Our next stop after Paarl was Simon’s Town, which is located near the Cape of Good Hope.  The plan was to take a pelagic trip and find some birds not seen from land.  However, Mother Nature and the boat captain decided otherwise.  Strong winds, overcast skies, fog, and a light rain would have made for an unpleasant trip.

No trip to Simon’s Town is complete without a visit to Boulder’s Beach, a small oasis along a heavily developed beach, to check out the African Penguins.  I think we were there with about 10,000 other people.  Well maybe several hundred but it sure seemed busy.   We did see a lot of penguins, including some young.  Many adults were on shore for their 20+ day feather molt – a period where they live off their stored fat reserves.

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Artificial Nests

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Ah the beach

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Crowned Cormorant – this bird is endemic to South Africa

We stayed at a place owned by a local birding tour company – Avian Leisure.  For 700 Rand per night we got what is essentially a small apartment.  The bedroom is separate from the living/kitchen area.  The place is large and comfortable.  And this place has the most equipped kitchen we’ve had for a self-catering unit to date.  The only thing missing is a second frying pan.  I would highly recommend this place if you plan to come to Simon’s Town.

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While we don’t have a window view from our place (you can rent one that does), this is the view from the garden area.

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And in the garden is a Pin-tailed Whydah. This bird has an amazingly long tail and when the wind blows the tail goes every which way. Great bird.

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The Pin-tailed Whydah up close.

Gotta love penguins.  IT WAS A GREAT DAY TO BIRD