Safcol United players made their intentions clear, producing the weekend’s most emphatic performance by overwhelming Invincibles 92–15 in the Boland Top 12 rugby competition.
The commanding victory showcased Safcol’s formidable attacking firepower and sent a clear warning to their rivals that they meant business. The result also lifted Safcol to the top of the Group B standings, giving the Overberg two teams leading their respective pools.
Fresh from beating Abbotsdale RFC, reigning Overberg champions Hawston RFC travelled to Clanwilliam brimming with confidence, but found Delicious North West players determined to bounce back from their previous weekend’s defeat by Robertson Town.
Despite enjoying plenty of possession, Hawston players struggled to breach the disciplined Delicious North West defence.
Hawston however survived a spirited challenge from Delicious players to secure a hard-fought 38–29 victory in Clanwilliam, topping Group A.
As residents prepare to cast their votes in next Wednesday’s local government elections, here is a guide to the voting process and what to expect at the polling station.
How to cast your vote
Go to the voting station where you are registered.
Present your ID card or temporary identification certificate to the voting officer.
The officer will check that your name appears on the voters’ roll.
Once your identity and registration are verified, and it is confirmed that you have not already voted, your name will be marked off the roll, and the nail of your thumb will be inked.
The officer will stamp the back of the three official ballot papers and hand them to you.
Proceed to an empty voting booth and mark each ballot paper. Fold the papers so that your choices are not visible, then place each one in the appropriate ballot box.
Each voter has three votes: one to elect a ward councillor to the local council, one to elect a political party to the local council through the proportional representation (PR) ballot, and one to elect a political party to the district council.
The three ballot papersWARD BALLOT (White)
Vote for a ward councillor.
Mark ONE block only, next to the candidate of your choice.
PR BALLOT (Green)
Vote for a political party to be represented on the local council.
Mark ONE block only, next to the party of your choice.
DISTRICT BALLOT (Yellow)
Vote for a political party to be represented on the district council.
Mark ONE block only, next to the party of your choice.
You may object at the voting station if you are given too many ballot papers, refused a ballot paper, or have a complaint about the conduct of a voting officer, party agent or anyone else present.
Incorrectly marked ballots
If you make a mistake on a ballot paper and realise it before placing it in the ballot box, ask the presiding officer for a replacement. Ensure that the incorrectly marked ballot paper is marked as cancelled.
Once a ballot paper is in the ballot box, it cannot be retrieved.
Voters with physical disabilities or visual impairments
If you have a physical disability or visual impairment, you may choose someone to assist you at the voting station.
The presiding officer can also assist you when casting your vote. An observer and, where available, two party agents representing different parties must be present during the process.
At the wrong voting station?
If you arrive at a voting station and you are unsure whether it is the correct one, check with election officials before joining the queue. They can advise you whether you are at the correct station and guide you if you are not.
From soundproof feathers to extraordinary eyesight, owls are marvels of natural engineering. There is something special about knowing that a pair of Spotted Eagle-Owls has nested for several years on a rocky ledge overlooking the sea near Hermanus. While we sleep, these remarkable birds hunt under cover of darkness, utilising an extraordinary collection of adaptations that make them among nature’s most accomplished nocturnal predators.
Their first weapon is silence.
Most birds produce an audible swishing sound as air rushes over their wings. Owls, however, have evolved specialised flight feathers that reduce this noise. The leading edges of their outer flight feathers have tiny, comb-like serrations that modify airflow. Fine fringes along the feather edges and a soft, velvety surface further reduce aerodynamic noise. Their broad wings also allow them to fly relatively slowly. All this helps them to approach prey without announcing their presence.
Prey is less likely to hear an approaching owl, while the owl can listen for the faint sounds of small animals moving through vegetation.
And what extraordinary hearing abilities! An owl’s facial disc — the circle of feathers surrounding its eyes — helps collect and direct sound to its ears. In some species, the ear openings are positioned asymmetrically, allowing the brain to compare tiny differences in the sounds reaching each ear.
