The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Hiking around Hermanus

We've been staying in the town of Hermanus, on the western part of South Africa's south shore. It's a pretty seaside community with a lot of beach homes and vacation rentals. There's a golf course, and quite a few expensive looking homes.

To get a good view of the area, our couchsurfing hosts Celeste and Greg directed us to the mountains behind the town where the Fernkloof Nature Reserve has a series of free hiking trails.

Here's where we are...

Hermanus is about 120 kms (75 miles) SE of Cape Town.

So, we set off hiking around 9:45am. Beautiful day for a hike! We chose a route that followed a contour path half way up the mountains. So a little bit of climbing at the beginning, but then the path was fairly level as it followed the contour.

Looking west down on Hermanus. You can see the golf course and expensive homes on this side of it.

Looking east from Hermanus. This bay is a popular feeding and breeding area for whales, but only from June through October.

Fairly easy hike, but with great views.

We did about 5 kms along this trail and then took a path that led to the downtown area. We stopped and bought an ice cream, then wandered around. Ruth needed a new pair of sunglasses, and we found a "dollar" store type of place and she found a pair for R35 ($3.75). 

We looked around for a bit, and then spotted an Italian restaurant... Fabios Ristorante where they had a sign out front saying they would do gluten free pizza crust and pasta!

Sold!

Chicken and mushroom pizza with gluten free crust.

One pizza was enough for two people. I had two beers (you can't have pizza without beer!) and Ruth had a cider. Total bill including tip was R170 ($18.00).

We continued back to the house along a coastal path.

Ruth, looking east.

Kevin and Walker Bay. No whales to be seen at this time of year.

Beautiful area.

Made it home around 3:00pm. Figured out that we probably walked about 12 kms (7.5 miles). By this time, we were pretty tired and sweaty! But, it was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the hike.

Sat and relaxed with our hosts for the rest of the day. Oh, and Josephine! She is just over two years old and is the cutest little teacup poodle. She's really entertaining to have around...

Josephine






20 comments:

  1. Josephine looks like a perfect replica of Lacy - just smaller! Beautiful pictures. What a difference from Namibia! About how far is it between this coastline and the deserts of Namibia?

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    1. That's exactly what we thought when we first saw her. There is a huge difference between the two. South Africa, or at least where we have been so far is so much greener.

      It is about 700 to 800km between Cape Town and the Namibian border.

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  2. Beautiful coast line. What a nice hike. Any idea what they make their gluten free crusts from? That pizza looked declicious!

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    1. It was a gorgeous hike and we really loved it there. We may stop by there on our way back to Cape Town at the end of February, there is so much hiking there.

      Normally the crusts are made of a combination of flours and starches but normally the main ingredient is rice flour.

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  3. More awesome pictures today, and Pizza and beer, good idea, think we will go for that tonight.

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    1. It has been quite a while since we have had pizza, so we both really enjoyed this one.

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  4. mmm, Pizza and beer.
    What? Were you saying something?

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    Replies
    1. No we weren't saying anything, it seems you got the idea!

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  5. Loving the tour of Africa, so much to see thanks to you and you wonderful photos. We had home made pizza last night also!

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    1. So glad that you are enjoying the trip. It is a beautiful country with lots to see and do.

      Great minds think alike! :-) Are you still eating gluten free Contessa?

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  6. Awesome pictures and narrative, as usual. Thanks for taking us all on this journey!

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    1. So happy to hear the you are enjoying the adventure through our pictures and stories.

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  7. Again - love, love, love the header photo of the seaside town of Hermanus - gorgeous! Yummy looking pizza! Josephine is a cutie pie! We sure are enjoying "our" trip thru South Africa - THANK YOU!!!

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    1. Thank you Connie and Barry. We loved this town and are hoping to return at the end of February.

      The pizza was delicious, first one we have had in months and Josephine is the sweetest little thing, such a happy little dog.

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  8. Great picture of you overlooking Walker Bay, you look like some world famous traveler, oh I forgot, you really are! :c)

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    1. Thanks Paul and Marti, not sure about the "famous" part but I guess we are becoming world travelers.

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  9. Great shots of you guys hiking.... And your little poodle host is adorable!!!

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    Karen and Steve
    (Blog) RVing: The USA Is Our Big Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com
    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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    1. Thank you Karen and Steve, and yes Josephine was adorable.

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  10. Replies
    1. Yes, it is and we are taking it all in because you just never know what tomorrow will bring.

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