Beaches
Hermanus is home to some of the finest beaches in the world. There are several beaches from which to choose, Grotto being possibly the most popular with it’s picturesque mountain backdrop and expansive powdery white beach sand. In addition see the following:
- Hawston
In the village of Hawston, magnificent beach, picnic & BBQ areas.
- Voëlklip
Ablution facilities, good surf spot and great sun tanning.
- Langbaai
Just beautiful
- Kammabaai
Great surf spot, picnic and BBQ areas.
- Sandbaai
Rock pools, great snorkelling
- Onrus Beach
Great body boarding & surfing
- Breakfast Bay
Situated at Vermont. Good picnic spot, sheltered beach.
Cycling
- Fernkloof Mountain biking trail
- Eastcliff cycling track
Fernkloof Nature Reserve (Fynbos)
There is no other recorded place on earth where as many different species of fynbos can be seen growing in such close proximity as in the Fernkloof Nature Reserve. A total of 1 474 species have been collected and identified to date. Fynbos is endemic to the Western Cape and can be seen in abundance along the famous Hermanus Cliff Paths.
 Fernkloof Nature Reserve
Golfing
Hermanus Golf CLub
Arabella Golf
Kleinbaai Golf
Tel: (028) 384 1441
Kleinmond Golf
The Hermanus Cliff Paths which are approximately 12 kms long meander along the coastline from the New Harbour in Westcliff to Grotto Beach in Voëlklip offering excellent vantage points for whale watching, fantastic photo opportunities and a wonderful way to keep fit.
Paragliding
Climatic factors offer perfect paragliding conditions in Hermanus.
Overberg Paragliding Club
Rob Sterling 082-771-8171
Greg Hamerton 083-285-3775
The weather and the mountains of the area make Hermanus a paragliders paradise. Summer skies are usually dotted with the reds and blues and yellows of paragliders as they soar over the Olifantsberg and land on the perfectly positioned high school fields.
Scuba Diving
With several wrecks in the Hermanus and Gansbaai areas, scuba diving is popular with dives varying in depth from 9m to 40 m. Reefs are accessable by boat but experienced divers will guide you to shore entry points.
Scuba diving can be done at Hermanus and nearby Gansbaai. There are several wrecks that can be explored and various reefs ranging in depth from 9m to 40m. Most reefs are only accessible by boat, but shore entries are possible at certain points.
Shark Diving (Gansbaai)
White shark cage diving and surface viewing has become one of South Africa's biggest tourist attractions in the past few years with most of the White Shark Dive operators working out of Gansbaai, just a few minute's drive from Hermanus.
This is a must see and and you're not obligated to cage dive, boat based viewing of these maginificent creatures is fascinating. See the colony of Jackass Penguins on Dyer Island and the enormous colony of seals at Geyser Island on your day out with one of the professional dive operators.
White Shark Cage Dive Operators leave from Kleinbaai harbour (Gansbaai) daily subject obviously to prevailing weather conditions.
Surfing
Great spots for surfing and body boarding:
Whale Watching
Whale watching does take pride of place amongst tourist attractions as there's nowhere else in the world where land based viewing is so conveniently layed out. The Cliff Paths offer excellent vantage points to view the whales as you sit on one of the many benches strategically placed along the paths for visitors to relax and take in the spleandour of Hermanus. |
