Hermanus is a pretty little seaside town that become a hive of activity during the Whale Watching festival in September. Today it is a sleepy seaside village, with some more affluent properties similar to that seen in Camps Bay, closer to Cape Town.
It’s a long drive to George – at least 5.5 hours, and I don’t want to be driving in the dark again today, so I leave Hermanus at 11.30am. I stop for fuel and a short lunch in Heidelberg, at the quaint Aan de Kanal coffee shop.
I make it to George around 5.30pm, and start the search for the hotel. The GPS is pretty useless and doesn’t recognise the hotel name, but does recognise the street name. Montagu Street runs for about 10km it turns out, and the GPS starts me at the beginning, in an area that whilst not a shanty town, isn’t far off it. The kids playing on the unpaved road seem surprised to see a car traversing their play area. I don’t think this is where I’m supposed to be. After a right hand turn, the Fancourt hotel appears about 2km down the road. The contrast between the walled grounds of the hotel, which has 3 golf courses, couldn’t be starker. It is very uncomfortable to have driven through an impoverished area to a hotel that is this luxurious.
My room is the most opulent I have stayed in – add a kitchen and it is a million-dollar plus apartment in Melbourne. Add a personal butler and I am itching to get away as soon as I arrive. The Manor House is beautiful, but has security cameras everywhere, and I can’t escape the feeling that I am being watched everytime I leave my room. There doesn’t appear to be any open other than to eat in one of the resort restuarants, so I opt for the more relaxed La Cantina for dinner. The food is okay, but not more than that. Tomorrow I leave for another long drive to Kwandwe Private Game Reserve, and can’t wait to escape this beautiful prison.
