Marine Life in and near Cape Town

Boulders Penguin Colony

Boulders Penguin Colony is home to a growing colony of the vulnerable African Penguin. Wooden walkways allow visitors to view the penguins in their natural habitat and there is also a new information centre. ... more

With thousands of kilometres of coastline, encompassing two oceans with completely different ecosystems, South Africa's diversity of marine life is incredible. Tours are offered at various points around the coastlines for the marine wildlife enthusiast, or you can just stand on the shore line or put on your snorkel and experience the diversity on your own.

Situated on the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, Tsitsikamma is a prime location for viewing a wide diversity of marine life. Dolphins and porpoises are commonly seen frolicking in the waves, and tours are available to explore the huge tidal pools in the area. If you are lucky, you may spot a Cape Clawless Otter, a notoriously elusive but playful creature indigenous to the area.

The tropical waters off of St. Lucia and Sodwana Bay on the northern coast of KwaZulu Natal offer snorkellers spectacular reefs with thousands of species of tropical fish.

Most notable, however, is the preference of these beaches as a nesting site for thousands of leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles. Every summer, these normally ocean-bound reptiles crawl out from the sea to dig holes in the sand for their eggs to incubate. Turtle tours are available as the animals emerge late at night and will be hard to find without a guide. Amazingly, the turtles return to the exact beaches where they themselves were hatched.

The African penguin is a symbol of Cape Town, and thousands of these birds return year after year to their nesting grounds in Simon's Town. They are a delight to visitors: they are swift and graceful in the water but their clumsy gait and comical antics can entertain visitors for hours. Tourists visiting Cape Town should definitely make a visit to see them at Boulders Beach.