10 best places to see penguins
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Naturally dressed for any black-tie affair, penguins unfortunately get few party offers, probably on account of their ridiculous waddle and that offensive habit of coughing up dead fish. Yet, cute as hell, we just can't help but bring the party to them. Here are some of the best places on the planet to catch these remarkable birds in action - on their own terms!
South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands, Subantarctic Islands: More penguins, elephant seals and albatross than you can shake a stick at! All of the allure of Antarctica at half the distance (from the tip of South America that is). One of the world's last true wildlife spectacles.
Mainland West Antarctica: Want to see the March of the Penguins first hand? This is where that beautiful mess goes down! Home to emperor penguin rookeries and Antarctica's highest peak, Mainland West Antarctica is a true adventure traveler's ice dream come true!
Boulders Beach, South Africa: I love jackass penguins, they seriously rule! And in South Africa - or Africa period for that matter, this is where to see them. Beautifully ironic juxtaposition with the Cape Town beaches, sun, sand, surf and sharks. Couldn't be more surreal, or more real South Africa. A great little spot.
Punta Tombo, Argentina: Amazing. Camelids walking amongst scores of penguins in a desert. Add maras and elephant seals to the equation, and you have all of God's creatures jumbled up into a jigsaw puzzle that only makes sense to Darwin. Love this place. Amazing beautiful and utterly fascinating
Paracas National Reserve: Peru's wildest coastal treasure. A truly raw, starkly beautiful corner of the world - home to abundant Humboldt penguins. geoglyphs, sea lions and guano birds galore. Paracas alone is reason enough to visit Peru
Yécapasela Reserve, Ushuaia, Argentina: Ushuaia may be the gateway to Antarctica, but you'll start feeling the penguin infestation before you are even out the gate. Yecapasela is home to thousands of Magellanic penguins, along with a nice handful of gentoo penguins and rock cormorants. I'm confused as to whether it's a coastal wonderland or black-tie only convention, but I love it. The universe left magic dust at the tip of South America
Antarctic Peninsula: The Antarctic Peninsula is the Antarctica most people get to see. An immense strip of land jutting into the Southern Ocean, it is home to penguins, seals, killer whales and every shade of ice you can possibly imagine. This is also the region of Antarctica most impacted by climate change. It's an icy world in a state of rapid change. Catch it now before it's character is lost to us.
Penguin Parade, Philip Island, Australia: Amazing! Each sunset, hundreds of little fairy penguins emerge from the chilly Southern Ocean, waddle up the beach and into the bushes to locate their chicks, patiently waiting in nest burrows. The Penguin Parade has an excellent visitor facility with arena seating, an educational center and a network of boardwalks, allowing you to observe the penguins up close without disturbing them
Pinnacle Rock, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador: Probably the most iconic landmark in the Galapagos Islands. This place is fantastically beautiful and even more fantastically interesting. There is a bizarre history of military occupation around the pinnacle and best of all, the penguins live here
South Islands, New Zealand: Who would ever expect to see penguins in a land that looks surprisingly (or not) like the Lord of the Ring's Middle Earth? But even weirder than that is, who'd expect to find penguins living in the rainforest?? Well, that's New Zealand for you, a land of oddities and contradictions at every corner. Here on the South Island, you'll find three of the world's most unique penguins - the little blue penguin
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