The NWU Botanical Garden’s history reaches back to 1962, when university botany lecturer Dr. W.J. Louw started a small garden to produce plant material for botany practicals.
Love a juicy steak but your spouse is a pescatarian? That’s not a problem at all if you’re in Potchefstroom. Sister restaurants Beef Boys and Fish at Fine Things have you both covered.
Coffee and tacos for breakfast? Why not?
Open since 1993 in the iconic “Die Bult” section of Potchefstroom, the Die Akker Koffiehuis claims to have been the first place in Potchefstroom to serve cappuccinos. “Die Akker” means “the oak tree” in Afrikaans, presumably named for the avenue of stately oaks (the longest oak tree avenue in South Africa) on which the restaurant stands. A colorful emblem above the front door portrays a half-wreath of oak leaves with two acorns at the centre.
The Peregrine Farm Stall, about 30 minutes’ drive west of Hermanus on the N2 highway, has all the convenience of your average Engen 1-Stop. Yet Peregrine is absolutely not an average South African rest area.
Zwelihle Township has a population of at least 25,000 and is home to the majority of people who work in the Hermanus area’s tourism and fishing industries. The Zwelihle Youth Café, located at the Zwelihle RDP Centre, is both an incredible resource for the community and a thriving tourist attraction.
Hermanus and its surrounding towns offer a huge variety of tourism activities beyond beaches and whale-watching: culinary experiences, wine-tasting, walking tours and hiking, among others. But it can be difficult to experience all these activities during a short trip because they are so widespread. A local tourism company called ChillGuru has moved to solve that problem with its own version of the world-famous hop-on-hop-off bus.
HERMANUS FEATURE: Four Things to Do in Hermanus’ Old Harbour (with whales or without)
Hermanus is a stunningly beautiful town, with green mountains soaring over sandy, boulder-strewn beaches and of course the best whale-watching on earth. But even before arriving in Hermanus, visitors can enjoy one of the world’s most scenic drives on the road from Cape Town. If taken at a leisurely pace, this drive can fill up the better part of a day.
