Day 1: Monday
On Monday Declan and I went to help the site team clean up the village. On Tuesday the former founders of Liv Lanseria came by so everything had to look neat and tidy. After 2 hours of cleaning up rubbish, we moved pebbles from the workshop to pre-school to finish a project we started the week before. After shoveling a lot of pebbles in a wheelbarrow and spreading them in the garden, our project was finished. At the end of the day I went to help the guys from the site team with other chores.
Tuesday:
On Tuesday, Willemijn, Declan and I, together with Barrie and Jacques, drove to Hermanus at 5 o’clock in the morning. Hermanus is a village beautifully situated on the coast, less than 2 hours drive from Cape Town. After a long drive of about 15 hours we arrived at our residence in the evening. We stayed with friends of Jaqcues and Barrie who moved from Johannesburg to Hermanus before Corona. It was a very hospitable and cozy family with 2 daughters. After dinner with the family we all went to sleep.
Wednesday:
Our first real day in Hermanus started on Wednesday. Around 8 o’clock we went into the mountains for a beautiful hike through the beautiful nature of Hermanus. In the middle of the hike we arrived at a Dam where we had a lovely swim. After the hike we went to the beach to have lunch at a restaurant called Dutchies. This restaurant has Dutch owners, so of course we couldn’t pass up a home-made bitterballen. Because of the hike everyone was tired and we fell asleep one by one on the beach. This had some nasty consequences for most of us, we went back to our place of residence ;). In the evening we did a real traditional braai with the family.
Thursday:
On Thursday, Willemijn, Declan and I got into the car early in the morning on our way to Cape Town. Because Table Mountain is an iconic place in Cape Town, we planned to take the elevator to the top of the mountain. Unfortunately the wind was too strong so the lift was closed and we went to eat a good portion of fish in the company of a seal. After a delicious breakfast we drove to the southernmost tip of Africa called “Cape of Good Hope”. Before starting the hike to reach the southernmost point, we met Barrie’s cousin from the UK. The walking tour was very nice and well worth it. At the end of the afternoon we drove back to Hermanus via the coast. During this ride we stopped to look at penguins and we had a nice drink with Barrie’s family. Once we arrived in Hermanus, Annemarie had cooked a delicious meal for us.
Friday:
On Friday we had a surf lesson planned from a local. Unfortunately, after 4 rounds of golf my shoulder dislocated and it was the end of the story. The rest was fed up after 2 hours of surfing and it was time for a delicious wine tasting. Annemarie took us to Creation. This beautiful vineyard was rated the best vineyard in the world 2 times in a row. After drinking a few glasses of wine, we drank a cocktail at the beautiful place Ficks on the coast. While we were enjoying our cocktail a whale swam by. In the evening we had another delicious braai with Fricky, Annemarie and Anelet.
Saturday:
On Saturday morning, together with Barrie, we took the car to Cape Town with a beautiful detour. On the way we passed through a French village with a nice market where we had delicious samosas. On the way to Cape Town, Barrie had a meeting and Declan, Willemijn and I had a delicious breakfast on a farm. After Barrie finished his meeting we continued our journey towards Cape Town. Once we arrived in Cape Town, we drove a bit along the coast and quickly got out to see a nice African shop. At 3 o’clock Willemijn and I had an appointment with some friends who do volunteer work in Cape Town, although they were 1.5 hours late, it was very nice. Once back in Hermanus, we went out with Anelet and her friends at the “Witte Haasie”.
Sunday:
Sunday I was broke and Willemijn and Declan tired. Despite the fact that it had become a late evening, Declan thought it was a good plan to go hiking for about 7 hours. I valued my sleep a little more and stayed in my nest for a few more hours. In the morning we went to church and then had a delicious lunch. At Willemijn’s request, we took a quick look at the art galleries and then went shopping for another delicious braai. After the braai everyone went to sleep early to get in the car early the next morning to Johannesburg.
