Hermanus, South Africa
Tourism

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facilities for all kinds of water sports. The coastal waters, in which some record catches have been made, attract numbers of anglers, and the fishing industry ranks along with tourism as a major source of income.

The town takes its name from an itinerant Dutch teacher named Hermanus Pieters who, with his flock of sheep, encamped at a nearby spring in 1830. The original name of the place, Hermanuspietersfontein, was, fortunately, shortened when it gained the status of a town in 1904.

The beginnings of tourism in Hermanus date back to the 19th C: the town's first hotel was opened in 1891, and holiday homes began to be built round the harbor in the early years of the 20th C.

Hermanus consists of a seemingly endless succession of holiday and weekend houses. The heart of the town, however, round the harbor, is quite small. In this area there are a number of restored fishermen's houses, now occupied by restaurants, bars and shops.

A good general impression of Hermanus can be had from the 10km/6mi long Cliff Path which runs from the New Harbour to Grotto Beach. Between June and November there are good prospects of seeing whales close inshore.