This helps the bird accurately determine where a sound originates from, even in darkness. A mouse rustling beneath leaves may be invisible, but its movements can betray its position to an owl’s ears.
The owl’s eyes are equally remarkable. They are large and tube-shaped rather than spherical, with a retina rich in rod cells that are highly sensitive even in low light. Their forward-facing position provides binocular vision; this helps the bird judge distances accurately when striking at prey.
An owl, however, cannot move its eyes around in their sockets. Its eyes are relatively fixed, so to look behind itself it must turn its head.
This brings us to one of the owl’s most astonishing abilities: it can rotate its head up to 270 degrees. That is three-quarters of a full circle. To make this possible, owls have more neck vertebrae than humans, together with specially adapted joints and blood vessels that help maintain circulation during these extreme movements. Without these adaptations, such rotation could seriously restrict the blood supply to the brain.
Then there are the feet. Strong toes, powerful gripping muscles, and sharply curved talons enable an owl to seize and hold prey firmly.
Once caught, small prey can be swallowed whole and again, impressive adaptations come into play in the owl’s digestive system. The undigested fur, feathers, and bones are separated and compressed into compact pellets. These are regurgitated later. These pellets provide fascinating clues to an owl’s diet: examining their contents can reveal the tiny skulls and bones of the animals it has eaten.
With all these abilities, Spotted Eagle-Owls are adaptable hunters. Depending on what is available, their diet may include insects, rodents, birds, frogs and reptiles.
By feeding on rodents, they provide a valuable natural pest eradication service. That is why using common rodenticides such as Rattex can damage the whole environment, even when used carefully.
Poisoned rodents may, in turn, poison owls and small carnivorous mammals such as jackals, Cape foxes, African wildcats, caracals and several mongoose species that eat rodents. We need to consider the wider environmental ecology before using poisons of any kind.
Apart from the ‘Spotties', other owl species that may be seen in our area include the Cape Eagle Owl, Barn Owl and Pearl-Spotted Owlet. The latter has two fake eyes on the back of its head, so would-be predators can’t tell whether it’s coming or going.
Two suspects appeared in the Hermanus Magistrate's Court on Monday on murder and attempted-murder charges, relating to the fatal shooting of a taxi driver and a well-known taxi owner, Thami Mcinjana, at the Zwelihle Taxi Rank last month.
Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa confirmed that the provincial Taxi Violence Unit’s tracing team arrested the suspects on Saturday.
“While deployments have been reinforced at identified hotspots for taxi-conflict shooting incidents, the provincial Taxi Violence Unit detectives are hard at work investigating all recorded cases,” Potelwa said.
The arrests follow a Western Cape High Court order last week restraining members of Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (CATA) and the Overstrand Taxi Association (OTA) from carrying firearms or dangerous weapons, or being accompanied by private security, at or within five kilometres of any taxi rank in the Overstrand.
The order also bans blocking roads, stopping vehicles or preventing legally licensed taxis from operating, adding or removing stickers from taxis without owners’ consent, and demanding or collecting money, levies, fees or penalties from operators or drivers.
The court order also prohibits CATA from establishing unauthorised structures in the Overstrand or forcing OTA to affiliate with it.
Western Cape Minister of Mobility, Isaac Sileku, said the order was an important step in protecting residents who depend on public transport every day.
“This court order sends a clear message that intimidation, violence and interference with lawful transport services will not be tolerated. Residents must be able to travel freely and safely,” said Sileku.
“The legacy I want to leave after the next five years is simple: that the people of Overstrand feel part of decisions taken, rather than learning about them after the fact.” – Clinton Lerm, DA mayoral candidate
I start by thanking the residents of Overstrand for the tremendous support you have shown for my mayoral candidacy.
Over the past two to three months, I have held more than 200 open public meetings across Overstrand with people from all walks of life. I met grassroots communities and ratepayers, business enterprises, SMMEs and upcoming entrepreneurs, the youth and young professionals, and residents of our old-age homes, including some of Hermanus’s oldest residents, who remember our town as it was long ago.
