Day 8 (out of order I know)

Adeeb and I left the children at the shark diving drop off, and navigated toward Hermanus, a short drive away on the south eastern coast of South Africa, where the waters of the Indian and Atlantic cohabited.

Hermanus offers the best land venue for the viewing of whales in the world! A 12 km walkway complete with viewing benches borders the shore. There are huge rocks right off the shore and around these rocks we saw many fins/flippers poking out of the water. The guide book said that we were in prime whale watching season and one would always see whales so I suppose those were whales.

I also read that whales do something called logging which is resting with only a fin or the top of their head showing. There are some other movements that I read about-body rolls and pec slaps and another movement that they do when the water is choppy which it was (That is why we had to get up at four to reach the shark dive area by 7 a.m., in case the weather got questionable) The rough waters might have prevented the whales from breaching, I am assuming they were engaged in one of the above behaviors and would like to have gotten more information on them. This is a hint for Tiffany.

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After the whale walk, Adeeb and I decided to visit a vineyard. We chose the Hamilton Russel Vineyard which was started in 1975. It is the most southerly vineyard in South Africa and very near the sea,only 3 km away, in the gorgeous Hemel-en-Aarde valley, bordering Hermanus. They only produce two wines, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and are regarded by wine enthusiasts world wide for being the best in South Africa and in the world. Hamilton Russel wine was the only South African wine chosen to be served at a banquet honoring Nelson Mandela at Buckingham Palace.

The drive to the vineyard was breathtaking. As we neared the entrance road, we saw a few men trimming trees and then on the up sloping side of the road, we saw a baboon, then more baboons of all ages, probably about fifty or so. The tree trimmers worked as if they were not there, the way I barely notice squirrels in my yard at home.

The tasting room was located in a lovely building, on a small lake and as it was winter there was a small fire in the cozy fireplace. We tasted both wines, were hooked and bought a bottle of each. We then headed back to pick up the children from the shark dive adventure.