Hermanus’s wine route, Hemel-en-Aarde (meaning Heaven and Earth), presently boasts seven fantastic wineries. All of these wineries are located in the incredibly scenic Overberg winelands and they showcase over 40 different wines. One of the renowned local estates, in the area, is Hamilton Russell.

CC attribution markmclellan on Flickr

Hamilton Russell was the first estate ever planted in the Walker Bay area and they specialize in producing individual, terroir-driven Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Both the Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir and Hamilton Russell Chardonnay are widely regarded as being among the best in South Africa.

CC attribution markmclellan on Flickr

When you next decide to partake in a spot of wine tasting why not head out to the Overberg?

The Cape Town Book Fair is held, in Cape Town, every winter. It aims to showcase and celebrate literary talent and creations from across the globe.

CC attribution DanieVDM on Flickr

This year the Cape Town Book Fair takes place on the weekend of the 30^th of July 2010 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, and it promises to be bigger and better than last years fair.

The Cape Town Book Fair’s newly formed partnership, with the auspicious Frankfurt Book Fair, has helped generate significant interest and press around the 2010 event. It is believed that this interest and press will result in even greater attendance. In fact there are rumoured to be quite a few internationally acclaimed authors and personalities attending. These include Jodi Picoult and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

CC attribution MissMessie on Flickr

If you’re attending the Cape Town Book Fair why not pair it with that much needed mid-winter break? Join us at The Cellars-Hohenort for a weekend of unrivalled accommodation, fabulous cuisine, crackling fires and - of course - some excellent reading material! For more information please visit our website.

As you no doubt know the whales have arrived! We thought it would be interesting to share some lesser-known Southern Right Whale facts with you

Lesser-known fact 1:

On average the Southern Right Whale males are shorter than the females. The average length of a male is 15.2m while the average length of a female is 16.5m.

CC attribution manning999 on Flickr

Lesser-known fact 2:

The head of a Southern Right Whale is large and covered with wart-like bumps called callosities. These differ in size and position on every Southern Right Whale and they are often used to identify the individual whales.

CC attribution manning999 on Flickr