A great week of fun and adventure has been planned by Hermanus Adventures in conjunction with PSG Konsult starting on Saturday 1 October at 07:00 with a half marathon and 6km fun run from Hermanus High School and ending on Saturday 9th October with an 800m open water swim in the Hermanus Old Harbour.

Say Bonjour, don your beret and play Boules on the lawns of the Marine Hotel. Enquiries to tikari@hermanus.co.za

Enjoy your boyhood all over again and play with the trains at the Conference Centre above the Wine Village at the Hemel en Aarde Village. The Overberg Modular Railway Club will be exhibiting their large 7 x 5 meter HO (1:87) scale 16.5 mm gauge track modular layout, with rolling stock of the old SAR (such as the Blue Train & Orange Express) plus trains of German, Swiss, Austrian, English and American origin on display. Contact Paul Wolvaart – 084 520 2033

Get your adrenelin pumping and try out the fantastic mountain bike routes through the Hemel en Aarde valley. 5, 15, 25 & 45 km rides are on offer through spectacular scenery on single and jeep tracks.  Contact Jan van Schalkwyk - 082 850 1062

Sign up for the first ever Cliff Path Night Run from Grotto Beach to the New Harbour. Pound the cliff paths, skim the single tracks, cross the Mussel River and enjoy a welcome cold drink at the end. Contact Paul du Toit 082 820 3331

Challenge yourself on a 15km Mtb  or trail run time trial. Fast, furious and fun! A short warm up on tar, then it is you, the bush and the clock. Great jeep tracks, winding single tracks, very little climbing and some great fun. It is the challenge of the future, only yourself to beat.  Cyclists will set of one by one every 30 sec and rock the daisies against the clock!

Consider a trial run? The 12 & 17 km Trail Runs will lead you where very few humans have ran before. Beautiful mountain trails, along river banks and forest tracks. The fynbos will be in full bloom with protea and heather in abundance. The 12 km climbs to 305 m, while the 17 km will have your heart pumping at 435 meters climbing. The 6 km Bosloop will take the novice on a run of a lifetime.

Swim with whales. Dive in for the 800 meters Open Water Swim in Southern Right Whales territory! Under strict supervision of Walker Bay Adventures and the NSRI we will take swimmers on a 400m outward bound buoy to return and finish in the Old Harbour. Contact Deon Ferreira - 082 460 2943

Entry forms for these events are available from The Wine Village or Euodia Cycles, or enter on line

This quiet little village of Stanford, tucked away alongside the meandering Klein River as one drives between Hermanus and Gansbaai, sure knows how to throw a party!

At the recent STANFORD OESFEES CHALLENGE on the 19 March at Sir Robert Stanford Estate, 200 participants successfully competed in the first Stanford Oesfees Challenge. The 10km trail run and mountain bike ride was presented by Hermanus Adventures. They generously donated R1, 000.00 of their entry fees to Hospice Overstrand.

The Stanford Canoe Race was staged during the morning with over 100 canoeists participating. The 20km circular race was won by Lance King of the Milnerton Canoe Club.

The  Summer Concert audience  enjoyed the music by Sterling EQ, while tucking into their picnic hampers. There could not have been a more spectacular venue enhanced by an amazing Harvest Moon.  Stanford’s wine farms are hard to beat for setting, scenery and good old fashioned hospitality.

Put this date in your diaries for next year folks! Stanford is the place to be during the harvest.

Be part of the world wide celebration of Earth Hour on Saturday 27th March 2010 at the Village Green in Stanford! After the success of Stanford’s 2009 Earth Hour,  it was decided to enhance this event and create a fund-raising opportunity in support of Overberg Conservation Foundation.

With the Cape Town Jazz Fest taking  place 3 days after Earth Hour, the timing was perfect to organise a Mini Jazz Festival in our own village.  The Stanford restaurants will function as Jazz Venues for that evening, and the purchase of a ticket for R60 will gain entrance to all restaurants bordering the Village green and the High street. You are encouraged to meander the High Street restaurants and sample all the delicious foods, company and music on offer.

The event is proud to host Chad Zerf, pianist and vocalist from the UCT school of Jazz, getting ready to perform with George Benson himself at the Cape Town Jazz Fest; Morne Katz - brilliant guitarist and vocalist/pianist; Michaela Faye Kruger in an excellent chocolate Jazz trio at the Art Cafe; Overberg’s very own icon, Piano Ben, will charm audiences with his professional smooooooth sounds at Evergrines; Les Witz at Paprika’s on Saxophone - toe tapping Dixie Jazz man, hat and all!  Johan Dowries from Hawston with the Gospel for the King Jazz Band will be on at Stanford Arms Hall.  On the Blues/ Jazz side famous SA musician Valient Swart, guitarist and vocalist, will be at Gypsies! For those looking for a great ‘knees up’, Mississipi Disco will be at La Finestra.

The Street Market begins at 3pm. The High Street will be closed to traffic and Stanford will turn into a mini New Orleans with treats and eats, pumpkins and pony rides.  The stores and antique shops will stay open late spilling their wares onto the High Street and the stoeps of Stanford.

The Earth Hour picnic on the Green will start at around 6pm. Local award winning produce will be on sale, and visitors can fill their picnic baskets.

The Church bells of the area will peal across the Kleinriver to mark the much awaited 100 million strong global movement of  Earth Hour, when the lights suddenly switch off at 8:30pm plunging the Village Green into Galaxies and Starlight.  The Hermanus Astronomy Society will have star pointers and be available for anyone interested in learning about the night sky.

At 10pm, the Jazz Fest will begin in the restaurants bordering the Green and along the High Street, introduced by a Sax playing “Oh what a wonderful world” across the Village Green. Contact Stanfordinfo or the Art Cafe to book your tickets.

There’ll be much buzzing about on dirt bikes next weekend as Stanford hosts the first round in the exciting Junior National Off-road Championships at Boscheuwel Farm, just outside the village on the R326.

Now in its fourth year, this event caters for riders between the ages of eight and seventeen riding motorcycles or quads. Competitors, together with their families, travel from all the corners of South Africa to participate. The 2009 champions Julian Greef Hoffman, Joshua Louw and Calvin Wiltshire  will again be competing.

The action starts on Saturday 6 February at 9h00. The junior motorcycle and quad classes will race for two hours and refuel at the pits on the Boscheuwel Farm. The senior classes will start their race at 12h00 and will be racing for about three hours. The loop for the two-wheelers will be partly sandy with tight technical sections as well as some hard pack sections while the route for quad racers will include rocky sections as well as technical parts in a forest and two river crossings.

Spectators are most welcome to be part of the action and although they can support their local heroes, motor-sport enthusiasts will be able to get close to the racing and view race bikes and quads prepared by some of South Africa’s well-known names including the former Dakar quad winner, Cornel de Villiers.

With the involvement of a series sponsor this year, the organisers - Western Cape Junior Off-road Club (WCJOC) - are hoping that junior off-road racing will be taken to a new level.

Take a drive out to the venue and give these talented youngsters your support! Stanford welcomes you and wishes you a wonderful weekend of competition and camaraderie.