Boulder’s Beach, Simon’s Town, SOUTH AFRICA – After a fabulous day trip of visiting coastal attractions, including Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, we student journalists took in one of the country’s most popular tourist locations: Boulders Beach.
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Located in Simon’s Town, Boulders Beach is home to an endangered species of African penguin, which we learned (to our amusement) are sometimes called “Jackass Penguins.”
The visit to the beach was part of the nature and environmental lessons at Youth Journalism International’s 2025 Global Conference.
As we walked towards the beach, I felt my excitement build. Perhaps ignorantly, I had only ever imagined penguins inhabiting icy, cold environments, and this bright and sunny day had already exceeded my expectations.
Before we had even reached the ticket barrier, we saw a small crowd of people gathered around a bush. Upon closer inspection, a penguin lay, nestled within the branches in a small burrow, sitting on some eggs, apparently unfazed by the attention.
Our tour guide, Sheldon Peinke, pointed out that this one was protecting its eggs, and this only increased my anticipation. The fact that the penguins were not confined to the beach (as I had expected, with it being a tourist attraction) fueled a smaller sense of trepidation in me, and this was only increased when we passed through the barrier and onto the boardwalk toward the beach.
In those first few moments, what struck me the most was the peaceful and tranquil nature of the beach.
Despite the boardwalk for tourists being overcrowded with people, all shifting for a space at the front for the best view, all I could hear was the rhythmic crash of the waves.
I have no doubt that at least some of my fellow onlookers felt the same excitement as I did, yet there was no bustling noise, or loud chatter. It felt like a collective effort to respect the penguin’s quiet, and in doing so this greatly enhanced the experience of seeing them.
What started off as only seeing a few penguins on either side of the boardwalk on the sandy dunes, turned into a small colony that were gathered together on the main beach.
Some lay on their fronts, some bobbed about in the sea, while others stood in pairs and threes. Several waddled around, leaving little webbed footprints in the pale sand.
My favorite activity to watch was when two penguins waddled as fast as they could into the sea, apparently playing in the waves.
I was lucky enough to get a space at the front and have a clear view of these adorable animals. The water was crystal clear when it came to making waves, and it was very enjoyable peering through my binoculars to every so often spot a hidden penguin swimming in a wave.
After a while, we trekked to a different path on the beach, one that took you through a more woodland-inhabited area where we saw another living space for the penguins.
Many had little burrows and small, human-made tunnels which they seemed to sleep in. The smell was slightly overpowering – a mix of fish and penguin waste.
Hidden among the greenery of the trees and bushes, we were pleasantly surprised to spot more dassies (or hyraxes) which are the little furry animals we encountered on Table Mountain a few days prior.
As we emerged onto another boardwalk on the opposite side, we found it less crowded, and there were even benches where we could sit and watch in more comfort.
It may sound cliché, but had the light not been fading, I could have watched, transfixed, for hours.
The penguins at Boulders Beach are a beautiful sight in a lovely setting, a moment of calm in the rush of the big city.
Gemma Christie is a Correspondent with Youth Journalism International from England. She wrote this article, contributed a photo, made the audio recording and did video reporting.
Holly Hostettler-Davies is an Associate Editor with Youth Journalism International from Wales. She contributed video reporting.
Dorothy Quanteh is a Reporter with Youth Journalism International. She took the feature photo at the top of this story.
Click on the logo below for more from YJI’s 2025 Global Conference in Cape Town:
