Today was a long one, we logged over 200 kilometers and 8 hours visiting the Cape of Good Hope Peninsula. One of the absolute highlights for Linda was visiting the Jackass Penguins, recently renamed African Penguins. They got their original name because they make a sound similar to a donkey. It’s hard to imagine but the Penguins fight for their space along a residential beach area on the Eastern side of the Peninsula called “The Boulders”. They are struggling for existence and are protected under law. Doesn’t quite compare to seeing the thousands and thousands we saw in Antarctica, but it’s one of the few warm water Penguins in the world.
Ostrich farming in South Africa is big business and we visited an Ostrich farm where Linda quickly made friends with a few of the locals. The Ostrich are sold for their meat, eggs and leather. Our guide even hosted some Argentine farmers who were investigating raising Ostrich back home in Argentina.
The cost line was beautiful. I have hundreds of photos to sift through when we return. The surf along the coast is very rough and high an attraction for surfers around the world. Whale watching in September and October is very popular in this region. The homes are built right to the water’s edge. I really questioned how smart that was, but here there are no hurricanes and the sea doesn’t present a danger to these homes.
Further down at the tip we had occasion to see wild Ostrich along the shore line. At the Point Cape Lighthouse we had our first encounter with wild Baboons. It’s a problem in the tourist areas as they come up to you and grab your hand bags and clothing looking for food. The attendants at the parking area carried sticks to chase them off; this guy got through and attacked the trash receptacle ultimately finding some orange peels to eat on. Zebra also roam freely in the Peninsula area but we were not fortunate to see any today.
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