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

The Heritage Day long weekend at the end of September sees thousands of eager whale watchers  embark on a pilgrimage to Hermanus - the land based whale watching capital of the world.

Here, they eagerly jostle along the cliff paths with binoculars and long lenses, pointing and oooohing as these great beasts leap and splash their gigantic bodies out of the clear blue sea to breach and fluke and lobtail and skyhop. These massive mammals intrigue and fascinate us with their haunting calls and immense power.

But here’s the thing………..whales are very intelligent, but they can’t read calendars so they just loll about in the bay EVERY weekend in September, and October, and even in November before their babies get big enough to swim all the way down to the Antarctic where supplies of krill are more prolific.

So pay us a visit any time between now and the end of the whale season, and you will be rewarded by their evocative calls and jaw dropping displays as they leap out of the water in playful glee. You may not get the music and concerts, the fun and the games but you’ll still get the whales, without the crowds!