Happy Feet African Style!

 April 3, 2025
Cape Town, SA

“I’m not chubby, I’m just a little fluffed up. – A penguin’s excuse.”

South Africa has a wild history--tribal wars before Europeans showed up, trading posts established once they did, colonialism by Germany, then Britain, settlement by the Boers (who started as Europeans and created their own unique people group that actually went into a lop-sided war with Britain which amazingly lasted 3 years), the grinding time of apartheid, and finally its dissolution with the election of Nelson Mandela as the country's first Black African president in 1992.

But today, we focused on a different kind of wild--African penguins. 

These hearty little birds don't head for Antarctic. They remain along the African coast all their lives, nesting in underground burrows and braving the seal-infested waters to hunt for their food. 

Our excursion took us to Boulder Bay to visit a colony of these snappily dressed little birds. There's no sexual dimorphism in penguins. The ladies wear tuxes too, but the poor juveniles are grey puffy creatures who look miserable as they molt. Kind of like human teenagers who grumpily deal with all the changes in their bodies as they go through puberty.  

We also saw rock hyraxes. They are small, rodent-like creatures, but according to our guide, they are more closely related to elephants than rats. 

I'm more than a little dubious about that. 

Anyway, hope you enjoy the DH's montage of photos. This part of South Africa is visually stunning--majestic highlands rising from the waves! 

PS. A word about the choir and band that visited the Sky to perform for us. There was a young girl whose heartfelt voice made me weep as she sang the solo in a song called God Bless Africa. The choir was organized to keep these kids from hanging out on the street and it is obviously a huge a success. They were poised and musical and full of joy! 

Yes, indeed, Lord. Please Bless Africa. Amen.