Mystic Aquarium

Greetings,

Today we went to Betty's Bay. It’s been two long days in a row, but totally worth it. No boat was needed as it is one of the land-based colonies. It is a completely different terrain here than at Dyer Island. Dyer Island is flat as a pancake and all sand and some grass. Betty's bay is all rocky cliffs and shoreline covered with thick brush and bushes. Just a 100 yards back from the penguin colony are houses. The people here hate the penguins, I am told, and are always trying to find ways to keep them off their property. We again met up with Dion and Petey and began on our way.

Hello again!

What an amazing day! Today, we went to Dyer Island. We left very early in the morning, crossed over the Stellenboush Mountains, and met up with Dion from the Cape Nature Institute. He and his crew took Nola and I out on their boat. You need special permitting to even go near the island, and Dion's people of Cape Nature live on the island in shifts to monitor it. As soon as we walked off the boat, there they were, my first penguins in the wild! Nola couldn't stop laughing at me - I was so excited! Then, as we rounded the corner leading up to the house, I saw dozens of penguins by the artificial nests. Dion kept looking at me funny as I acted like a tourist, taking photos. Nola had to kindly explain to him how excited I was and that this was my first time. We went inside for a cup of tea before we started, and while everyone else talked, I was taking photos out the window.

Hi everyone!

Well, day #2 is complete. It is just about time to go home now. I know your day is pretty much just starting in the U.S. Nola laughs at me because every time she asks me the time, I forget and give her Connecticut time (I still haven't changed my watch!).

Yesterday afternoon, we went to what they call their “chick headquarters”. They don't have room here at SANCCOB to keep all the chicks they get in (some years they have as many as 500 chicks for the year – could you imagine?), so one of their wonderfully dedicated local volunteers, (or “vollies” as they call them) sets up a chick shelter at her house. Her name is Cheryl, and two whole rooms of her house are dedicated to the SANCCOB chicks of various species. Right now, she only has eight African chicks and one egret chick. They house all their chicks in crawfish containers lined with towels, except for one chick, which is just a few days old and in an incubator. She takes care of them, feeds them and gives them all their treatments. She cleans each container and launders all those towels daily! Some of the other SANCCOB vollies come to her house each day to help, but she is such an amazing person!

I officially made it! I got here to Cape Town late last night and was met at the airport by Remo, my driver and owner of the lodge where I am staying. I had a hard time sleeping, though, since it was only technically 5 p.m. at home. But I still woke up early this morning and found my way to SANCCOB with the other volunteers at my hotel.

There is a lot of diversity here. I am staying and working with people from Germany, France, Holland, Australia, Great Britain and, of course, South Africa.