The route for Wednesday 18 February 2026
A scenic coastal drive to the penguins. We cycle to Gordon’s Bay and then along the coastline onto Clarence drive. Some say the latter is even more beautiful than Chapman’s Peak Drive, which you will encounter on your very last cycling day – but we’ll let you be the judge. And now you can see why we chose this as our featured image Cyclotourism home page. At Rooi-Els we turn away from the coast, passing Pringlebaai (which is where our friendly Mark resides) en route to Bettiesbaai to visit the Stony point penguins (thanks, Jeff!). Thereafter we skip through Kleinmond and Arabella (check out their 360 degree view) to finish in Hermanus. Tonight, we dine inside a cave.
- 5kms to G’bay split right
- Keep left on Clarence drive
- Rooi-els is at 25kms
- Stop at 38km 🐧
- Contingency Arabella 65km 💦
—
We all stay in the Whale Coast Hotel in Hermanus
Experience the luxury of a Fully Serviced Hotel in Hermanus with the comfort of a self-catering apartment. The luxurious Whale Coast Hotel in Hermanus is a modern Apartment-Hotel which combines all the comfort of a self-catering apartment with the luxury of a Fully Serviced Hotel. It is located within a 5-minute walk from the Old Harbour and Village Square, which are popular whale watching hotspots. Our central location allows for indulgence in the beautiful coastal town as well as exploring the scenic beauty and many adventures it has to offer. Our 23 Duplex Apartments consists of one, two or three elegant bedrooms upstairs.
Dinner in a seaside cave at Bientang
International and local award winning, Bientangs restaurant and wine bar, is known as one of the best land-based whale-watching restaurants in the world. Situated inside a natural cave previously inhabited by a Khoi Strandloper of the same name. We are a large group and had to take the set menu option. Arrive early to soak up this amazing experience – and thanks so much to John for capturing all the moments in HD 📷 – much better than we could have done! Speaking of which – do you know about his photo packages and have you signed up for one yet? Have a look at what it entails right here and let us know if you want to book it!
Times for today and tomorrow
What to expect when arriving in Hermanus tomorrow: The hotel has an apartment-style layout, in other words multiple adjacent apartments, each double story, with 3 bedrooms per apartment. When you arrive at the hotel Mark will have pastries and drinks available inside for a light snack for lunch. And a few alcoholic beverages – so you can relax directly after the ride. We will have the route discussion at Bientang’s cave (which is a short 500 meters walk from the hotel towards the sea), from 5pm onwards, and can start ordering food thereafter. Twilight should be around 7pm. Enjoy! In summary:
- Snacks for light lunch on arrival
- Drinks in apartments, enjoy at leisure
- 5pm route discussion at Bientang
- 6pm dinner afterwards
- 8am breakfast at the hotel tomorrow
- 9am start on short route to Caledon
- Just 40kms – but up and up
2 Comments
Cool and overcast morning over Clarence drive – very long single file all the way to the penguins – awesome bike stands by John came in very handy and kept the water point very neat – then a second stop at Arabella – and the wind was pretty much in our favour for the most part
Bientang was a hit last year but a miss this year – find a replacement