Whales @ Hermanus and Penguins @ Betty’s Bay

At Hermanus we stayed at the Grotto Beach parking for the night, before we went to explore the coastline along the cliff path. In the afternoon we stopped at Betty’s Bay to visit the penguin colony.

Klein River Mouth and Walker Bay
Southern Right Whales were promised

The whales arrive here starting from June and stay to have their babys in the “warm” water of the bay. We hiked along the cliff path, which gives you a good view, looking out for whales. Some locals assured us that some had already arrived this year. And finally, we spotted one breaching (coming straight out of the water and splashing back in).

There!
We truly saw one, just not that close.

What a great hike along the coast, with the cliff path leading us through dense vegetation and past viewpoints from where we had a good view over the sea.

We left lovely Hermanus and drove to Betty’s Bay to watch the penguins living at the Stony Point Nature Reserve. It was a sunny but very, very windy day, so we had to put another layer on (real men don’t need long pants of course).

Getting ready for the penguins
We paid entrance to see penguins and then that
“Pin-pin”
Egyptian Goose
Boardwalk through the penguin colony

The African penguin is an endangered species. Roughly 4 million African penguins existed at the beginning of the 19th century. Of the 1.5 million African penguins estimated in 1910, only some 10% remained at the end of the 20th century. African penguin populations, which breed in Namibia and South Africa, have declined by 95% since pre-industrial times.

Baby penguin looking for his parents
White-breasted cormorant
On the way back to the nest
Baby birds getting finally fed

It was great to be able to watch the penguins, especially when the youngsters were getting fed.

We are now on the way to the Cape of Good Hope, not the most southern point, but the more spectacular one, than the Cape Agulhas we just visited. More on the next post!

2 thoughts on “Whales @ Hermanus and Penguins @ Betty’s Bay”

  1. Cordy and Edi I met you in the parking lot at Grotto Beach. Thank you for being such amazing video makers for my friend in Austria. It has been interesting seeing your blog. Especially the part about the Eastern Cape where I had spent the last 18 years before meeting you in Hermanus. Your pictures are really stunning! Enjoy the rest of your trip. 🙂

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