At last, the moment I'd been waiting for all day. By now it was getting on for 16:00 and the reserve shut at 17:00 so Calvin told us the quickest route along the boardwalk to get to the beach and also how to get to another, less busy area and then off we dashed. My first sighting was a bit disappointing.
But then we turned a corner and what a glorious view lay before me.
The platform above the beach was quite crowded but nobody seemed to stay more than a few minutes so it was quite easy to keep repositioning myself. Once again though the noise Joe Public made was unbelievable and not just the children!
Some poor things are late finishing their spring moult.
"How on earth did you get up there?"
Boulders Beach is definitely well named.
South African Penguins are a critically endangered species with fewer than 10,000 breeding pairs remaining; 99% of which live in 7 colonies along the Namibian and South Africa coastlines. Their nickname is Jackass Penguin due to their donkey-like braying calls.
Characterized by black and white feathers, a distinctive chest stripe, and pink, featherless skin around their eyes which help them cool down in the heat.
Males are slightly larger than females and the birds form monogamous pairs that stay together for about a decade, or for life, whichever comes first.
The patterns made by the dots on their chests are quite distinctive and unique to each bird, much like a zebra’s stripes.
They primarily feed on sardines and anchovies and one of the main threats to their survival (along with climate change and habitat degradation) is over fishing of their food sources. Fortunately South Africa has recently established no fishing zones around key breeding areas to protect the penguins and their food sources.
They really are such comical creatures
The normal breeding season is March to May but apparently rising temperatures globally are causing some pairs to breed twice each year so maybe this one is sitting on an egg.
Here come the boys - I like the way these 5 strode purposefully onto the beach.
Just like two humans walking along the shoreline.
Do you think it was something she said?
These two looked like they were heading off to their burrow for an early night.
We spent a fabulous hour or so watching these cute creatures and I'm pleased to say after the initial crowds had gone, we mostly had the place to ourselves.
I took this short video although all they seem to do is stand around so it's not very interesting, but you can hear the braying noise the penguins make.
We then went back along the other boardwalk to access the other end of the beach. This was through quite thick undergrowth and the place was teeming with hyrax (the nearest living relative to the elephant).
Having a lovely roll in the dirt.
Looking back at the beach from the opposite direction.
This is the viewing platform we were on originally.
I don't like this situation; it feels like the poor moulting penguin has been surrounded by the others and they are teasing/bullying him like at school.
We met up with Calvin just outside the gift shop and although we were already running late he was happy to give me a few more moments to buy some lovely tea towels - all profits go towards penguin conservation so everyone is getting one for Christmas!
Our next stop was meant to be the colourful beach huts at Muizenberg Beach but the traffic was so heavy Calvin decided to take a short cut. We ended up on top of the cliffs which gave a good view of the beach and the huts and we told him we were happy enough not to go any closer.
The only stop then left was Bo Kaap which we'd missed this morning but it was getting rather late now and we felt it wasn’t fair on Calvin to expect more, especially as we can easily walk there from our apartment. He's been a very safe driver and a brilliant and patient guide, fulfilling our penguin brief to the letter, so we tipped him handsomely.