These meetings were not for me to tell you my vision, but for you to shape it. Together we identified the problems we can solve as a community, those that need other organisations, and long-outstanding issues that must be taken to provincial and national government.
The result is a five-year vision shaped by the people of Overstrand.
On 4 November, you will choose who runs Overstrand for the next five years, so you deserve to know who is asking for your vote.
I’ve lived in the Overstrand for 25 years, where my wife, Mary-Ann, and I are raising our two sons.
I entered politics in 2021 to give back, not for a salary. As MMC for Infrastructure Services, I’ve seen what it takes to keep a municipality working. It’s careful planning, skilled officials and political stability.
This term, a DA-led Overstrand has delivered:
Another five years of clean audits
R817.7 million invested through 425 capital projects, with a large share going into major infrastructure such as water, wastewater and bulk services
The number one Blue Drop and number one No Drop municipality in South Africa
17.4km of water pipes replaced and 92.43km of roads resealed
An average collection rate of 98.31% and cash reserves of R958.1 million
These are independently verified results, and they are just some of the highlights. The municipality has made substantial progress since 2021, and you’ll soon find a comprehensive list of these achievements on the municipality’s website.
Behind the numbers are projects you can see: the Buffels River Water Treatment Works, the Kleinmond Wastewater Treatment Works upgrade, our ongoing pipe replacement programme, and upgraded sports facilities in Kleinmond, Hawston and Mount Pleasant.
Looking ahead, I will approach the relevant national ministries to turn the Gansbaai and Hermanus harbours into working assets for the Overstrand economy. Their derelict buildings and dilapidated state add no value to our region. Revitalised, they can deliver a desperately needed economic injection and job opportunities this region has not seen in many years.
Equally important, one of my key challenges over the next five years will be to develop an electricity network that is no longer dependent on Eskom alone. We will pursue alternatives such as solar PV and power purchase agreements with independent producers, moving Overstrand step by step towards self-sufficiency. That means more reliable and more cost-effective electricity for every household and business.
A major infrastructure project approved today may be finished only in year five, six or even seven. That is why stability matters.
When council is split, and small parties form fragile coalitions, long-term planning is the first casualty. Priorities are reshuffled to score quick political points, and projects stall.
This year you’ll see many candidates calling themselves ‘independent’. Look closely. Many so-called independents are not independent at all. They are standing for a small party or civic grouping. Your vote for an ‘independent’ will be added to that grouping’s pool of votes, and that pool is used to send people from its proportional list into council.
In other words, your vote can put someone into council whom you have never met, never heard speak, and never chose.
A genuinely independent candidate has no list at all. If they don’t win the ward, your vote elects no one.
So ask yourself: who is really behind this candidate, who is on their list, and where were they during the past five years of hard work? Many are driven by a single issue, rather than the broader picture of everything a ward needs to function.
A narrow focus and limited capacity cannot run a municipality of our size.
None of this means we have got everything right. The DA is not perfect, and neither is any party. Some decisions were unpopular, and some communities felt unheard. I take that seriously.
The DA has fielded a strong team of candidates in the wards and on the PR list. You may not agree with every individual on that team, and that’s fair. But it is the DA collective in Overstrand, not any one person, that has made our region one of the most desirable places to live, work, invest and visit in South Africa.
Water security, electricity supply and ageing infrastructure are real challenges, and together our team can tackle them.
I believe in governing collectively, not in a dictatorial manner.
If elected mayor, I will establish community advisory forums so that residents have a structured, ongoing voice in municipal planning. I will hold regular liaison meetings with the business chambers, environmental organisations, ratepayers’ associations and NGOs across the Overstrand – from Rooiels to Wolvengat.
These organisations offer enormous knowledge and goodwill, and a municipality that ignores them is wasting one of its greatest assets.
Safety and security, tourism and the environment will be key priorities, and I will work hand in hand with organisations, neighbourhood watches, the South African Police Service (SAPS), and provincial and national departments to strengthen the municipality’s capacity to deliver on them.
