Schlink Attack: Penguins

Thursday, January 5, 2017

Cape of Good Hope

Mark and I promised ourselves there would be no hiking today. Who were we kidding? We ended up doing a 90 minute hike to sit on the edge of the world, at the Cape of Good Hope. At least the hike was easy, consisting of 95% wonky boardwalk and 5% rocky trail, but at the end I was still sweating like a pig. I guess coastal humidity and wearing jeans didn't help. But oh, the views of churning waves, resident birds, and the rock faces made it all worthwhile. (If you could ignore the pregnant wife and shirtless husband trying to kill themselves taking selfies on the cliff edge.)

Upon our return, we had the option to hike up to the official top where the famous lighthouse sits and funicular stops but unanimous votes went to eating at the Two Oceans Restaurant. Mark and I were pretty convinced this restaurant, though with a spectacular view, would have food only "meh" at best. Boy were we wrong. Between ribs, roasted chicken, and sushi, we went to town. The food was absolutely amazing. My only advice, (and this goes overall for visiting Table Mountain National Park where Cape of Good Hope is situated) is to get there early. By the time we left the restaurant at 1:30pm, the line grew to over an hours' wait and at the park entrance, the line of cars to get in was 1/2 mile long.

Prior to this touristy adventure, we took the kids to Boulders Beach to see penguins. Here we could stroll the boardwalk and admire those adorable creatures do their bird thing from a distance and we could swim among them at a tiny public beach on the other side where there's a second entrance. Margo was convinced she'd be the first Schlink in the ocean. She packed her swim suit and towel and couldn't stop talking about it until she put her feet in and realized how cold the water really was. The icy water didn't stop a lot of people though, and by the time we got there around 9:30am, the beach was nearly packed. The park with the beach section closes their gates when it's filled to capacity, so: get there early if you plan to stay.

Overall, the penguins were cute and I am always glad to pay fees to support public parks. But. Our first experience of seeing penguins in the wild was last year in Ushuaia where we had to drive 2 hours, boat for 20 minutes, then hike to the rookery. The effort of arrival was real which made the whole journey feel magical. Here in South Africa, we walked past the entrance sign that said: Welcome To Boulders Beach, The Easiest Way To See Penguins In The Wild! Well I can't deny that statement.

Cape of Good Hope.
Down below: Dias Beach. No swimming is allowed due to riptides
but you can descend a long staircase to get away
from camera toting tourists like myself.

View of the original lighthouse.
A second more useful lighthouse was built
farther down the cliff after a Portuguese liner named
Lusitania was wrecked in 1911.

Waiting for us at the end of the world.

Father daughter. The family that's
dirty together, stays together.

Mother son. He was telling me a story about mutated
seagull-shark with bomb hands.

You've been warned.

Hanging out.

Going for a swim.

Friday, January 22, 2016

Penguins in Ushuaia

I felt a little sting to the wallet as I handed over a pile of cash to the Pira Tour representative to solidify 4 spots for the famous Walk with Penguins tour. After all, we'd just seen hundreds of penguins the other day when we took our 2nd boat tour of the Beagle Channel. How would this excursion be any different other than smelly? I surmised.

Turns out- it was totally different. It blew my mind and I regret nothing.

Mark and I bundled up the kids and headed to the docks for an early bus pick up. Only it wasn't a bus- it was more like a multi-passenger monster truck with tires taller than my kids. For the next two hours we cruised along the rocky National Route #3 to our first destination. Our guide was a young and enthusiastic man who was nearly done with his tourism and hospitality degree at university. Completely oblivious to car sickness Niko stood backwards in the truck, telling us how Canadian beavers were introduced to Ushuaia nearly devastating the forests a 100 years ago and eventually swimming the Beagle Channel to invade Chile. Or how the jagged mountain peaks indicated they were taller than 1,000 meters because they were higher than a prehistoric glacier that once covered the area. The local knowledge rolled off his tongue and before we knew it, we had arrived to Estancia Haberton, a historic and gorgeous cattle ranch where we would prepare for the next leg of travel.

In order to get to the penguin rookery on Martillo Island, we were treated with an very exciting ocean romp on a Zodiac. If it weren't for an obscene number of penguins milling about the shore, I doubt my kids would have gotten off the boat, they loved it so much. After multiple ~~pep talks~~ warnings to keep a 3 meter distance from the birds, and to remain extremely quiet we were led onto the shore only to have overexcited selfie takers and oblivious rule breakers freak out with the first batch of penguins. (I will smugly point out that the Schlinks abided.) Niko calmly regathered us, and eventually the Magellanic penguins and a few King penguins sidled back to their spots. We also got to see a small patch of Gentoo penguins in their nests- though to be the only ones living on continental South America. Normally they reside in Antarctica.

Moving along as a cohort we got to see their nests: hundreds of 12-18" burrows dotted the landscape, each with a parent penguin nestled with one or two babies. Margo was elated by this adorability factor, which in turn elated me. On the water, penguins torpedoed through the waves, while others sunned themselves on the pebbly beach. Before we knew it, our time was up and we needed to return to the farm for rhubarb crisp and hot chocolate.

Our next hour was spent touring the Acatushún Museum, dedicated to studying birds and marine life of South America. Interestingly, the skeleton collection started with washed up animals found by Natalie Goodall, a biologist from Ohio who had travelled and worked extensively through Venezuela and the Caribbean before setting roots at Estancia Haberton. Here she raised a family and continued studying local flora and fauna, publishing scientific articles well into her 70s. Deets was overwhelmed with the gorgeous skeletons and baleen fronds. His enthusiasm inspired an intern to give him a tour of the lab, where no other visitors were allowed. Reluctantly, it was time to board the lime green truck-bus and head back to Ushuaia. Of course Margo and Deets passed out, heads in our laps after 10 minutes, despite the rough drive. How kids can do that, I'll never know.