Last weekend was for the Whales. Thousands of visitors descended upon our neighbouring seaside town, Hermanus, and at all accessible vantage spots along this glorious stretch of Cape Whale Coast for the annual Whale festival.

This weekend, 1 - 3 October, Stanford plays host to the avid twitchers and assorted avian enthusiasts at the annual Stanford Bird Fair, proudly sponsored by Strettons Gin.

You don’t have to know your penguins from your pelicans to join in the fun. Adults can sign up for a Drama workshop, or flower painting Art workshop. The sponsored “Strettons Gin tasting” will be followed by a Sunset market and dance on the Village Green. For the energetic, there will be a fun run, touch rugby and an endurance horse race. The children have lots to keep them busy -  scarecrow building, baking classes, five-a-side soccer, magician shows, jumping castles, treasure hunts and drum majorettes.

Heritage walks will take you on an interesting tour of our historical village, through beautiful open gardens. A short river cruise will give you a wonderful view of the glorious Klenrivier mountains and enable you to spot some interesting aquatic birds. The Village Green will be rocking (when the birds have gone to sleep) with live music and cabaret shows and the Birkenhead Brewery will host a family lunch on Sunday.

Come on over and see what life is like in the countryside.

The Southern Right Whales are back in town, and have been seen at that delightful restaurant “Coffee on the Rocks” at De Kelders, as well as from view points along the Cliff path in Walker Bay. Now we’re waiting for the tourists to arrive. In efforts to lure them out to our wonderful region, the Cape Whale Coast was represented at the International trade show in Berlin, the biggest tourism show in Europe. The Whale crier, in full regalia, was a huge hit, and the kelp horns were in great demand. At the Tourism Indaba in Durban, the Cape Whale Coast stand was beautifully decorated with fynbos, kindly sponsored by Honingklip farm.