Hermanus has to be one of our favourite paddling areas. This beautiful little tourist town is situated about 1.5 hours from Cape Town. The magnificent rocky coastline serves as a wonderful contrast to the otherwise exuberant mansions above. Again care must be taken not to take on this paddle when conditions are bad as this coastline can be very unforgiving. There are very few safe put-in and take-out points so a little planning is needed too. Also, bear in mind that apparently between June and November the area from the New Harbour all the way to Gansbaai becomes a whale sanctuary. This means that you are only allowed to paddle here if accompanied by the local accredited tour operator. Ironically the only mention of this on the internet is on the tour operators own website.
We put-in at the New harbour on the small slipway used by all the local fishermen. I do think that they might charge you to drive into the harbour but I dont think they will charge you to launch your kayaks. We have never been confronted or charged as yet. Just don't disrupt the locals by leaving your car on the slipway or blocking one of their cars and all will be well. We just dropped our boats and gear on the slipway and parked the car at designated parking area. If the slipway is green, its more than likely slippery so be carefull. They do clean the moss of the slipway quite often though. Also be aware that this is a working harbour so have respect for the other vessels in the area.
The route to the Old harbour has some of the most magnificent rock faces and views. You often come across a colony of seals closer to the harbour, they also constitute as locals so respect them. If you adhere to the Whale Sanctuary times you should not see any whales in the bay unless they are really out of season. There was apparently whale sightings in the beginning of January this year so it does happen.
Also be aware that you will be affected by clapotis(waves reflecting back off rocks) the closer you get to the rocks. On Thursday there was a little bit of a swell so we stayed a little deeper most of the way. When we reached the point, The waves were pounding Boiling Pot and Castle Rock so we went a little wider around them into the Old Harbour. So far we have always been able to land at the Old Harbour, you must however be careful and check the sets so as not to end up on the rocks as the mouth of the harbour is quite small. We usually check the water conditions at the Old Harbour before start paddling. From the Old Harbour its a short walk into the heart of the little town. Not sure if its a good idea to leave your boats unattended though. From the sea the Lookout point opposite the harbour looks amazing as its a shear drop from above.
Aiming for The Old Harbour Mouth
Suz doing a beach landing
Nice view of the harbour wall and the cliff
As we still had a little time, we also paddled past the Marine Hotel tidal pool and a little further down before heading back to the New Harbour. I just love the New Harbour, to me its a very romantic little harbour filled with many good memories.
Suz upsetting a flock of gulls on the New Harbour wall
All in all due to time constraints we paddled 7.4km but this can quite easily be extended by paddling in the direction of Grotto Beach.
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