Penguins / Boulders Beach, Cape Town

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Boulders is a popular beach near Simon's Town, which gets its name from the large boulders surrounding it, is fairly small. It is world famous for its colony of African penguins (Jackass penguins).

There are more than 3000 African penguins currently in boulders, mainly because penguins from the surrounding islands immigrated to the beach. Although they attract hundreds of thousands of tourists every year, they can be disturbing to the inhabitants as they go on safari in the neighborhood.

Park your car at the parking lot, pay the entry fee, and go either to Boulders Beach to enjoy a relaxed time, swimming together with penguins or walk further on and you will get to a spotting place, where you will be able to see most of the penguins from a small distance. But please do No try to catch or touch the penguins

An entry fee ZAR 30 (as of Dec 2008) per person is charged.

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Boulders Beach is world famous for its colony of African penguins that have been living here since 1983, when the first couple of these interesting birds appeared in the neighbourhood. Today there are about 2500 individuals in the colony.
There are two possibilities of observing penguins at Boulders Beach. The first one is free of charge. From the car park you can take a path called Willis Walk. You will see penguins among the vegetation along the path. When you reach the end of it there's a small car park from which you have a view over Boulders Beach and recreational area which is accessible for those with the tickets. The other option is to enter the Boulders National Coastal Park ( admission fee is R 30 = 4.20 US dollars). Here you can see the birds from specially designed board walks and viewing platforms. This main penguin viewing area is called Foxy Beach and is only for penguins use. Through another entrance, near the end of Willis Walk you can get down to the Boulders Beach where you can observe penguins from a short distance or, especially in summer, share a swim with them. But be careful not to get too close, as the penguins are said to have a nasty bite.

African penguins are not big. They measure about 50 cm and weigh between 2.5 and 3.7 kg. Their characteristic feature is a black stripe curving across the top of their chest. Their young have the blue/ grey backs and white bellies without that black stripe. African penguins are "steady in love" and have the same partner for years.

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To some people it is a surprising fact that there are penguin colonies in Africa. That’s reason enough to see these sympathic animals. In the 1980s, the african penguin (or jackass penguin, because of the sound they make) was an extremeley endangered species. Today, the population has risen again to a stable level, but preservation measures are still necessary. You can see the penguins from several places at Boulders Beach, but I would like to recommend the bird sanctuary. It costs 25 rands to get into it. Here, you’ll get some basic information about the penguins and the chance to come close to the animals. The money is used for further preservation activities. The smell of the penguins is not the most pleasant, especially when they are chaning their feathers. But that should be nothing to worry about. You can easily visit this spot on a daytrip around the Cape Peninsula, where you’ll enjoy the diversity of this flora and fauna.

No, its not some sort of mistake, if you visit Boulders Beach, you will see Penguins walking around in the sun on the beach.
Located in a gorgeous spot between Simons Town and Cape Point is this world renowned beach that houses the unique African Penguins that are seen as a vulnerable species.
Only about 10% of the original 1,5 million penguins are still around, so really worth seeing them.
The drive to Boulders will take around 40 minutes and is very very scenic.

Here you will see the colony of the African penguin on the beach and by the broadway. Nice place to check out. Bring a camera you will take lots of pictures. Boulders name comes from a cluster of large granite boulders breaking the coastline and providing numerous sheltered inlets and reefs.

Not much to say here. I was so looking forward to seeing the penguins... and see them I did. It was not quite as I imagined it to be - the penguins are on Boulders Beach - you are not. You are on a boardwalk that juts (just) onto it. You have to go through a visitors centre to pay to get in and, whilst these penguins really are wild and their environment is human-free and rather extensive,,, it has the feel of viewing them as you would in at a zoo!

This is the beach where all the penguins come ashore to nest. You can pay the entrance fee to get on the beach, or just go on the walking trail and also see penguins right next to the trail. They are really cute to watch, jumping over rocks and greeting each other.

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The African Penguins are nicknamed "jackass" because their bray resembles that of a donkey. I guess they weren't in a talkative mood when I saw them, as I didn't really hear it. Penguins are my favorite zoo animal, so it was nice to see them in the "wild" - although their colony is protected. This was the 2nd colony we saw - as we stopped at Betty's Bay on the way to Cape Town from Port Elizabeth. The Cape Town colony seemed smaller, but I liked the beach better, vs. almost all rocks at Betty's Bay.