Whales close enough to watch from the cliff path
Hermanus sits on the cliffs of Walker Bay, about ninety minutes from Cape Town, and is one of the best places in the world to watch whales from land. From roughly June to November southern right whales come into the bay to mate and calve, often just metres from the rocks along the town's cliff path. Beyond whale season there are beaches at Grotto and Voëlklip, wineries in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and fynbos walks in the Fernkloof Nature Reserve. Nearby Gansbaai is the base for shark-cage diving.