Boulders Penguin Colony

The forecast today was for non-stop rain, but we had pre-booked a tour of Cape Point, so we had to venture out! We left after breakfast and managed to walk down to the waterfront to catch our bus without getting too wet.

In a nod to the expected bad weather, the bus was an enclosed double-decker rather than the more usual open-top one. We were at the front of the queue and managed to nab two of the front seats upstairs. As we drove out of the city, this wasn’t much of an advantage as the rain was pelting down and the windows kept steaming up! Our guide, Rico, did his best to keep everyone’s spirits up and provided a good commentary about what we could be seeing if the rain stopped!!

We drove over to the other side of the Cape Peninsula and picked up the opposite coast road at Muizenberg. The rain had eased by now, so we were able to catch glimpses of the colourful beach huts this resort is famous for. We continued through the craft town of Kalk Bay to Simon’s Town, the former home of the British Navy in South Africa. There is a railway line that runs along this coast. It could be something nice to do on a better day.

Just beyond Simon’s Town is Boulders Beach, famous for the colony of African penguins that lives there. It was raining as we parked up, but, by the time we reached the beach, it had stopped again, and we were able to get some good photos of the penguins. We didn’t get as close to them as we did at Betty’s Bay, but because they were on sand, rather than in shrubbery, we were able to see them better, especially the nesting and nursery areas. It was interesting to see the young penguins at different stages of their development, from those fully covered in fur, to those who had shed most of it and were left with what looked like a furry scarf around their necks!

We spent some time watching their antics on the beach and in the water before heading to the Seaforth Restaurant for lunch. I had fish and chips, and Mark had a seafood platter for one, which was huge! We sat with a Brazilian couple who have been living near Pretoria for the past year. His work contract is almost up, so they thought they better explore a bit of South Africa before returning home. They had no idea it would be so much colder here in Cape Town than it is in Pretoria!Meer informatie