Boulders Beach

About 2 km south of Simon’s Town is a lovely series of little sandy coves surrounded by huge boulders (hence the name).

The attraction here is the colony of African penguins that live and nest between the boulders. Boulders Visitors Centre T021-786 2329, http://www.sanparks.org, R30, children R10, Apr-Sep 0800-1700, Oct-Mar 0700-1900, has been created to protect the little creatures, and their numbers have flourished. One of the highlights of a visit to Cape Town is watching them happily go about their business of swimming, waddling and braying (their characteristic braying was the reason they were, until recently, known as Jackass penguins). This is one of two colonies on mainland Africa, the other being in Betty’s Bay . The best time to see large numbers of penguins is just before sunset, when they return from a day’s feeding at sea, but you’re guaranteed to see them at any time of day. While visitors used to be able to walk on the beach it is now a protected area (as part of Table Mountain National Park) and from the visitor’s centre a (wheelchair accessible) boardwalk leads you down to viewpoints over the beach. Look out for the little concrete half moon huts that have been recently installed for the penguins to nest in and look up from the beach where you’re likely to see a single penguin contemplating life from the top of a boulder. Every visitor gets a leaflet telling the story of the colony – it started from just two breeding pairs in 1985 and now numbers some 3000 penguins – and the shop sells all things ‘penguiney’. If you want swim, go to the adjoining Seaforth Beach, which is a lovely sandy cove with a picnic lawn and you may bump into a stray penguin in the water.