Day 8 - Hermanus

As I stated yesterday, Hermanus is the place to see whales. Yesterday, as we were driving to our hotel, we saw several whales in Walker Bay just floating around from our vantage point high up in the hills. Today our goal was to get front and center with them; however, they really weren't out today. It's alway my luck, right? Still it was a great time. 

Three of us started out the morning by sea kayaking in the bay. We went out with a guide in two tandem open-top kayaks and probably paddled about 3-4km altogether. We saw a bunch of fur seals lounging in the sun in the water. It was cute how they would lie on their side and have one arm out holding its fin. One even swam right by us about a foot away! We didn't get up close and personal with any whales, but we did manage to see one in the distance. The water was a little choppy with some large waves rolling thru. It just made it a little more difficult for me, but otherwise it was a lot of fun! 

A few folks from the group were daring enough to go swimming with the sharks in a cage. It really didn't interest me. One woman who went on the shark trip emailed her kids the night before, saying that she is fine and healthy, but realized they did not know where her will was!  What a great way to let your kids know you're going swimming with sharks!

After our kayak trip, I walked along the cliff walk in Hermanus just to walk but also keep an eye out for whales.  I did manage to see one breaching off in the distance and got picture of it, but that's it. 

Folks were saying that because it was so warm out today, the whales were not coming close to shore. What a bummer, especially since had we stayed at a hotel in town, we could have walked around yesterday and seen lots of whales. While out on my walk I ran into the whale crier and asked if he'd seen many whales today, and he said no. He said there were many yesterday, but very few today. Oh well. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and then I had a 90 min massage. I figured if I'm staying at a spa, I need to take advantage of the services, right?

Tomorrow we leave bright and early for the airport. We fly to Johannesburg and then embark on a 4-hour drive (so I've been told) to the Entebani Game Reserve to begin our quest for the big 5! Yippee!!!!!!