Penguins and Whales

On Sunday we went sight seeing with Amanda and her family. They picked us up in Rondebosch and then took us north through the town of Woodstock and into Cape Town proper. From there, we traveled southwest along the Atlantic Coast to Hout Bay, stopping somewhere in between to grab lunch.

From Hout Bay, we then traveled back inland to the east, passing by a few wine vineyards along the way. Turning south, we passed by the towns of Tokei and Lakeside, stopping in Muizenberg on the coast of the Indian Ocean for a coffee.

After the beverage break, we continued southwest along the coast. While driving, we spotted some Southern Right Whales close to shore and decided to pull over and watch them for a while. They were a little too far away to get good pictures, but we tried.

See the dark speck in the ocean near center of photo - that's a whale....I promise you it is

This speck above the shore is also a whale

Southern Right Whales

What we saw that our photos just don't show

After watching the whales, we stopped in Kalk Bay and visited some of the shops along the boardwalk. Lots of art, trinket, jewelry, bead, and clothing stores catering to the touristy crowds. We didn't find anything worth buying, but it ws fun to peruse the goods. When we finished checking out the shops, we stopped in at another cafe and grabbed some cake and pasteries.

Down town Kalk Bay

We attempted to find authentic African beads for our friend, Alex.

Lots of variety, but nothing Michael's wouldn't carry.

These are more fitting for the Carribean

This is the third coffee stop of the day...yes, third.

They get to the point here, NO BILL SPLITTING!

From Kalk Bay, we continued southwest along the coast to Boulders Beach, just outside Simons Town, where ther is a large penguin colony. The penguins are African (Jackass) Penguins (Sphensicus demersus). They are refered to as Jackass penguins because they make donkey-like braying sounds when on land. Pretty funny to listen to and watch as they waddle from place to place.

Happy Feet....

Insert Morgan Freeman narration here...March of the Penguins

Look Thang, "peewees"

After spending some time enjoying the penguins and the beach, it was time to head back to Rondebosch. It was a long drive back to our place, but along the way we saw one more item of note:

We're getting closer ...