Tag Archives: Wilbur Smith

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 9/10 September

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Africa now has 100 million Facebook users, still only half of the number of internet users on the continent.  The majority of Facebook users access the site via mobile phone.   While the growth in Social Media usage in Africa is massive, it is still very costly.

*   The Open Book Festival will run at The Fugard Theatre for the second year running, from 17 – 21 September, with authors from 12 countries attending.  Local authors will include Wilbur Smith, Zakes Mda, and Zelda la Grange.

*   Shock news is the resignation with immediate effect of SA Tourism Chief Marketing Officer Jan Hutton. No reasons are provided, but the suddenness of the resignation is ominous.  The industry has expressed its regret about the resignation of this dynamic marketer of our country.

*  It’s a bad week for flying in Europe.  On Monday a bomb scare at London Luton airport caused the cancellation of all EasyJet Continue reading →

Wilbur Smith’s Hermanus heaven

Wilbur Smith’s heaven-on-earth is Hermanus, he says in an article he wrote in yesterday’s Telegraph, in a series of “Heaven-on-Earth” articles written by celebrities.

Smith is an internationally recognised and prolific writer, having just published his 32 nd book ‘Assegai’, and lives in Cape Town.  He enthused about Hermanus as follows:

“Hermanus is famous for whale watching during South Africa’s winter and spring – the whales can be seen from the town’s cliffs as early as June. It also hosts an annual whale festival during the mating season at the end of September. 

The area has some beautiful beaches while the interior is quite mountainous and a great place to cycle and hike.The hinterland is dotted with vineyards, all of which are so good I find it hard to single out any one in particular. Just be sure to drink some of South Africa’s delicious wines before heading home.    I invariably stay at The Marine (0027 28 313 1000; www.marine-hermanus.co.za),a superb five-star hotel perched on top of a cliff and run by a lovely lady called Liz McGrath. It offers wonderful views of the sea from the bedrooms. It also has a fantastic restaurant, Seafood at the Marine, which I can thoroughly recommend, though if you want to find out more about the other restaurants I’d suggest visiting the town’s website (www.hermanus.co.za) “