Our environment is closest to my heart. Our mountains, fynbos and coastline are why so many of us chose the Overstrand. You protect what you love, and what I love is the natural environment of our region. That is why the next five years must bring a renewed focus on environmental protection, including a hard look at whether the municipality’s environmental department is strong enough for the task at hand.
The legacy I want to leave after the next five years is simple: that the people of Overstrand feel part of decisions made, rather than learning about them after the fact.
To achieve this, I will suggest that council broadcast all its meetings, and I will ask the speaker to broadcast all ward committee meetings as well. You should be able to sit at home, watch your council at work, and never wonder what decisions were taken on behalf of the citizens of Overstrand. Good government has nothing to hide.
On 4 November, you’ll receive three ballots: one for your ward, one for the Overstrand proportional vote, and one for the Overberg District Municipality.
Vote DA on all three.
Choose stability. Choose experience. Choose a government that works with and for you.
Hospice achieved full palliative care accreditation in August and opened its new premises on 22 October. The Council for Health Service Accreditation of Southern Africa’s (COHSASA) validation made this the seventh accredited site among Association of Palliative Care Centres (APCC) members and the fifth in the Western Cape.
Recognising compliance with stringent patient-safety and clinical-care standards, it follows an external quality improvement process. General Manager Fran Tong said the achievement reflected excellent governance, compassion, professionalism and commitment of the board, staff and volunteers. Patient-care manager Sister Esme Potgieter described staff members as the organisation’s greatest asset.
The milestone marks another chapter in a journey that began in July 2006 in a small office in 10 Royal Street, donated by businessman Dawie Bothma. The first nursing sister, Gerna van Liebenberg, was appointed in January 2007, and by February there was caring for nine patients with life-threatening illnesses.
Hospice’s first shop in 2007 was a garage in Aberdeen Street, which provided income. Fundraising, community generosity and volunteers’ efforts, including the Lighthouse-to-Lighthouse Ladies, enabled securing its Hope Street home in 2009 and the Aberdeen Street shop building in 2013. In 2020, Hospice acquired the neighbouring Hermanus Times property to consolidate operations and provide storage. Construction of the building, known as ‘The Chapel’, began in January 2024. New offices followed in October last year. Both were officially handed over in July this year.
Hospice provides pain and symptom management, psychosocial support and collaborative care for patients and their families, and is supported by a community that has helped turn a modest beginning into a modern complex. For enquiries, phone 028 312 4679 or email pcadmin@overstrandhospice.org.
A 16-year-old girl arrived at the Hermanus Regional Court last Wednesday, hopeful for final closure after the man accused of her rape had entered into a plea-and-sentence agreement with the State.
Proceedings took an unexpected turn when the presiding magistrate stated that such offences, including the fact that the victim was only 13 years old at the time, were extremely serious and that court-imposed sentences must reflect the gravity of such crimes.
Magistrate Fundile Taboshe expressed concern regarding the proposed 20-year sentence contained in the plea agreement and indicated that a more severe sentence would be more appropriate under the circumstances.
The accused, however, was not prepared to accept a heavier sentence than that contained in the plea agreement.
As a result, the plea and sentence agreement could not be finalised, and the matter has been referred to be heard afresh before a new presiding officer in the Caledon Regional Court.
Eric Ntabazalila, the regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in the Western Cape, says that while the outcome means a further delay in the finalisation of the case, the court's stance sends a strong message about the seriousness with which sexual offences, particularly those involving young victims, are viewed by the judiciary.
“The matter will now proceed before the Caledon Court, where it will be dealt with by a different magistrate in accordance with the applicable legal procedures,” he added.
The victim’s mother says she was overjoyed at the mention of life imprisonment, only to be crushed when the case was once again postponed.
“We hoped for the case to be concluded and for the accused to be sentenced for us to get closure.
