The old harbour, Hermanus

Hermanus (originally called Hermanuspietersfontein, but shortened as the name was too long for the postal service), is a town with 80,400 inhabitants (2011 census) on the southern coast of the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is famous for southern right whale watching during the southern winter and spring and is a popular retirement town. The whales can be seen from the cliffs in the town centre as early as June and usually depart in early December.

Hermanus lies on the south coast of the Western Cape. It is located about 115 km southeast of Cape Town. It is also notable that Hermanus still boasts a historic railway station building without a railway line. The founders of the town decided not to lay any tracks as this would have made Hermanus more commercial and felt that Hermanus needed to stay a small Fisherman's Village. To this day the locals still refer to it as "the village."