Housemates Do Hermanus

On the eve of the Why Democracy? broadcasts, the Democracy Housemates decided to escape the madness of deadlines, broadcast schedules and news posts to get some much needed R&R. Our trip took us to the world famous whale-watching town of Hermanus which is along South-Western Cape coast. Timed perfectly into our busy schedule, the trip was officially the last “excursion” we would have all the housemates attend. This sad realisation along with the persistent bad weather didn’t manage to dampen our spirits (alcoholic ones included). Rain or sunshine we were determined to have a good time.

Having left Cape Town in our trusty twin Volkswagens on Saturday, the crew manged to settle into the Hermanus accommodation and still make it for lunch in the city centre. With a few whales spotted just off the coast, we managed to recharge at a small café where Salla was intent on riding “up the back end of a whale” (direct Finnish translation) while Erick really couldn’t give a damn about whales, his interest was firmly on where we could party that night. Mutterings about a beach persisted the entire afternoon, and eventually finding it provided some beautiful views but also the chance of catching pneumonia. Much of the rest of Saturday afternoon was spent relaxing around the TV and deciding when we should start the fire for the braai. “Later, not in the mood to do it right now” and “are the beers cold yet?” were continually repeated until the evening.

With the two fires well under way and Erick (fresh out of his eighth shower of the day) making "happy" pineapples, supper was served in time to watch France humiliate New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup. How much more South African could we get I thought, having a braai, watching rugby and drinking beer. Guess there is something to this tradition then as everyone seemed to be content with the evening’s proceedings. With the night still young, we took off to explore the night life and found a Cuban restaurant chain (ironic, I know) that pretty much satisfied Erick’s need for techno beats and late night Fashion TV being broadcast on big screens.

Sunday arrived with bad headaches all round. Grunted greetings lasted until 11am, by which time we were off back home along the coast. An unbelievable drive was followed by a stopover lunch in Pringle Bay. Far more relaxing and authentic as a middle-of-nowhere-holiday-town-on-the-beach than Hermanus, our stop over included a great lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall coffee shop. With Amy sufficiently happy with a chocolate cake take-away and Charlotte in search of kitsch Pringle Bay memorabilia, we explored the town a bit and then headed off along one of the most beautiful drives on the Southern Cape coast. “Oohs” and “Aahhhs” pretty much carried on until we reached the national highway by which time Amy’s hangover had put her in a coma on the back seat and John’s camera battery had died.

Back by late rainy Sunday afternoon, the Democracy House was still there (not that it can be missed) and just as we left it. Like the house, we were all wet, creaky, a little stale but still standing strong.