“The prosecutor, Marilize le Roux, who did a sterling job, explained that should this happen, the case might go to trial and my daughter will have to testify. But we are ready for this as we believe the accused stands a strong chance of spending life behind bars should we testify,” she said.
With just days before voters head to the polls next Wednesday to elect the leaders who will shape local service delivery for the next five years, one question looms large: have residents done their homework, or will they simply vote along familiar party lines – or not vote at all because of apathy?
It is a question worth asking after years of municipal decay across South Africa. Crumbling infrastructure, failing services, corruption and a glaring lack of accountability have exposed the consequences of electing leaders who seem more concerned with party politics and personal interests than the communities they serve.
These elections are widely regarded as perhaps the most consequential since the dawn of democracy in 1994. Will voters accept the continued decline of local government, or use their ballots to demand competence, accountability, and a return to order and progress?
The responsibility rests with the electorate. Voters choose the leaders and must live with the consequences. The adage that people get the government they deserve has seldom carried greater weight.
The question is whether this election will finally mark a decisive shift away from leadership associated with corruption, failing infrastructure, sewage in streets and waterways, contaminated drinking water and persistent electricity failures.
A different picture in Overstrand
Locally, Overstrand presents a markedly different picture. While many municipalities are battling deep-seated governance failures, the Hermanus-based municipality is generally regarded as one of the country's better-performing administrations.
In the 2021 local government elections, the Democratic Alliance (DA) secured 64.14% of the vote according to the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) statistics. The ANC followed with 15.76%, while the Land Party won 7.60%, the FF Plus 5.59%, the EFF 2.65% and the ACDP 2.27%.
On those figures, the DA appears well placed to retain control. But an apparently comfortable lead can also breed complacency – and that is where the election becomes interesting.
Will DA supporters, comfortably confident of victory, stay away from the ballot box and inadvertently weaken their party's mandate? Or will they turn out in force, pushing the party closer to the 70% mark?
New faces, new possibilities
The performance of political newcomers will be another interesting issue. The MK Party is testing the waters in Overstrand for the first time, fielding candidates in five wards: 2, 4, 5, 6 and 12.
Will Jacob Zuma's brethren gain any foothold beyond the party's traditional strongholds in KZN, Gauteng and further north? If they do, will the ANC, Land Party or EFF pay the price by bleeding support to the newcomer?
Independent candidates are also making their presence felt this year. Without the financial muscle of established parties, some have taken their campaigns to social media and community meetings, appealing directly to voters who may share the belief that local representatives will be more effective than candidates beholden to political-party structures.
Whether voters are ready to embrace that alternative in significant numbers remains to be seen.
Overstrand may not be heading for a political earthquake, but a dominant party should never mistake past success for a guaranteed future.
Next Wednesday's results may well confirm the status quo. The more revealing question is whether residents will strengthen it, challenge it or begin looking for alternatives.
Either way, the ballot box will deliver its verdict – and voters will have to live with that outcome for the next five years.
Onrus bodyboarder Tristan Roberts won his third Men’s Bodyboarding World Championship, clinching the 2026 title on Monday – and adding to his previous world crowns in 2019 and 2022.
El Frontón is a world-famous bodyboarding and surf break located at the foot of volcanic cliffs in Gáldar on the north coast of Gran Canaria, Spain, and it was again the setting for Tristan’s achievement.
Here, he secured his first men's world championship in 2019, the same year he won the Frontón King.
Jane McMorran, Gary Scholtz and Carina de Klerk were the top image makers at the Hermanus Photographic Society’s October competition, which featured urban life as the theme.
The judges were David Wilson, Johan Botha and Phil Sturgess.
The society welcomes photographers of all levels, from beginners to experienced enthusiasts, who share a passion for photography. For more information, email hps@hermanusphoto.co.za.
Not a mailing list and not an algorithm. Real shelves, in real shops, from Grabouw to Kleinbaai — picked up by people
who live here, and still lying on the table on Sunday.
Every one of these takes a bundle each Thursday. 214 shops, cafés, filling stations and offices across the Overstrand. Tap any name to find it on Google.
