Location: South Africa » Western Cape » Overberg » False Bay » Whale Coast » HermanusNelshof Blue Beach HouseNelshof Blue Beach House Self-catering accommodation in Hermanus Western CapeDescription Nelshof Blue Beach House is a beautiful old family home, built in 1921, lovingly restored and refurbished using original furnishings and artefacts. Wherever possible, original wooden floors, windows and doors were restored to their original state. Suites are positioned around the core of the home which consists of a spacious lounge, dining room, kitchen and scullery. Suites have private entrances from the seafacing balcony or the garden. Nelshof Self Catering has consistently achieved a 3 star rating with the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa ensuring high accommodation and comfort levels which are a prerequisite for a 3 star rating from the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa. Accommodation Nelshof Blue Beach House is let as one unit and is fully equipped for self catering with full stove, dishwasher and two fridges with freezer compartments. Laundry facilities and daily cleaning service available on request by prior arrangement. Sea Facing Suites The sea facing suites, Rooms 2 & 3 and 4 & 5, comprise a double room with double bed and single room with a three-quarter bed. The two rooms interlead through a full bathroom with bath and separate shower. Both the double and single rooms have doors that open onto the veranda that lead to a Jacuzzi deck. The Garden Suite (Room 6) is a double room en-suite with a full bathroom. It is positioned on the side of the house and has a small sea-facing window in the bedroom, and a lovely sea view from the bathroom. The room opens into the mountain facing garden and of course there is full use of the sea facing veranda and the Jacuzzi deck. Standard in all suites: - En-suite bathrooms
- Heating
- Highest quality linen and towels provided
Lounge and Diningroom The lounge and diningroom are spacious openplan living spaces with large sliding glass doors leading to the sea facing balcony. This comfortably furnished home lends itself to easy living, complete privacy and ideal holiday accommodation for a large family or group.  
AttractionsHermanus is positioned along the shores of Walker Bay near the Southern most tip of Africa. With magnificent mountains as a backdrop, this picturesque seaside resort is known to be one of the premier land based whale-watching destinations in the world. A leading tourist destination year round, Hermanus has much to offer the tourist. From adrenaline junkies looking for the thrill of great white shark cage diving to nature lovers wishing to experience the magical Fernkloof Nature Reserve, part of our world-renowned fynbos floral kingdom. Southern Right whales visit Hermanus annually between the months of July and December coming within metres of the shoreline entertaining visitors with their antics as they breach and play in the ocean. The Hermanus Whale Festival is held annually to welcome the whales and celebrations reach fever pitch with food stalls, arts and crafts stalls, pubs, bands and theatre productions to entertain, wine and dine you. The famous Cliff Paths of Hermanus which meander along the coastline of the village offer an ideal vantage point from which to view these gentle giants of the ocean with benches positioned at regular intervals it’s advisable to take along a picnic basket, a refreshing drink and binoculars for a fabulous day of whale watching from the Cliff Paths. Home to several talented artists, Hermanus is rich in art galleries and craft stalls where artists display their beautiful works for sale. The regular craft market held in the centre of town is always a hive of activity with objects of interest for every member of the family. Hermanus is known to be a nature lovers paradise and offers excellent bird watching opportunities, hiking trails, and outdoor adventure activities including great white shark diving (from nearby Gansbaai), boat based whale watching, paragliding, sailing, scuba diving, great beaches, golf, fishing, horse riding and a unique “Wine Wander”. Climate Summers are pleasant, perfect beach weather often with high temperatures but thankfully, being a coastal town, a welcome sea breeze will cool things down in the late afternoons. Being in a winter rainfall area Hermanus will often have several consective days of much needed rain during the winter months. Storms are not unknown during winter but these are thankfully few. - Summer Average 26.4°c
- Winter Average 14°c
- Average annual rainfall: 546mm
Eating Out Hermanus is a fiesta for foodies. Restaurants abound to suit all tastes and budgets. Magnifent views and ambiences to please one and all. Festivals The annual Whale Festival (Art and Environmental Feast) is held celebrating the arrival of the whales to the bay. The festival's popularity has grown immensely over the years and draws crowds from all over the country. The festival offers not only national theatre productions and south african bands but local arts and craft stalls, cuisine and wines from more than 60 exhibitors and growing.  Hermanus Whale Festival
Wine The Hermanus Wine Wander commences at the Wine Village at the Hemel-En-Aarde Valley with the largest selections of South African wines. At Whalehaven Wines just a few metres on you can sample wines with a view of the mountains and the ocean. Meander on to the Hamilton Russell estate where you realise why this valley is called the Hemel-En-Aarde (Heaven and Earth) Valley. The Wine Village Whalehaven Wines Hamilton Russel Vineyards | Arts & Crafts Local galleries are filled with local art and some artists display their work at local flea and craft markets. The area does not only abound with painters, but also with writers, ceramicists, architects, sculptors and glass blowers. Hermanus also has an active Art Society. Shopping The village is a feast for shoppers. With the most interesting little shops, speciality stores, boutiques and the craft market including the farmers market at the Hemel-En-Aarde valley which is held on a Saturday, there’s something to please even the most discerning shopper. | Beaches Hermanus is home to some of the finest beaches in the world. There are several beaches from which to choose, Grotto being possibly the most popular with it’s picturesque mountain backdrop and expansive powdery white beach sand. In addition see the following: - Hawston
In the village of Hawston, magnificent beach, picnic & BBQ areas. - Voëlklip
Ablution facilities, good surf spot and great sun tanning. - Langbaai
Just beautiful - Kammabaai
Great surf spot, picnic and BBQ areas. - Sandbaai
Rock pools, great snorkelling - Onrus Beach
Great body boarding & surfing - Breakfast Bay
Situated at Vermont. Good picnic spot, sheltered beach.
