The Penguins

In the afternoon, we had the highlight of our cruise when we went out to the Bluff Cove farm to see Penguins, both Gentoo and King. We took a bus to the farm entrance, then 4x4 Range Rovers over some very rough terrain to get to the beach where the Penguin colony was located. There were over 1,000 penguins there, mostly just standing around. Some were sitting on eggs or babies to keep them warm.  It was an amazing experience. They were very friendly and didn't seem too concerned that we were there.

We needed these 4X4 vehicles to get over some deep ditches 

and across some streams to get to the beach. It was quite the ride.

There were Penguins on the beach for as far as we could see.  

They basically live here year round

The Gentoos are a smaller Penguin with a white patch over their eyes.
The Kings have a bright orange marking on their breast and head.
Most of the Penguins in the colony were Gentoos.

The Kings were sitting on eggs and keeping babies warm

The young Gentoos were also learning to swim and were frolicking down at the beach

They also liked to sun themselves

This Penguin was very friendly and came right up to us

Many of the young Gentoos were also molting, losing their baby feathers

Being with the Penguins was a special experience for us