A whale of a time

This past weekend, my study abroad program took us to Hermanus, a little town about an hour and half away from Cape Town. Because its FINALLY spring, its whale season. This means that the entire coast is dotted with whales who have come up from Antarctica for the nice weather.

I wasn't really expecting much because I hadn't done much research on where I was headed toward, but it ended up being one of the most beautiful places I've seen while in South Africa. 

It's a very touristy town, and is known for its shark diving and whales. 

Spring time flowers!

We went to Hermanus on South African Heritage Day, which is also known as National Braai Day (or national barbeque day). 

So, the entire town set up tents and grills and played music and hung out on the beach. 

Baby seal we happened upon!

Red cappucino. Rooibos tea latte with honey.  Rooibos is a South African tea that its known for. Sooo delicious. 

Seafood pasta with a view of the sea, can life get better?

This guy is the world's only whale crier. He walks up and down the coast and blows his horn when he sees a whale so everyone can rush to the shore to look. At this time of year, that's pretty much constantly.

There was a flower festival going on in Hermanus, which was cute but not not really my thing. The flowers were beautiful, especially the protea, but I can only look at flowers for so long.

Me and a few others who felt the same way about staring at flowers took a tuk tuk (preferred method of transport in Hermanus...more on that later) back to town to instead stare at whales. We walked down this little cliff path and saw about 5 whales playing in the water. 

Me, having a whale of a time. 

I wasn't very good a whale photography, but we saw a TON of whales. Pretty much every time I looked at the ocean, I saw a whale. They would leap out of water, flip their fins, do what whales do. They were so peaceful, as was the whole town. It was a much needed break from hectic city life. 

I love the Dutch style arcitecture in Hermanus. South Africa was largely built up in the 70s and 80s, which weren't the best time periods for architecture, but the Dutch style homes are one of the exceptions to this rule.  

Hermanus craft market. 

I'm not really contented to sit and look at the ocean all day, so I broke away from the rest of the group and wandered through out the town exploring. Hermanus is tiny, touristy, and quiet but I still liked wandering around a bit. I came across this adorable vintage shop.

This alley. 

This garden, where a wedding was taking place, but I was careful not to take any stalker shots of them on the other side of the garden.

This adorable little independent bookshop.

A typical Hermanus house showing its South African pride. 

Because it was national braai day, we cooked a big feast at our hostel. We over cooked, and ate about half the food that we prepared, but it was delicious. We had pap with tomato sauce, boerewors (South African sausage, typically made by Afrikaans farmers), salad, and rice with a vegetable curry. 

Tuk tuk, what tourists use to get around Hermanus. 

What's funny is that we actually saw a lot of baboons... 

On Sunday morning we woke up super early and went for a hike up to a lake in the middle of this valley. We walked out to a little stand in the middle of the lake...

The bridge on the way to the stand was almost there. 

This water was the coldest I'd ever felt, and that's coming from a girl who spent many summers on the coast of Maine. 

Glad to know that the watch out for the baboons sign was completely necessary.

Went back with some friends to get brunch on the coast and left most of the group behind to chill on this stand. 

It was a very relaxing weekend. This weekend, I'm going to Durban for a day, and then driving down the Wild Coast, the eastern coast of South Africa that is far more rural than most. 

Tsitsikamma

We were only in Tsitsikamma for a few hours, but it was by far my favorite spot on the Garden Route. Home to the largest bungee jump in the world, Tsitsikamma is a network of national parks that are home to mountains, beaches, hiking trails, and water falls. We went straight to Tsitsikamma canopy tours (http://www.canopytour.co.za/locations/tsitsikamma), which claims to donate 50% of its profits to various initiatives that stimulate the local economy and support the local community, but when we asked our guide about it she burst out laughing, and I can’t help but think it might be a scam.

Mom and I before our canopy tour. 

Mom’s first canopy tour!

Mommy and me.

I had been on a canopy tour in Nicaragua through the jungle, and to be honest this tour was not quite as impressive.The company also provides you with a meal, but the R450 per person charge is still a bit pricey. My mom, however, had never done a canopy tour and had the time of her life. We both had so much fun figuring out how to maneuver through the forest and doing it together made it that much better.

After our canopy tour we drove to Storm’s River Mouth national park. It was R50 per person to enter, which is about $7 per person, and it was completely, 100% worth it.

 

I didn’t notice this til now, but we were both wearing black spandex and blue north face rain jackets the whole day. Like mother, like daughter I guess. 

You can camp or rent cabins along the beach at Storm’s River Mouth, and I definitely want to come back and do so. They’re relatively inexpensive, especially if you’re sharing a cabin with a bunch of people and you have one of the most beautiful views possible looking out your front window. 

http://www.saparks.com/accommodation/tsitsikamma_storms_river.aspx

Me hanging out in an absolutely massive cave. 

We went for a hike on the mountain alongside the ocean to see the suspension bridge that went across the river mouth.

The plants along the pathway were so different than what you’d expect on a hike in New England. 

Mom said it had to be one of the most beautiful hikes she’d ever been on, and I think I’d have to agree. We were both speechless as we walked along the jungle-like pathway parallel to the water.

The main suspension bridge was closed for construction. Erosion on one side of the mountain had caused unreliability with the suspension cables. I wasn’t about to test its limits after hearing that…

I did go on the suspension bridge on the other side, however. It was quite bouncy but sturdy and it really cool to watch the waves come in underneath the bridge.

A wave just as it crashes underneath me, and my hiking boots. I bought these hiking boots a few days before I left and thought they were exceptionally ugly at the time. They are now my closest friends. They’re so durable, so comfortable, and essential for being in Cape Town. So, thank you, LL Bean. And they’re not ugly, they’re very cute hiking boots. I use them at least once a week, maybe more and were definitely in my top 5 best purchases for this trip (some others being my digital watch which is also an alarm clock and my camera). I’ve discovered a love for hiking here and will definitely be continuing it back home. I know I’ll be dragging Russell to the AMC huts in New Hampshire next summer (get excited!!) and I can’t wait. 

While standing on the rocks and looking out at the ocean at Storms River Mouth, I got the feeling that I was at the end of the world. Then I realized that I was looking out at the end of the world. At every other beach I’ve been too I’ve been looking out at a horizon that had a coast on the other side, with people just like me looking over it. Here, I’m at the bottom of a continent, and the only thing between me and the tip of the world is some penguins on Antarctica. Realizing that there was no other humans out there as I looked out across the ocean was an indescribable, overwhelming feeling that can’t be captured with either words or pictures. 

Tsitsikamma is just one of the national park areas that South Africa has to offer. There is so much natural beauty in this country that its almost overwhelming. Seeing another part of the country made me want to explore South Africa more. I’m going on a different kind of adventure this weekend, to a city: Johannesburg.