It’s finally time to describe my second favourite spot in South Africa! My favourite and most unique experience in South Africa was in Simon’s Town (swimming and sunbathing with penguins). I’m sure it’s not surprising that my second favourite place contains penguins as well.
Betty’s Bay is along the Garden Route, I drove by when I drove from J-bay back to Cape Town. When you arrive in Betty’s Bay, where Stony Point is located, you’ll be greeted by an impressive backdrop.
Stony Point Penguin Colony
Then, when you reach the entrance of the Stony Point Penguin Colony don’t focus too much on the gate. You don’t actually have to enter to see the wildlife. For example, there are quite a few dassies lounging on the stones near the entrance. My first mention of dassies was in my blog post about Table Mountain, and after three weeks I did not get tired of seeing these cute little guys lounging on stones.
And if you’re lucky you’ll find some penguins who are making the great escape. Just kidding, the penguins are not kept inside the colony. They live there by choice. South Africans have built bridges along the colony so that people can have a look, but penguins are free to leave whenever they want. That’s why, a few years ago, they were terrorising people’s back gardens.
The colony itself offers a nice walking path with again a gorgeous back drop. Betty’s Bay is beautiful with its high mountains right by the sea.
You can already see some penguins lounging around in the photos above. This is what’s so amazing about the place. There are penguins everywhere!
I love penguins, I love how they’re so awkward and how they waddle around. Especially when you watch them jumping around the rocks near the sea, they’re quite a spectacle. To be honest, I always compare myself to a penguin because I’m equally awkward. If my house would be on top of rocky cliffs, it would take me half an hour to reach the sea too.
Conclusion
As you can probably judge by my enthusiastic post, I would recommend anyone to go here! It’s fantastic! It’s giving you a sneak peak into the normal lives of penguins. They’re not living in captivity here, this is their natural home. It’s a great place to chill out for a few hours and to laugh at the antics of the penguins.
