Admitting guilt in Hermanus....

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Having fed and watered ourselves Paula and I jumped into the Corsa and headed for Hermanus. This was going to be our chilled out and relaxing time. We arrived into Hermanus without incident and checked into the hostel. We decided to walk into town and stretch our legs and also see if we could spot any Whales however they weren't playing afternoon.

That evening we headed out into the town and searched for food and we ended up at a really nice Italian. Here in South Africa it is funny as often if you park in the streets you will find parking attendants both official and unofficial who will “look after you car” whilst you are away in return you usually pay them between R2 and R5 (16p to 40p). Having eaten we returned to our car despite there being no traffic in sight whatsoever our parking attendant decided to help me by guiding me out of my space despite there being no parked cars either side for a good 20m!! It did make Paula and I chuckle and the guy did get a generous tip for humouring us!

Wednesday morning and Paula had another early start as she was going off on a boat in hunt of Whales. Once again I passed on this as the chances of spotting a Whale were low due to it being the end of the season and also I had seen so many Southern Right Whales in Puerto Madryn that I wasn't too bothered. So having dropped her off at the harbour I dropped the car back off at the hostel and once again walked into the town and I was fortunate enough to spot a Whale in the bay albeit in the distance.

That afternoon Paula and I returned to the town and went on a spending spree buying more presents for family and friends. The amusing factor being that Paula was asking my opinion of presents for her family and friends when I have never even met them!!

Thursday and we had decided to go to Cape Agulhas the southern most tip of Africa and where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. We set off with me driving and Paula navigating. At one point we shot past a crossroads where I was meant to turn so after a quick U turn we were back on track however we were soon stopped by a policeman doing random spot checks. My heart sank as I realised that my driving licence was in my daysack that I had left at the hostel as I had only brought my handbag with me. After a cursory root through my handbag I unsurprisingly found it absent of my driving licence so was silently swearing under my breath.

A quick apology to the policeman and he told me to climb out of the car and come with him to his car. A further apology and the policeman started writing my ticket. This is where the fun began.....
Policeman: Full name
Me: Andrea Jane Brimelow (earning me a blank look)
Me: Andrea.... A. N. D. R. E..... (further blank look)... E...... E........ E for Elephant...... A. J. A. N. E...... E....... E...... B. R. I .M. E........E......E......L.O.W
Policeman: Address
Me: Do you want me to write it? (a glance around and a shake of the head later and we went down the same road again of spelling so Mum and Dad live at Thesplanade now!)
Policeman: Where is Fleetwood?
Me: England
Policeman: Work Address?
Me: I don't have one I am travelling and don't work at the minute
Policeman: You don't work? What do you do?
Me: I'm a lawyer
Policeman: Oh so you work all over. So if I get into trouble you can help me out..... (much laughter! from the policeman!)
Me: Do you want my passport number as I know it? (no response from the policeman and he fills in my nationality as being South African!!)

Anyway by the end of it I was duly informed I had to visit either a police station or magistrates office and if I could produce a licence then it would be R300 if I didn't have a licence it would be R1000. Having kicked myself a lot for being so stupid Paula got behind the wheel and drove for the rest of the day although the policeman didn't seem too concerned that I may be getting back behind the wheel.

Our little diversion finished and me coming out with some choice expletives all aimed directly at myself we headed to the Cape. The weather was scorching and on arriving down at the cape we were greeted by lots of white sand, blue/green sea and and bright blue sky. After a wander around the cape and the lighthouse we climbed back into the car and decided to follow the road signs back towards Simons Town despite the road not showing up on our maps. Surprise, surprise it soon turned into a dirt/gravel road however we did pass through some pretty villages.

On our return to Hermanus I was determined that my first job would be to pay off the fine so that I could rest easy. So driving licence, passport and any other potential paperwork collected and directions to the police station given by the hostel Paula and I set off. Despite and inspector sat behind the desk and him looking up and spotting us we had to stand and wait 15 minutes before he eventually deigned to speak to us and as what we wanted by this time Paula and I had depressed ourselves by reading the wanted and missing posters. After calling through a colleague to deal with me the inspector went back to completing his paperwork so a further 10 minute wait and eventually a second policeman arrived although after handing him the paperwork he didn't believe he could deal with the matter. Thankfully after much too-ing and fro-ing the matter was dealt with. The admission of guilt was signed, fine paid and all paperwork completed. As I was leaving he policeman asked me why I didn't say sorry? I looked blankly at him and he said that if I had said sorry I would have gotten away with it. I told him I had said sorry and that they were my first words out of my mouth and he just smiled and said that he wouldn't have fined me..... Thanks for the advice what if I apologise now will you give me my money back? - needless to say this part of the conversation went on my head!!!!

My guilty conscience eased and after a quick late lunch we jumped back in the car (my driving licence safely ensconced in my handbag) and we decided to go to Bettys Bay where we had been told we would get to see the African Penguins aka Jackass Penguins. So Paula and I jumped in the car and set off for Bettys Bay. Just as were nearing the edge of Hermanus we came across a police check point however this time I didn't get stopped - which I was gutted about as I wanted to be stopped to prove I could carry my documents!!

The penguins at Bettys Bay were amazing and I have never witnessed so many penguins in one spot! Unfortunately whilst they are very cute they are also very smelly!! So having wandered around the bay area and chuckled at their antics we headed back to Hermanus for our last night.

Saturday morning we wandered around the local Hermanus craft market buying our last bits of presents and lunch before jumping in the car and heading to Stellenbosch......

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