Africa's own little Penguin: African/ Jackass Penguin

Ahoy there sailors!

40 km’s to the East of Hermanus and just off the coast of Gansbaai is Dyer Island, one of the Island homes/ colonies of the African Penguins (Also known as the Jackass Penguin).

Underwater African Penguin by Scott Hanko

 40 km’s West of Hermanus in the sleepy hollow of Betty’s Bay lies Stony Point, one of only three main land colonies of the African Penguin (Spheniscus Demersus).

African Penguins at Stony Point

What a truly unique bird. Not only is it Africa’s only species of penguin, it is also the only one that lives in non-freezing environment.

What makes the African Penguin also unique is that it has pink glands above their eyes. These little pink glands help them cope with the heat, the hotter it is, the more the blood rush to these glands making it quicker and causing the blood to cool.

Their little markings of black that they have on their white chest are as unique as human fingerprints.

Another interesting fact about the penguins is they have more feathers than any other bird. Our little African Penguins grow to about 40 cm tall and can way up to 4 kg. They reach sexual maturity between two to four years old and a breeding pair will breed for life for a period of about 10 years. they return to their same nests and mom and dad will share the responsibility of incubation.

African Penguins mate for life 

They can reach speeds of 20 km/h under water and they can dive to 100 m deep. These penguins can swim to about 110 km distance from the nest to hunt before returning home to feed the young.

The African Penguin feeds on Anchovies, pilchards, sardines, herrings, mackerel as well as Shellfish and Squid.

Their biggest predators are Sharks and Cape Fur Seals and their eggs and chicks are eaten by Cape Gulls, Scared Ibises, Mongoose, snakes and even leopards.

What makes the trip to Hermanus unique is that you can see the rare sight of Island as well as land colonies in one day. This is unique.

Unfortunately our little African Penguins are extremely endangered. The biggest threat to the African Penguin is that it has no where to nest. As it lives in a non freezing environment it cannot burrow into snow. The African Penguin used to burrow into Guano (bird poop) however as all Guano was scraped off the rocks in the last century as it was used for fertilizer, the African Penguin could only burrow into soft ground and that is a scarcity in the Western Cape Coast as they are mainly made out of hard sandstone rock.

Thanks to the wonderful efforts  made by the Overstrand Municipality at Stony Point and the Dyer Island Conservation Trust at Dyer Island, projects have been launched to build these penguins little shelters for breeding couples. If you wish to help and sponsor a home or get more details you can go to the following sites: www.dict.org.za; www.overstrand.gov.za. It is worthwhile noting that by choosing to go on the whale watching boat from DyerIsland Cruises, a portion of your fee goes to the preservation of the African Penguin at Dyer Island.

Also check out Two Oceans Aquarium who actively draw awareness to the plight of the African Penguins and their annual Penguin Waddle from Gansbaai to Stony Point and eventually Boulders is a highlight in the Windsor calendar.

No trip to Hermanus or the Cape Whale Coast is complete without seeing our little feathery friends.

Wish you all plain sailing until we meet again next week, same place, same time.

Penguin houses built by Dyer Island Conservation Trust

Easter in the Overberg!

Ahoy there sailors!

Easter in the Overberg means it’s time for the famous Passion Play to take place at the Old Harbour in Hermanus. This has to be one of the most unique settings for a passion play. People come annually from as far afield as Johannesburg and Pretoria just to come and watch this truly unique event.

What makes it unique you may ask yourself, is the surrounding. Nowhere else in the world will you find yourself in an old harbour dating back a hundred years or so watching the story of Jesus Christ unfold on and around the cliffs of the Hermanus. The event takes place on Good Friday every year and as the moon rises over Walker Bay so the Passion Play begins.

With the sea as your backdrop the story unfolds. What better place to get the full meaning of this massive biblical story?

One of the best things about the Passion Play at the Old Harbour is you get to take along your picnic basket, blankets, camper chairs and the whole family gets to spend some quality time together.

The Passion Play was originally started by Tannie Lisma Kotze in 1995 with little support as nobody thought she could get the town to cooperate and make this a success, and yet now, 19 years later, the event continues to thrive with Fanus le roux as the Producer and Reichard Singleton as the main actor as well as one of the children’s favourites Geelbek, the donkey who’s been a star since the event started in 1995.

For more information and photos visit http://www.passiespel.co.za/ and http://hermanusonline.co.za/index.php/blog-post/hermanus-passion-play-good-friday-18-april-2014.

Here at The Windsor this is core to our belief of a family spending quality time together. With this in mind we’ve developed a very traditional children’s programme at the hotel so that the kids can have a lot of good old fashion fun at the hotel while mom and pop can sit back and relax.

Included in the children’s programme is an Easter egg hunt, musical chairs, pin the bunny tail, colour in competition and many more activities!

Wish you all pain sailing until we meet again next week, same place, same time. 

HAIRY BUT NOT SCARY

Ahoy there sailors! 

It’s April in the Overberg and the grape harvest in now almost all in. It’s time for all the wine estates to enjoy a little bit of a celebration after bringing in the harvest. Nobody does this better or in a more unique manner than the crazy gang along the Botriver Wine Route. Their harvest celebration is named 'Barrels and Beards Harvest Celebration' and this is going to be their third year of presenting what is truly a unique experience.

Tradition in this wine making area is that during the harvesting period none of the wine makers or people of the wine estate are allowed to shave until the harvest comes in and at the Barrels and Beards Festival the best beard is chosen of the wine makers. This has become a highly contested competition and last year we even saw props being used and special themes chosen to go with these beards. We expect this year will brief to be a hair raising event and we anticipate the winner will win by a whisker!

The event includes complimentary barrel tastings of the 2014 wines, there’s lots to eat and a host of music and entertainment including the famous barrel race. If you are hoping to get tickets to this occasion which cost R 270 per person we have bad news as the event is sold out for this year. The good news is there’s going to be another one next year!

For more information contact Nicolene 082 852 6547 or visit their website. 

This event is limited to only 200 people per year and takes place on the Anysbos Farm. This is truly a must do event for any wine lover, especially those with a sense of humor and adventure!

Wish you all plain sailing until we meet again next week, same place, same time.