Ten islands and two mainland sites support the African penguin along the Western Cape coastline, and while the Boulders Beach penguin colony is by far the more well known of the two mainland sites, the well established colony at Stony Point is certainly not something to be missed out on either.

Located in the breathtaking little coastal town of Betty’s Bay in the Overberg, the Stony Point Nature Reserve is home to a breeding colony of African penguins, protected through fences and human intervention, which is just as well given the number of dogs and even leopards that roam the area (which by the way forms part of the greater Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve).

A relatively low entrance fee gives access to a lengthy raised boardwalk that winds it way through the colony, allowing the public the opportunity to see these adorable (but generally oh so smelly) flightless birds up close as they go about their daily activities in their natural habitat without disturbing or disrupting them.

Also present in the colony are three species of cormorant, namely the Crowned cormorant, the Cape cormorant, and the Bank cormorant, all of which breed and nest alongside the penguins in the nature reserve. Loads of dassies (Rock Hyrax) also share the space, and you are bound to spot a large number of southern rock agamas (lizards) sunning themselves amongst all this frenzied activity as well.

Interestingly enough, the colony lies on the site of the old Waaygat Whaling Station, which was used to harvest and process whale meat in the early to mid 1900s. Remnants of the infrastructure for this long-defunct industry can still be found at the site, though at this point most of it has completely degraded to an unrecognizable state.

Anyway, these are the photos that I snapped during one of our visits on a sunny September day:

There’s also a little community restaurant adjacent to Stony Point, but as you might have guessed from the last bunch of photos in the gallery, my girls opted to rather come home and tuck into waffles and ice cream from our local The Waffle Cafe instead. Can’t really blame them, that place is a winner!

Related Link: Stony Point Nature Reserve | Betty’s Bay