Cycling - Fernkloof Mountain biking trail
- Eastcliff cycling track
Fernkloof Nature Reserve (Fynbos) There is no other recorded place on earth where as many different species of fynbos can be seen growing in such close proximity as in the Fernkloof Nature Reserve. A total of 1 474 species have been collected and identified to date. Fynbos is endemic to the Western Cape and can be seen in abundance along the famous Hermanus Cliff Paths. Fernkloof Nature Reserve Golfing Hermanus Golf CLub Arabella Golf Kleinbaai Golf
Tel: (028) 384 1441 Kleinmond Golf Hiking (The Cliff Paths) The Hermanus Cliff Paths which are approximately 12 kms long meander along the coastline from the New Harbour in Westcliff to Grotto Beach in Voëlklip offering excellent vantage points for whale watching, fantastic photo opportunities and a wonderful way to keep fit. Paragliding Climatic factors offer perfect paragliding conditions in Hermanus. Overberg Paragliding Club
Rob Sterling 082-771-8171
Greg Hamerton 083-285-3775 The weather and the mountains of the area make Hermanus a paragliders paradise. Summer skies are usually dotted with the reds and blues and yellows of paragliders as they soar over the Olifantsberg and land on the perfectly positioned high school fields. Scuba Diving With several wrecks in the Hermanus and Gansbaai areas, scuba diving is popular with dives varying in depth from 9m to 40 m. Reefs are accessable by boat but experienced divers will guide you to shore entry points. Scuba diving can be done at Hermanus and nearby Gansbaai. There are several wrecks that can be explored and various reefs ranging in depth from 9m to 40m. Most reefs are only accessible by boat, but shore entries are possible at certain points. Shark Diving (Gansbaai) White shark cage diving and surface viewing has become one of South Africa's biggest tourist attractions in the past few years with most of the White Shark Dive operators working out of Gansbaai, just a few minute's drive from Hermanus.
This is a must see and and you're not obligated to cage dive, boat based viewing of these maginificent creatures is fascinating. See the colony of Jackass Penguins on Dyer Island and the enormous colony of seals at Geyser Island on your day out with one of the professional dive operators.
White Shark Cage Dive Operators leave from Kleinbaai harbour (Gansbaai) daily subject obviously to prevailing weather conditions. Surfing Great spots for surfing and body boarding: Whale Watching Whale watching does take pride of place amongst tourist attractions as there's nowhere else in the world where land based viewing is so conveniently layed out. The Cliff Paths offer excellent vantage points to view the whales as you sit on one of the many benches strategically placed along the paths for visitors to relax and take in the spleandour of Hermanus. | Township Tours Take a tour into a South African Black Township. Walking tours are offered daily to the Zwelihle Township.   
Accolades | :Tourism Council of SA Star Grading |
TGCSA Star GradingFacilities- 3 Star Self Catering Accommodation
- Magnificent Sea Views
- Beautiful tranquil garden setting
- En-suite Rooms
- Spacious Lounge and Dining room
- Fully fitted kitchen
- Heated Jacuzzi on the wooden deck overlooking the sea
- DSTV & MNet
- Servicing by arrangement
Directions N2, direction Somerset West
Stay on the N2, pass Somerset West.
Stay on the N2, pass Somerset West.
EITHER:
Go up Sir Lowry’s Pass, pass the turn offs to Elgin & Grabouw, and continue up the Houw Hoek Pass. On the top you will see a sign which says
“Welcome to the Overberg”
As you descend the other side you will get to a very sharp hairpin bend corner and immediately after that you will begin to see the signs for the turn off to Hermanus - R43.
You feed off to the left and cross the N2 on a flyover. |
whale-watching south africa
Nelshof Blue Beach House
082 665 9113