R&R, shipwrecks and cats.

Having now had three days R&R in the delightful little seaside town of Hermanus we need to pack and move on to our next location tomorrow. Nothing much to report, since it been mostly pool, clifftop walks, eating and drinking in this lovely place, but it will be sad to leave.

Two interesting tinctures we’ve tried whilst here though are these two beauties.

The Seemonster wine is a local wine from a small family winery located in the little-known but fast-emerging wine region of Walker Bay, just along the coast. There really are some great wines available in this area, all very reasonably priced, with many being as little as £8 in a restaurant. This particular wine appealed because of the label. No pretentious picture of a chateau or bodega, just a bizarre image of a ships cat, like something out of Pirates of the Caribbean. Reminds me of a lot of the great wines that are produced in hundreds of wineries across the New World. It was also one of the best wines we’ve had so far on our trip. 

The beer is an excellent brew from a local brewery, The Birkenhead Brewery, named after a sailing ship, HMS Birkenhead, that sank off the coast around these parts in 1852.

The ship was carrying over 600 troops and civilians, including some children, destined for the eastern cape. As the ship sank, the horses on board were released into the sea, where it was hoped that they would survive, but there were insufficient lifeboats for the crew and passengers, so the captain, Captain Salmond, issued the historic command “Women and Children first”, which has become known as ‘The Birkenhead Drill’.

Of the 643 people on board, 193 were saved. And eight of the horses made it to land. Of course, cruises around the Cape of Good Hope are much safer these days, with probably not many horses either.

Tonight we’re dining just down the road at a Greek restaurant, Theo’s Taverna ( when in Rome etc.) and tomorrow morning we pick up our hire car and head off for a few days exploring the famous Garden Route along this beautiful coastline.