Hermanus, South Africa

Much of our time will be spent in Hermanus, a town on the southern coast of the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is known for Southern Right whale watching during the southern winter to spring seasons. Hermanus lies along Walker Bay on the south coast of the Western Cape. It is located about 115 km southeast of Cape Town and is 40 km from Gansbaai, a spot where people can dive among the great white sharks. 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."

While in Hermanus We will be meeting with several South African leaders who worked closely with Archbishop Tutu, or are involved with the work of continuing the efforts to bring equality of life to all in South Africa. Most notably John Allen, the Archbishop's official biographer and Allan Boesak who along with Winnie Mandela won the 1985 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award given annually by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights to an individual or group whose courageous activism is at the heart of the human rights movement and in the spirit of Robert F. Kennedy's vision and legacy. On Sunday we will also visit two South African Churches and must be prepared to preach, give remarks, or celebrate the Eucharist. We will end our time there visiting Guguletu Township, the first area that was set aside for Blacks and people of color during the time of apartheid.