May 23: Robben Island and Simon's Town Penguins

(Simon's Town African Penguins)

Much to our surprise, RM and I woke to an even more beautiful day than the one we'd seen before. We left our hostel on Long Street early, around 8:30, grabbed breakfast on the street, and headed straight for the waterfront in order to catch the 10am boat to Robben Island. Robben Island is the large island 6km off the coast of Cape Town where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years along with hundreds of South Africa's black political prisoners. Mandela was imprisoned for a total of 27 years; the other 9 were spent in a prison on the mainland. Apart from its historical significance, Robben Island is also the home to over 52,000 'jack-ass' (this is really their name) penguins. Our tour on the island ran over the alloted time so the guide cut out our penguin stop at the end. Intent on seeing penguins while in Africa, RM and I headed straight for the train station upon returning to Cape Town, then hopped a train Simon's Town (50k to the south), Cape Town's first most popular penguin stop.

(Robben Island)

(Train to Simon's Town)

The Boulder Beach penguins are also Jack-Ass (also known as African) Penguins. They're much smaller than anything you would expect to find in a zoo or on the Discovery Channel. RM and I spent about an hour with the penguins, shot another GB worth of photos then caught one of the last trains back to Cape Town to enjoy our last night in the city before heading to Plettenberg Bay tomorrow morning at 7:30 AM on the Baz Bus.

Make sure to check out my South Africa flickr gallery for more photos of today and yesterday.