.

ABBA

One thing about Hermanus is that it attracts all people from all walks of life. We also receive our fair share of royalty and celebrities and last week through to this week it was ABBA that visited our town and Hermanus Tours are proud to be the prefered carrier of this prestigious and famous group.

Mozambique – Madagascar

Future adventures for Hermanus Tours CEO, Neels Terblanche and Murry Williams, chief editor of The Cape Argus entails an epic journey with kayaks from Mozambique to Madagascar. The planned trip will take place next year April and take approximately 15 day’s to complete over a distance of 500 km’s. The adventure will be in conjunction with a charity organisation and the funding will come from sponsors.

We will be accompanied by a yacht to supply the accommodation at night and shelter from heavy storms and strong winds. This journey has been a life long dream and and a must do on the bucket list it’s a personal challenge. So if you spot 2 kayaks on a daily basis in the bay especially when the weather is bad, its them training in most severe conditions possible.

If you like to know more about this ocean crossing or do want to contribute do not hesitate to contact Neels Terblanche…..info@hermanustours.co.za or on the blog itself.

Wine Tasting

Wine tasting in the Hemel & Aarde valley are getting better and better by the day. I can not recall the amount of times that I have been up the valley, but one thing is for sure that every time I do go up there I try not to mis any of them. Then off course as a tour guide you have to understand your clients needs and that makes it very interesting. Micheal Jewell and his wife from Ulysses Restaurants, New York in the United States were such clients, who had a specific nose for Pinot Noir and what a better place to take them, than up our Hemel & Aarde valley.

After a good tasting of several wines of their liking they had a fabulous lunch at Heaven Restaurant situated high up on the Hemel & Aarde Ridge overlooking the breathtaking vista of the Kogelberg mountains and Hangklip. My sincere thank you for the interesting talks and shared information of our different worlds and for being fantastic friends. Like your card states…………..

“Now let awhile my messmates be my ponderous Penelope and my Ulysses born anew in Dublin as an Irish jew. With them I’ll sit, with them I’ll drink nor heed what press or pressman think nor leave their rockbound house of joy for Helen or for windy Troy”