Hermanus has a newer east side which is very orderly: numbered avenues are perpendicular to the coastline and numbered streets are parallel to it, with a huge golf course separating it from the west side.. On the west side of town things are a bit more chaotic with old resort hotels and market places. 
We are on the east side at the very top of 10th Ave. and 11th St, right up in the fynbos beneath enormous craggy peaks. We got up at 6:30 to clearing skies and drove straight down 10th Ave to take a walk on the famous coastal walkway. Krista, our hostess, had asked us to postpone breakfast until 9 AM as there were some children in residence (maybe grandchildren) and she knew we wouldn't have a peaceful meal.
Our B&B - upper left balcony is ours
There was no traffic and we easily found parking right next to an entryway through thick, high coastal scrub. The Fernkloof Nature Reserve is in charge of this marvelous, paved walkway. It tunnels through 8-12' high shrubs and actual native trees - I think maybe some kind of ficus. These are the first trees we have encountered in our entire trip - with the exception of imported Monterey Pine and Eucalyptus. We're at the latitude of San Luis Obispo/Santa Barbara, California, and it's strange to have the continent end right here. If it continued on south five hundred miles, or so, there might be great forests in southern Africa.
The walkway has side paths leading down to beautiful coves and beaches and it continues on for miles. We saw a brave old dowager diving into the surf as I expect she does every day of the year, joggers with happy dogs, African Oystercatchers on the rocks, and crystal clear, turquoise water. We walked a couple of miles, spotted some whales dozing with their fins in the air, and a baboon being chased off a balcony (!), and then headed back to our elegant B&B for poached eggs, tomatoes, bacon and mushrooms with great seed bread.
We left our B&B about ten, drove a couple of miles to the center of town and then headed straight up to the base of the mountains to the Fernkloof Nature Reserve, managed by the Hermanus Botanical Society. Their information cabin had about 20 different flowers in vases labeled with their scientific names so we had a chance of identifying some of the currently blooming species. They also have six different color-coded hiking trails with a map so we took off, climbing out of the damp green canyon up onto the mountain sides above the town.
We were surrounded by yellow Proteas, Ericas, and many families we had never heard of! The hike wound around the hill sides, climbing up and turning back on itself and joining the other trails. We ended high on a steep mountain side and then descended into a leafy canyon with Cape beech trees and Assegai trees (used to make the short cutting war blades of the Zulu) and found a pretty waterfall. Finishing our descent we returned to our car after hiking about three miles.
We thought we'd drive to the east side of town and see where Burgundy, the restaurant recommended by Krista, is located. With the help of Gps we got there and also found the Marine Hotel, a Relais & Chateaux hotel, and one of the best in So Africa. Their restaurant menu looked really good (maybe for tomorrow) and we walked inside to a lovely lounge and bar and sat down and had a beer and a Campari and tonic for a late lunch.
We returned home and relaxed for a couple of hours and then changed clothes and drove back downtown for an early dinner. I had planned to shop at some of the many craft shops in the area but strangely, on a Friday night, everything except restaurants, was closed. I had thought, being so close to Cape Town, the area would be rocking on a weekend night. We had a pleasant, but unexciting dinner at Burgundy. It is becoming blustery and it may rain soon, so we may have to change our plans to visit the Porter Botanical Garden in Betty's Bay tomorrow.
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