Hermanus
Encyclopedia
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...
province of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. It is famous as a place from which to watch Southern Right whale
Southern Right Whale
The southern right whale is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus Eubalaena. Like other right whales, the southern right whale is readily distinguished from others by the callosities on its head, a broad back without a dorsal fin, and a long arching...
s, during the southern winter and spring and is a popular retirement town. It has in recent years grown younger as there are 10+ schools and loads of new comers in the area. The whales can be seen from the cliffs in the town centre from as early as June. They were once hunted locally, but are now protected. The Old Harbour Museum contains several exhibitions which explain the whaling
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
history of Hermanus. There is also a Whale museum and whale watching services that will tell you more about the whales and area.
Location
Hermanus lies along the Walker BayWalker Bay
Walker Bay is a large bay located in the south-western Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the next major bay between False Bay near Cape Town and Cape Agulhas to the south-east. The bay is famous for having some of the best land based whale-watching in the world, which a town on its...
on the south coast of the Western Cape
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...
. It is located about 115 km southeast of Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
and is connected to the Mother City by the R43
R43 (Western Cape)
The R43 is a Regional Route in South Africa that connects Ceres with Gansbaai via Worcester, Botrivier and Hermanus. It is co-signed with the N2 for nine kilometres near Botrivier.-External links:*...
highway (or coastal R44
R44 (Western Cape)
The R44 is a Regional Route in South Africa that connects Piketberg with Kleinmond via Wellington, Stellenbosch and Somerset West. The coastal section between Kleinmond and Gordon's Bay is a very scenic ocean drive. The section between Gordon's Bay and Stellenbosch via Somerset West is a dual...
scenic route) and N2
N2 (South Africa)
The N2 is a National Route in South Africa; it is the main highway along the Indian Ocean coast of the country. The N2 starts in Cape Town in the Western Cape and runs through the cities of Port Elizabeth and East London in the Eastern Cape and Durban in KwaZulu-Natal to end at Ermelo in...
motorway. The R43 continues to Cape Agulhas
Cape Agulhas
Cape Agulhas is a rocky headland in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is the geographic southern tip of Africa and the official dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, the most southerly point of Africa. Hermanus is 40 km from Gansbaai
Gansbaai, Western Cape
Gansbaai is a fishing village and popular tourist destination in the Overberg District Municipality, Western Cape, South Africa...
, a famous spot where one can dive amongst the Great White Shark
Great white shark
The great white shark, scientific name Carcharodon carcharias, also known as the great white, white pointer, white shark, or white death, is a large lamniform shark found in coastal surface waters in all major oceans. It is known for its size, with the largest individuals known to have approached...
s.
It is also notable that Hermanus still boasts an historic railway station building although eventually no tracks were laid to connect the town to the national network. The founders of the town decided not to lay any tracks as this would have made Hermanus more commercial and they felt Hermanus needed to stay a small Fisherman Village and is still to this day know by the locals as "the Village".
Facilities
The Hermanus Magnetic ObservatoryHermanus Magnetic Observatory
SANSA Space Science, previously the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory is South Africa's national geomagnetic research facility. The observatory is situated in the town of Hermanus in the Western Cape Province and forms part of the South African National Space Agency.The observatory is an active...
(HMO), a research facility of the National Research Foundation
National Research Foundation of South Africa
South Africa’s National Research Foundation is the intermediary agency between the policies and strategies of the Government of South Africa and South Africa's research institutions....
, is part of the worldwide network which monitors variations of the Earth's magnetic field
Earth's magnetic field
Earth's magnetic field is the magnetic field that extends from the Earth's inner core to where it meets the solar wind, a stream of energetic particles emanating from the Sun...
.
Hermanus Yacht Club is a popular Yacht club in the Western Cape
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...
amongst the yachting community. It hosted the Laser (dinghy)
Laser (dinghy)
The International Laser Class sailboat, also called Laser Standard and the Laser One is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy. According the Laser Class Rules the boat may be sailed by either one or two people, though it is rarely sailed by two. The design, by Bruce Kirby, emphasizes...
4.7 worlds in 2007 http://laser47worlds07.sailing.org.za/
Hermanus is also famous to locals for its Windsor Hotel.
Beaches
Grotto Beach is the largest beach in Hermanus and has also been proclaimed a "Blue Flag" beach which ensures its preservation as a world heritage site. Other beaches include Voëlklip, Onrus, Kammabaai and Langbaai.Whales and Whale-spotting
Hermanus has since August 1992 the world’s only Whale Crier (Pieter Classen 1992-1998, Wilson Salukazana 1998-2006, Zolile Baleni since April 2006 ) who sounds his kelpKelp
Kelps are large seaweeds belonging to the brown algae in the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera....
horn to announce where whales have been sighted. Zakes Mda
Zakes Mda
Zakes Mda , legally Zanemvula Kizito Gatyeni Mda , is a South African novelist, poet and playwright. He has won major South African and British literary awards for his novels and plays.-Early life and education:...
wrote 2005 the novel The Whale Caller (ISBN 0-312-42382-9) in which the Whale Crier of Hermanus is the main character, a man who gets enthralled by a Southern Right whale
Right whale
Right whales are three species of large baleen whales consisting of two genera in the family Balaenidae of order Cetacea. Their bodies are very dark gray or black and rotund....
he names Sharisha.