The Web Log

Penguins

Posted: 1/31/2005 10:30 PM (Permalink)

South Africa, or more specifically, the area around the Cape of Good Hope is one of the few areas in the world where one can easily view penguins in the wild. We spent one day doing just that. Here are some penguin photos.

A good place to find penguins hanging out is in a place called Simons Town. It’s on the east side of the Cape a ways south of Cape Town. In order to get there, you can drive down the west side of the Cape along a road called the Chapman’s Peak Drive. A spectacular stretch of rugged coastline.

Chapman’s Peak Drive

Ok, enough of that. How about some penguins?

Some penguins

They are Spheniscus demersus, the African penguin, also known as the Jackass Penguin. They are called that because they make a sound much like that of a donkey.

Some more penguins

You walk out to the beach and there are hundreds, maybe thousands of these little guys standing around on the rocks, on the beach, in the trees around the beach, everywhere. They let you walk right up to them. Here’s one posing for Laura.

Laura and Penguin Yet more penguins

Yeah, it was definitely worth the trip.