Outside of Cape Town is Boulders Beach, a beautiful spot where a South African Penguin Colony lives. They are the cutest …birds you can imagine! They are birds, but of course, they don’t fly in the air, they fly underwater! The penguins are nesting at this time of year…I had no idea that penguins made little dens and sat on their eggs. These little babies are brown and furry! We always hear about the Emperor Penguins, but most penguins do not live in such arctic conditions. These penguins are known as Jackass Penguins. I’m not kidding. They are called Jackass because of the “heehaw” sound they make! They really do sound like donkeys! We walked among them, saw their nests and their young, then walked on the beach where a small group of them came out and swam. I sat near the water and enjoyed watching them in their little tuxedos! It was a cloudy day, and “winter” (to them) as well, so we pretty much had them to ourselves. The beach was pristine, with huge boulders (hence the name Boulder’s Beach), and tidal pools filled with sea stars and crabs and other little critters. Incredible experience!
We also met a new animal, the Rock Hyrax or “dassie”. Strangely enough, their closest relative is the elephant! They look like rodents….they are absolutely adorable. I’m sure you will agree that Ally took some wonderful photographs of them.
The Rock Hyrax, or “Dassie”!
We stopped for lunch in Simon’s Town where Ally took a bit of a tumble (fell on her ass, actually). It is usually me, but Ally took the fall on the continent of Africa! (Of course, I have fallen on Africa too….just not on that trip!) Afterward we went up Table Mountain to see the view….endless vistas…
Another beautiful day in South Africa!
Absolutely stunning! I love all of the animal encounters you can have in South Africa, and ones you might not think you could have- like penguins. I always forget about the penguins!
They are just too wonderful. And…the ostriches make me laugh! Now that is a funny looking bird!
this beach looks a bit like “Elephant Rocks” near Denmark in Western Australia.
We saw penguins coming up on the beach in Tasmania, so cute!
I enjoyed your post. Have a wonderful weekend. I am joining you through Travel Photo Thursday.
Lovely! Thank you for taking a look…I will do the same!
I love the Cape. We lived there for quite a few days, so your blog post was a lovely trip down memory lane for me. I found you on Budget Travellers Sandbox today, which I link to as I also write a travel blog (ZigaZag) about Western Australia. Hope you are ok after your tumble!
Which tumble, lol? I tend to fall a lot. I’m so glad you found me, and I’ll come over and visit you!
Beautiful location, what a great day you had exploring. I’d love to visit South Africa, the vibrancy of the colours that I see in all your images is so inspiring!
It was fascinating. They are just too fun to observe, with their jackass noise (heehaw). I’m sure you will get there!
I am in love with the first penguine picture!
They are so adorable!
What a beautiful beach, and those Penquins are amazingly cute. I’d have a hard time leaving them.
I did. But then we went to see baby ostriches (taller than we were) and fed them. THAT was hilarious!
Great shots! The penguins were really so CUTE! 😀
Thanks, I think so too! Of course, there are few animals I don’t think are wonderful!