(I know it has been a while since I’ve last blogged! I had written a few updates about our last 3 weeks in Cape Town but they have vanished into the ether!! I’m working with WordPress to get them back up. In the meantime…)
Last week, we stayed overnight on this beautiful old wine farm about an hour outside of Cape Town. Our room even came with a dog (pictured below, not above.) Theo was enamored.
We enjoyed sampling wines and visiting a few wineries, but the highlight for sure was our visit to the penguin colony on the drive there. Stony Point Nature Reserve is home to one of the largest successful breeding colonies of penguins in the world.
The breeding ground is near an old abandoned whaling station where until the 30s, hundreds of whales were killed each year for their oil. When the whale station finally closed, the penguins started to breed here. Penguins typically nest on islands to keep away from predators, so it’s quite a phenomenon to find a colony on the mainland.
There’s a more famous colony (don’t tell these penguins) at Boulder’s Beach but we heard it was very crowded with tourists so we headed here instead. There was hardly anyone there when we visited, which was great as we had some nice one-on-one time to commune with the penguins and also I realize I can’t stand crowds anymore.
Not much separates you from the penguins except for some mesh fencing and a boardwalk winding through the area. It was really incredible to be so close to these adorably comical creatures!
Being here made me think how before we left on our trip, I was worried about how taking Theo out of his routine (and preschool) would affect him. I’d say he’s more than ok!
McBergs Abroad 