South African Penguins

Janet Donald | Wednesday, February 14, 2018

“It’s impossible to convey in words the fascination and sheer fun of observing penguins.”

It’s impossible to convey in words the fascination and sheer fun of observing penguins, including weighing fluffy grey babies while the parents protest loudly. Every hour of our work in March 2012 was unforgettable and gave me an endless number of stories. As an Australian, this included the irony that the penguins rely on the hated and openly maligned Western Australian rooikrans for their nesting. The acacia is indeed an ugly foreign invader. And the fact that eucalypts (of which there are 700 species) are still called gum trees. Eucalypts are the cockroach trees of the planet, that’s for sure. The ones on Robben Island are seriously old! I hope I can make time to come again. Penguins are completely fascinating and I understand researchers’ obsession with them.

Andrew Miller | Monday, October2, 2017

“South African Penguins. A project you must do.”

Only on this Earthwatch project will you actually get to live on Robben Island. The wildlife is brilliant and to be so closely involved with the African Penguins is fantastic. To have the opportunity to actually hold a baby penguin has made so many of my friends jealous on seeing the photographs. I did have bad luck and bad news whilst on the project but the project itself was perfect.

Carol Pierobon Hofer | Monday, July31, 2017

“A behind the scenes experience like no other”

Having almost total access to an island the way few people are allowed in of itself is amazing. Every day brought many learning experiences, findings, and skill-building challenges. It was the best way to fully understand the life cycle and plight of the South African penguin. I gained so much field knowledge working alongside scientists. A bonus was seeing and learning about the other wildlife on Robben Island such as springboks and tortoises.

Nancy Burton | Tuesday, March14, 2017

“South African Penguins”

From day one, you are "hands on" working with the penguins. The animal count at dusk from the back of the truck was a nice change, but bring a warm jacket. The accommodations (WW II housing) were rustic, but certainly adequate. Overall, this is a great Earthwatch with an important purpose.

Reid Bobrownicki | Monday, August1, 2016

“Earthwatch Penguin Project”

We arrived on Robben Island with perfect weather, and it stayed that way for a few days. Every once and a while it would switch between rainy days and cloudless sunshine. The work was great and highly interactive, with literal hands on work with the Penguins. Even when they were trying to peck me to an early grave, they still stayed fun. I couldn't have had a more perfect first Earthwatch trip.

Joan Lacktis | Saturday, July30, 2016

“Penguins and Prisons”

Whoever gets to hold a baby penguin? People on this expedition do. It's a great break from the daily distractions of life to spend two weeks on an island with no internet or shopping centers or traffic. Spend your days checking nests and watching the babies grow, sometimes pulling them out to weigh and measure to make sure they are thriving. Work with passionate and well-informed leaders to learn about these amazing, courageous little creatures. Cooking and eating together gives time to learn about each other, solve the problems of the world, and learn more abut penguins. And you will have an opportunity to tour the former prison, a UNESCO world heritage site, and learn some of South Africa's history and appreciate how much has changed in just 20 years. This trip exceeded my expectations in every way and I feel fortunate that I was able to participate.

Emi Estrada | Wednesday, June8, 2016

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Signing up for this project was the best thing I have done. It was such a privilege to be given the opportunity to live & work in an island that is full of history & inhabited by mostly birds & other wildlife. To be up close & personal with the Penguins was such an awesome feeling. Catching, holding, measuring the chicks was such a privilege & the amazing glory. It was well worth the walking, bending, crawling & being pooped on. I'll do it again for the love of Penguins & other animals.

Hazel Gordon | Wednesday, June8, 2016

“Dedicated researchers assess the health of African penguins and other wildlife on Robben Island near Cape Town”

My three-person volunteer group helped researchers in their efforts to monitor the health and activities of adult and juvenile African penguins in South Africa. We learned a lot about the stresses these animals endure and various means of assessing their individual fitness for breeding and survival. The expedition was run extremely well, having varied tasks to do every day, including counting other targeted species such as Oystercatchers, and introduced antelopes and deer. It was a joy to work with this group of extremely dedicated and ascetic researchers who didn't seem to mind cuts from thorny shrubs and bites from their penguins. This asceticism spilled over to the volunteers as well. This careful handling of animals also extended to the protection of other injured species such as a non-flying cape cormorant that was brought back for treatment during our field expedition.

