Hermanus Cliff Path
A rock dassie regards you from a sun-warmed ledge, entirely unbothered. That small encounter — the animal's indifference, the Atlantic churning below, the smell of White Milkwood and salt — captures something of what the Hermanus Cliff Path does best: it puts you at the edge of things.
The path runs almost 12 kilometres of coastline between the New Harbour in the west and the Klein River lagoon mouth in the east, tracing a line of exposed aggregate concrete 1.2 metres wide above Walker Bay. Named fishing spots — Hottentotsbank, Preekstoel, Platbank — mark the rocks below. At Piet-se-Bos, the eastern end opens onto a panorama stretching 20 kilometres across the bay to Die Kelders.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who know the path well tend to start at Gearing's Point near the Old Harbour and walk east, saving Piet-se-Bos for the end. The Biodiversity Walk between Hermanuspietersfontein and Gearing's Point — five stone-clad seating nodes, signage on geology and flora — rewards a slow pace. Fick's tidal pool is worth finding, and so is the spring named for the shepherd Hermanus Pieters.
The story behind Hermanus Cliff Path
In 1960, Eric Jones — an RAF airman who had been stationed in Hermanus during the Second World War and stayed — brought an idea to a Hermanus Botanical Society meeting: a path along the cliffs. The proposal was backed immediately. Jones and Dr Ion Williams, along with Society members, built the first version themselves, shorter and more informal than what exists today.
The path that visitors walk now owes its shape to David Beattie (1941–2018), who arrived in town in 2000 and found the path deteriorating. He formed the Cliff Path Management Group in 2002, raised over R3 million in private donations, persuaded the Municipality to take on greater responsibility, and oversaw the full extension from lagoon to harbour. In 2015 the CPMG added the Biodiversity Walk. The entire route sits within Fernkloof Nature Reserve, proclaimed in 2000.
Good to know
No entry fee, always open, and accessible at multiple points by car or on foot — you can walk a section and return another day. Over 9 kilometres are wheelchair-accessible. The full 12 km takes roughly four hours; the waterfront-to-Grotto-Beach stretch takes about two.
Southern Right Whales are in Walker Bay from June through late November — winter and spring bring the whales but also the most unsettled weather, with storms and northerly winds likely in June and July. Summer (December to February) is warm and almost rain-free, with long daylight hours; autumn holds steady at around 22°C with only occasional rain.
Where is Hermanus Cliff Path?
Location
- In Hermanus
- -34.4313, 19.2260
- Open in Google Maps
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