Hermanus, ZA

Hemel-en-Aarde valley restaurant doing 'The Story of Creation' — a seasonal multi-course pairing menu matching estate wines to fish, game and produce from the valley. The destination meal of the region.

Lunch-only valley restaurant attached to the Newton Johnson cellar, a single set menu and a long view down the upper Hemel-en-Aarde. Smaller and more intimate than Creation, equally good.

Hemel-en-Aarde estate with chef Bruce Robertson cooking serious meat — dry-aged steaks, slow-cooked lamb — on a wide-windowed veranda over the vineyards. The meaty alternative to the tasting-menu places.

Central Hermanus grill restaurant doing dry-aged steaks, ribs and the local karoo lamb in a brick-walled room with a working fireplace. The reliable in-town dinner when you don't want to drive into the valley.

Restaurant built into a sea cave below the cliff path, accessed by a steep flight of stairs — seafood platters, line-fish, a view of the waves hitting the rocks under your table. Touristy and unmissable.

Old Harbour seafood restaurant in a thatched 1875 cottage with arguably the best harbour view in town. Long-established, formal-without-fuss, the traditional Hermanus dinner.

Long-running Italian-Med-leaning restaurant in central Hermanus, doing solid pasta, a good wine list and the kind of long lunch that suits a whale-watching day.

All-day bistro on Main Road doing creative breakfasts, salads and big mains — the signature 'rainbow' breakfasts are the calling card. The default walk-in lunch room in the village.

Pocket-sized bistro in Stanford (just outside Hermanus) doing garden-grown vegetables, eggs and meats in a Victorian country cottage. A long-standing country-kitchen favourite worth the drive.

Hemel-en-Aarde estate doing a tapas-and-picnic-style lunch menu under the oak trees in the cellar courtyard. The casual option for a valley lunch when Creation or Newton Johnson are too formal.

Cult Hemel-en-Aarde estate with a picnic lunch option you take out into the gardens. Wine is the headline; the picnic and the lake setting are the point.

Small-batch specialty roastery on Aberdeen Street in the town centre, roasting and brewing by hand. The town's coffee-nerd corner, with a few pastries to go alongside.

1,800-hectare fynbos reserve on the mountainside above Hermanus — 60km of marked trails from 1km strolls to a six-hour summit. One of the best fynbos walks in the country and free.

The town's defining walk — 12km of coast from New Harbour to Grotto Beach, paved most of the way, with a string of viewing benches and whale lookouts. Walk all of it or any 2km section.

Forty-minute loop up a small hill in the middle of town to a panoramic viewpoint over Walker Bay and inland to the Kleinrivier mountains. The easy hill walk when the cliff path feels too long.

Walk from the eastern end of Grotto Beach into the Klein River lagoon system — birds, kelp, wide tidal flats. About 5km return; quieter than the cliff path.

Easy 2km circuit at the top of the Rotary Way mountain road, with the best panoramic view over Walker Bay outside the Cliff Path. Less than 30 minutes and feels much grander.

Two-hour permitted whale-watching boat from New Harbour into Walker Bay, June-November. Southern Right Whales close enough to see callosities; humpbacks early in season.

Compact museum at the Old Harbour with the original wooden fishing boats, whale-history exhibits and the chamber where the whale-crier reports sightings to via radio. Small, focused, free.

Annual September-October festival celebrating the Southern Right Whale season — three days of marine-conservation talks, live music, food markets and the world's only Whale Crier competition.

Half-day or full-day driver-led tours of the valley, three to four estates per circuit. The lazy version of the wine route — tasting and driving stop being incompatible.

Annual June arts festival across Hermanus venues — visual art shows, music concerts, literary events, cellar tastings. The off-season cultural anchor.

Twelve-kilometre paved-and-rocky coast path from New Harbour to Grotto Beach, lined with benches, interpretive boards and — in season — Southern Right Whales sometimes within five metres of the rocks. The town's defining outdoor asset.

Original 19th-century fishing harbour at the foot of the village, now a small open-air museum of beached wooden whalers and the iconic whale-crier blowing kelp horn in season. The classic Hermanus photograph.

Long Blue Flag beach at the eastern end of the cliff path with white sand, gentle dunes and a lagoon mouth at the far end. The town's swim beach when the cold Atlantic permits.

Wide bay defining the whole of Hermanus — sheltered, deep, the breeding ground that brings the Southern Right Whales every winter. Best appreciated from a clifftop bench rather than a deck.

Tight valley running north-east from Hermanus with about 20 wineries known for cool-climate pinot noir and chardonnay. Some of the country's most exciting wine and a beautiful drive in its own right.

Small hill in the centre of Hermanus with a 20-minute climb to a 360-degree viewpoint over the bay and the village. The easy alternative to the Fernkloof trails when you want the view without the hike.