Hazel Gordon | Wednesday, June8, 2016

“Dedicated researchers assess the health of African penguins and other wildlife on Robben Island near Cape Town”

My three-person volunteer group helped researchers in their efforts to monitor the health and activities of adult and juvenile African penguins in South Africa. We learned a lot about the stresses these animals endure and various means of assessing their individual fitness for breeding and survival. The expedition was run extremely well, having varied tasks to do every day, including counting other targeted species such as Oystercatchers, and introduced antelopes and deer. It was a joy to work with this group of extremely dedicated and ascetic researchers who didn't seem to mind cuts from thorny shrubs and bites from their penguins. This asceticism spilled over to the volunteers as well. This careful handling of animals also extended to the protection of other injured species such as a non-flying cape cormorant that was brought back for treatment during our field expedition.

Rochelle Young | Monday, May23, 2016

“An Unexpected Fulfillment”

When an opportunity of a lifetime comes up, what are you supposed to do? Grab it & experience it like no other. That is exactly what I did by joining the Earthwatch South African Penguin Expedition in April 2016.

My interest in penguins began in the 11th grade of high school, with an innocent gesture from a friend who gave me a miniature penguin for encouragement for an exam. From that moment began my growing respect & love of the flightless birds.

All the activities that were performed during the two weeks such as monitoring nests; catching, weighing & measuring penguin chicks; moult counts; game counts (of fallow, springbok & steenbok deer); rabbit counts; and beach clean-up were phenomenal & physically challenging. Our Principal Investigator & wife were amazing leaders, who wore their penguin love quite visibly.

What I found to be just as important as the unbelievable penguin experience was the cohesiveness of the group. Six people from varied backgrounds & geographic locations came together for a common goal: the South African Penguins. Our team comprised individuals from Britain, America, Philippines & South Africa. Our cultures, economic & professional backgrounds were irrelevant for the work at hand. Our individual stories regarding our at home lives were very interesting but had no bearing on what we were to accomplish. We worked, ate, cleaned & shared house together with nothing other than mutual respect for one another as people.

I am walking away from this expedition with renewed confidence that this small scale spirit of cooperation can be used as a model for approaching our growing global concerns.

Pamela DeNeve | Saturday, May 24, 2014

“I'm in heaven!”

I had no idea how tenuous the penguin breeding colony on Robben Island had become. I was thrilled to get to see, hold, chase, weigh and measure the chicks. It was a dream come true. The work was very physical crawling under thorny bushes and squatting and bending over to check nests but became very obvious this was much needed data to help save the penguins. My husband, Doug, took many photos to share for penguin identification and that made him feel very useful as a photographer. It was a great privilege to work amongst such dedicated researchers Richard Sherley and Barbara Barham. They wanted us to see and experience all the tasks and to have a good time. I haven't stopped smiling thinking about the penguins. I loved every minute of it.

Pam DeNeve

Daniella Jasen | Thursday, February 06, 2014

“Never be the same”

I am absolutely in love with penguins, so when my dad told me we were doing an Earthwatch with penguins i was ecstatic. My time on Robben Island was probably the most life changing experience to date. The views are absolutely breathtaking and the penguins are amazing. They are the most comical little birds and they are so much fun to work with. The scientists i worked with were so friendly and welcoming it made the experience so much better. They were also very accommodating. We got a few days off and wanted to do shark cage diving but the weather was not permitting, so they worked with us to work on our days off and take different days off so we could see the sharks. So worth it, it was amazing to see such large animals and so close. I would do this expedition again in a heartbeat!!!!

Claire Doe | Thursday, February 06, 2014

“Life on Robben Island”

It's been home to a Leper Colony, psychiatric hospital and a maximum security prison and Robben Island was my home for 2 amazing weeks.

Our main activity was Nest Checking. If there was an adult penguin present, sitting on eggs or chicks, we had to identify it with photos taken previously. If there was no photo record then new photos were taken. If nest had chicks alive and being tended, the chick was categorized depending on age.

Other activities included a Moult Count, Chick Growth Monitoring, Game Counts and Rabbit Counts! We also spent a morning and an afternoon doing very important beach cleaning.

The weather meant that tourist boats were not able to run for two weeks. On our day off we spent the day exploring the island completely uninhibited. We saw an array of wildlife as well as African Black Oystercatchers, Blacksmith Lapwings, Cape & Bank Cormorants, Pied Crows, African Sacred Ibis, Cape Weavers, a Spotted Thick Knee Dikkop, Chukkah Partridges, Fiscal Strikes and more.

Robben Island is a breeding area for Swift Terns and Hartlaub's Gulls and it was fascinating to drive along and be surrounded by a mass of birds with chicks of varying sizes dashing around! The noise was constant but quickly became background noise.

A unique experience that I will never forget and would recommend to anyone.