Where is this ?

We visited Hermanus in October of 2005. As luck would have it, it was peak time for whale watching, and they put on an amazing show! Not that I'd know one type of whale from another, but a nice older lady who was sitting next to us on a rocky outcropping told us they were "right" whales.  They came into the bay, got within 30M or so of where we were sitting, and were very active.  The thunderous sound they made on impact after breaching was...unforgettable. Would love to get back there someday. Thanks for posting Mike -- this brought back wonderful memories!

ATB.

Hook

"Right" on  Hook    -  They are Southern Right whales,  easily ID'd as they have little stumpy pectoral fins that are easily seen as they roll over & lie on there back & like there tail the fins are all black & not white marked like humpbacks.  They arrive at the SA south coast from July thru November for breeding.  

In other years I've been within just a few yards of them along the coast between Old & New Harbour. This year we had seas at 3m plus (10 to 15 foot) for the 3 days, the seas were awesome along the rocky shoreline, but the whales were not at all happy to get in close staying at least 100 yards out.

NB:  The reason they are called "right" whales was because they are the right whale to go for. They are so docile the whalers could just row up to them around the shoreline & harpoon them at will. That's what the big wide slipway at Hermanus Old Harbour was for, for whales,  not boats.

Hi Mike,

The version of Google maps that is on the i-pad (and this lap-top) doesn't seem to have lat/long.

I had figured that if "X" was 6185 km from the South Pole it had to be to Lat 34deg 20min 06 sec, given that Napolian defined 10,000 km as the distance from the poles to the equator. As I say, without lat/long on Google maps, I can't easily check.

However, a quick "Google" this evening brought up a street view of your signpost atop a two-tiered stone plinth outside The Burgundy restaurant.........

Cheers

Don

Hi Don,  not disagreeing but Google Earth draws a 6185km line from the SP to S34:29'23".  That is 6.7km south of what I would assume is the centre of the old Hermanus settlement around Old Harbour.

On a far more serious note  ........... 

If you or anyone is in Hermanus,

Burgundy restaurant is highly recommended 

Best fish in town is the Harbour Rock at the New Harbour

Best steak in town - no change that !!! the best steak in SA - B's Steakhouse at Hemel-en-Aarde Village.   

Ah ha !!..........

Sitting on my hill-top, I was musing that Napoleon "defined" the metre on the basis of 10,000 km from the North Pole via Paris to the Equator.

I then assumed (oh dear!) that it was a similar distance from the South Pole via "Point X" to the Equator, thus making "X" 3,815 km, or 0.3815 x 90 deg south of the equator.

Lots of assumptions and new definitions of the metre, plus my rusty mental arithmetic v Google Maps......no contest !!..........but we all now know the best places to eat in Hermanus. Nice one Mike.

cheers

Don

How about reviving an old thread 

Where is this was a bit of fun so lets have fun

There is a clue.  

You need the exact location & area to win the cigar

It's Badwater Basin in the Death Valley National Park.

Impressivly quick answer ewemon, you must have been there.

 I was hoping it would have stuck around for a day or two.

Lets see if peeps can stop the clue.

It was 118'f (48'c) at midday when I was there 2 weeks ago & if you know that area you will know it gets hotter until about 5pm!

I went to the hotel pool when it was 115'f, water about the same temp, but getting out it was freezing for about 1 minute while you got hit with the super-charged wet skin evaporation.

The sign is a dead giveaway....I have the same photograph!

A few (mis-leading ?) clues ?