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slowing to slightly obey the speed limit as we passed the hamlets . In Betty ’ s Bay , we picked up the stench of rotting fish that marked the penguin colony . In Kleinmond , I picked up the familiar odor of bread baking from the famous Brood Stories bakery , known for its perfectly imperfect range of sour dough loaves . My best tip here is to stop and grab one of their Cinnabon rolls . The orange one is particularly good , and the pecan nut and maple syrup never disappoints .
At the large impressive Fisherhaven Lagoon , we turned to head into Hermanus . This large flat body of water that forms an estuary along the Bot River , was famously used during World War Two as a landing zone for the seaplanes that were deployed to form a protective barrier preventing ships from rounding the Cape .
This is also where the wine farms started popping up . Benguela Cove is one of my favorites . The owner , an Australian lady called Penny , has settled here , and developed the farm into one well known around the globe for its range of wines . Everything from top bubbly to a mix of reds and whites that are fast winning awards . Penny has also created an impressive set up on site . A water park , an art gallery and a restaurant that is as good as any I know around the world . Try their cheese platter and you won ’ t be sorry . You can tell that I have frequented the place and yes , this is true . Fisherhaven , just ten kilometres before the town of Hermanus , is where I now live and where I spent the year before this ride , building my family a new home . The lagoon that once saw sea planes moored at the water ’ s edge , now sees me kayaking , fishing and my young son , learning to swim . With my own home being our first night ’ s stop , we pulled the bike into the parking garage and headed straight into my little bar for a beer . Both Mike and I could not wipe the smiling smirks from our faces . The bike that we had both dreamed of , had arrived .
Hermanus is a spectacularly beautiful seaside town most famous for the wine and the whales , yes , but it also has a distinctly European feel with cobbled streets and quaint little eateries dotting the streets right near the ocean edge . There are brilliant hiking trails , a seaside cliff path , adventurous kayaking , and boat trips on the impressive Walker Bay . It ’ s a culinary hot spot with locally made cheeses and breads , a great Saturday morning country market and dozens of top wine estates to visit . The town is noted for the presence of whales that often swim within sight of the coastline of the town . Although the Southern Right whale is the most prolific species in Hermanus bay , it is not the only one in the area . The whales can be seen from the cliffs all along the coast from as early as June and usually depart in early- December . Settled back in the 1800 ’ s by a Dutch teacher named Hermanus Pieters , the town was originally called “ Hermanus Pieters se Fonteyn ” and later Hermanuspietersfontein . However , in 1902 , the postmaster , having difficulties with the lengthy name in the postal service , abbreviated the name to Hermanus .
Day two had us leaving home with a chilly bite in the air . The traffic was thick towards the town of Hermanus with the school holidays having just ended . I suggested that we turn off and head into the mountains and find some dirt to play on . The bike would take us down to Cape Agulhas and on to De Hoop , where we would overnight , in a moment , so rushing along was not needed . I knew some great trails on the back side of the Stanford Mountains and was itching to see how the bike felt on gravel . Big Mike did not need any convincing and just said , “ Hell yes !”
The moment we turned off the main road , traffic was reduced to one in a thousand , the roads became dirt and the mountains in our path meant a lot of wiggling and winding . Huge storm clouds were hovering to the west . Luckily , we were headed east and just had to stay ahead of them . Or so we thought .
It had been a particularly wet season with lots of flooding and storms causing damage to homes
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