Boulders Beach is a wonderful option if you want to both swim and see some penguins. Or just want to be chased by a wild animal and survive to tell the story.

Recently I made my way down here with a friend as a second stop that was part of a giant Peninsula tour. The first stop was Kalk Bay to visit Olympia Cafe, I will have you know. Boulders beach is a typical tourist situation, park fees are a little pricey, and the beach is small and to be shared with temperamental penguins (which is quite fair, I think). However, possessing ‘Wild Cards’, going on a windswept day, and having the ability to escape allowed us to emerge intact, and with some nice photos to boot.

They are actually quite photogenic creatures, and the black and white makes it really easy to capture their detail (or lack thereof) effortlessly. Somehow I feel like I escaped with a part of their soul, stored gently on the SD card in my camera, and my hard drive for all eternity (‘little do they know’, the author chuckles sneakily to himself). I would have felt guilty but the steep park entry price made me feel that it was poetic justice, and photographic justice too.

More seriously, I think the world needs to see these wonderful creatures and be motivated to visit Cape Town (among other places) to see them, and help protect their environment. Trump is in and with the climate changing as never before, we don’t know what these little guys in suits will do – and it surely must get hot being in those suits all day. Luckily, we can cool down with ease in this city, with cold ocean temperatures (and technology for when we’re lazy) but no such luck for these animals as their environ slowly diminishes from the mean.

All in all, if you can’t have access to my hard drive in years to come, perhaps head down to Boulders beach before it is too late and capture a soul or two of your own.