Friday 23 September-Sunday 25 September

This weekend Harriet, Rodrigo and I went to Hermanus for the annual whale festival. I actually went to the festival two years ago when I was here previously. The weather was pretty bad last time I went. I remember it was cold and rainy. But Friday when we went the weather was beautiful, sunny without a cloud in the sky. We rented a car and because of a mistake with the car company (their fault not mine) we got upgraded to a huge Toyota SUV. This thing was a monster and I was pretty nervous about driving it. That and the fact that they drive on the left hand side here made me a bit anxious. But it didn’t take long to get used to it and the fact that I was so nervous made me extra careful probably more so than I would have been usually.

We left Gordon’s Bay at about 4 after I went and picked up the car and since we were in no rush, we stopped at the dam in Gordon’s Bay. It’s located on the mountains that overlook our fair city and both Harriet and Rodrigo had never been. There is an absolute beautiful view from up there and I really just wanted to show them that and drive up the super windy road that takes you up there. We took a few pictures before heading back down and embarking on our journey to Hermanus. Hermanus is located about an hour and half away from Gordon’s Bay and we took the long way so we could get a chance to drive along the coast. The drive was beautiful, lots of curves which was kind of scary but overall it was very enjoyable. We even saw a whale on a way there so I had to pull over just so we could get a glimpse of this great giant of the sea. It was awesome.

Finding our way to the backpackers took some doing but we finally arrived at our destination: Hermanus Backpackers. It was a very nice backpackers and the price included breakfast which you know I loved. We relaxed for a bit before going to see where the action was and finding our way to the main part of Hermanus. We met up with some other volunteers who were just coming for the night and had dinner. I can’t remember the name of the place but I know the food was good.

After dinner, we went to a concert. Mel had highly recommended a band called Prime Circle so we went to check it out. The opening band was a group called D7 and they were so good. I loved them. They were this a capella group and they were fabulous. I took a video of them because I loved them so much. They beat boxed, sang and even busted a couple moves. Prime Circle however was not my cup of tea. They reminded me of Nickelback and those kinds of groups from the 90s. It was honestly torture and I felt really bad because we spent R130 to get into this concert and didn’t want to waste it by leaving. So we sat in the tables at the back, talking and mostly trying to drown out the music. Horrible, I know but they just weren’t my style. Eventually we did decide to call it quits and walked back in the dark to our nice comfy beds.

Saturday bought bad weather. Not rainy but cloudy and not very warm. We had breakfast which consisted of toast, porridge and tea/coffee. Not exactly a five star meal but I ate because of course I had already paid for it. We spent the morning watching a rugby game England v…..I can’t remember. I was with a bunch of Brits so I just remember cheering for England. I think it was Scotland or maybe Ireland, one of the those countries. Anyways, we spent most of the day wondering around the different shops and stalls, looking for souvenirs. Oh and then there was the car situation. So as I stated earlier the car company messed up on their end by not getting me the right car. So the plan was to exchange the SUV for the car I had booked at 11 but the car company called me and said that because of the festival the car would be late. I spent most of the day trying to call them to figure out when the car got there with no luck. Turns out the car company closed at 1, something you think they would mention in the voicemail they left me. It was very annoying especially after I learned on Sunday about them closing at 1.

But no worries, we still had a great time. We walked back to the backpackers and chilled there for a while playing cards and pool, having a good time. Then Sunday we had to exchange the car which was a hassle of course so really we only ended up exchanging the car having lunch and then driving back since I had to return the car in Strand. It was fine though. It was a great weekend.