Simons Town, Penguins at Boulders Beach

  Simons Town, South Africa
Monday, February 13, 2006

Hello Everyone,
We left Hermanus and drove the coastal road to Simons Town. More beautiful scenery. We also got to drive past what they call the Cape Flats. It is a poverty stricken township area of more than 1.5 million people. For as far as your eye can see are the tops of delapitated shacks.

We checked into our accommodation which used to be a nun's convent. Now transformed into a travelers lodge. We made our first outing to the famous Boulders Beach area to see the penguins. We ended up going to see the penguins while we were here 3 different times. We loved to watch them so much. There are a few places where you can see them for free on the beach. Or you can go to an area where they have made a boardwalk for viewing. This is where the largest population of penguins come to nest. The boardwalk is built a few feet above the beach level so you can look down and view the penguins. There is also the Boulders beach where you can pay a small amount to get right down on the beach with the penguins. You can even get in the water with them if you want. We got to see many of the penguins nesting and see their eggs. We saw a few babies as well. Some of the babies are actually larger looking than the parents. They are very fluffy for the first while until they get their proper feathers. Their colouring is a blue/gray. Then they get the tuxedo look later. They get to their full size very quickly, 60 days.









We learned that the penguins can desalinate the sea water. They have special glands in their heads that filter out the salt. Then they expel the salt out their nose. Their feathers do not stay waterproof. They have to come out of the sea to go through a molting process. It takes about 20 days. At this time they do not go back into the water. They have to fatten up since they will not be able to get food from the sea. They look very scruffy during this time and lie still on the sand to conserve energy. People sometimes mistake them for being sick.

The day that we went to the boardwalk to view them it was extremely windy. We had to walk backwards. If we turned around we got pelted in the face with sand, it really hurt. The penguins are so cute and cuddly you want to just reach out and pet them. They won't let you and can do some nasty biting. Some of them are quite used to people and will let you get quite close to them. They stand and look at you with curiosity. These African penguins are also referred to as Jackass penguins because of the donkey sound the male makes. We especially loved to watch them waddle as they walk along the sand.

While we were here we had one of our worst nights while traveling in Africa. I (Audrey) woke up out of a dead sleep to find something crawling on my neck. This has happened before. Last time it was an earwig. No big deal, but still gross. This time I wasn't so lucky. It was a large black millipede type creature. It was about 3 inches long and had a bright red head and tail. When we turned on the light it quickly ran down the side of the mattress and in between it and the box spring. Poor Jack had a heck of a time catching this thing, it could really move fast. By this time I am thinking about what medication I am going to have to go on, or how much therapy I am going to need to ever sleep again. Jack finally got it in a cup, only to have more difficulties. It seems the thing would not flush down the toilet no matter how many times he tried. It could out swim the flush! I won't go into details of its final demise. I don't know why these things keep picking me and not Jack to crawl on!

We finally calmed down and got back to sleep only to have Jack wake up after a few hours violently ill. The only thing we can think of that he ate different from me was salad dressing. The restaurants here have oil and vinegar dressing that can tend to sit out in the hot sun. We will be avoiding these from now on, just in case it was the culprit. He put it on his salad and I didn't. It is now 4 days later, and he is still not quite back to normal, but much better than he was. I guess you know it is bound to happen sooner or later when you are traveling.

Our last day in Simons town was supposed to be used as a base to drive out to the Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. Jack was not feeling well enough to do the drive, so we will do it another day when we are back in Cape Town.