We begin our south coast excursion in Simon's Town
. . staying in Backpacker (private room) lodging . . right on the main drag
. . sitting on this long veranda . . under a Full Moon . .
Day time view of our ( upper floor ) 'hotel' . .
There is a Naval Base here . . AND . . a good - sized Marina for private moorage
It's a small town . . with a Victorian mood . . and an active Waterfront
. . Perfect size to move about On Foot . . choosing a place to enjoy a meal . .
Since about 2004 . . several adjacent parks were incorporated
and the new name became . . Table Mountain National Park.
This particular section is 'popularly' considered Africa's southern TIP
. . BUT . . as we will see in the next POST
. . it is not really the geographically accurate location.
Nonetheless . . it draws bus loads of tourists from Cape Town
and makes . . an unforgettable day trip !
We take the "Flying Dutchman" Funicular up as far up as it goes . .
From there . . we begin the first of several climbs . . in many directions
. . offering every possible camera angle . .
Looking back down . . to where we started . .
Arriving at the 1860 Lighthouse ( at the top ) . . before we learn the story . .
. . that it was not effective . . too often covered with Clouds and Mist . .
From this perch we spot the Replacement . . way down there . . on Diaz Point
Hmmm . . looks like people are walking down to the newer lighthouse . . on that puny trail !
Puny trail . . Here we come . .
Surrounded by water . . on both sides . . Beautiful DAY . . to match . . Memorable SCENERY
The tiny speck we saw from above . . is this functional newer Lighthouse . . .
We can't get any closer . . End of puny trail !
Cape Point . . and the Cape of Good Hope . . are neighboring points . . in this same area.
Moving back up coast towards Simon's Town once again
we start . . looking for . . PENGUINS
Past the ticket booth . . this Boardwalk leads us to . .
. . an active Colony of the Bird that we have so far only seen . . 'stuffed' . . in stores
It's 'MOULTING' season.
First they FATTEN up . . before 3 - weeks of FASTING
. . while they are REPLACING their FEATHERS.
During that time they loose their waterproofing . . so are confined to land.
Salt GLANDS near the skull . . take care of the excess build up of Salt
( . . from their Fish 'diet' and Salt Water 'drink' . . )
Salt is expelled through their Nostrils . . Build up there is chipped away by flicking their Beaks.
There's always at least ONE in every crowd ( Isn't there ? ) . .
This one wasn't listening
. . and thought they were supposed to . . . 'MATE' . . . instead of 'MOULT' !!!
At a loss for words . . Rusty and Wrinkles bring this Post . . to a . . ( well, okay ) . . climax !
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I don't know what to say about the penguins. You two are having too much fun.
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