When visiting South Africa, I never fail to make a trip to Simonstown on False Bay and to look at the penguins in Bolders Colony nearby. It’s a unique opportunity to observe and mingle with the African penguins which have made their home there since 1982 when the first two pairs happened to settle there and breed. Nobody really knows where they came from and why they chose this particular spot, but obviously they liked it and had come to stay.
Soon the penguins multiplied and literally lived wild, roaming the surrounding areas at their leisure and annoying the residents because they are a noisy lot and loved to eat all the greens and vegetable. Something needed to be done to protect the birds as well as the residents and that’s how the park of Bolders Colony came into being.
For a modest entry fee of R15, you can walk along raised wooden boardwalks and watch the penguins from above. They waddle along underneath and on the beach.
But, I said: “mingle”, and that’s what you can do on the beach. You are not allowed to touch or feed the birds and you wouldn’t really want to because they have very sharp, black beaks which can cause serious injury when they bite you.
However, you can swim alongside them, but be careful not to annoy them because otherwise you may get a painful nip in your leg. Makes a change from swimming with dolphins or stingrays and it’s so funny to watch their antics. Oh, and before I forget: the by now more than 3000 penguins do have a quite strong odor.
Inka is German and used to be an international attorney with offices in London and Spain. Retired two years ago because I wanted to be a traveler and writer and now live between Didim/Turkey and Miami with plenty of travel in between. Next destinations: Istanbul, New York and Petra/Jordan. Inka’s first novel has just been published and can be found here
Oh, I think I would swim with penguins, regardless of their smell and the risk of being bitten! I think that would be a great time.
That looks like an adventure. Who wouldn’t want to swim a long side of some black and white birds.
Swimming with them would probably be the best way to avoid the smells. This piece reminded me of the time I visited the San Diego Zoo and saw their penguins; they sure do have an identifiable presence, even if ya close yer eyes !
Thanks Dave. Glad to meet you. I logged into your blog ok, then wanted to leave a comment on the funny Sweet and Sour Chicken piece, but couldn’t. All these ID problems.
Thanks to Sabina and Michael too. Those penguins do indeed have a strong ‘personality” but they are so cute.