Two Oceans Aquarium Assistant Communications and Sustainability Manager Renée Leeuwner is a keen blogger, a member of the Aquarium’s Green Team and the voice behind our Twitter profile. Renée has joined Two Oceans Aquarium Senior Bird Trainer Hayley McLellan and uShaka Sea World’s Gabby Harris as they Waddle for the African penguin; she’ll be live-blogging and tweeting about the Waddle on the road!
Come rain or shine – we will walk!
Silence. Complete silence. That is what we woke up to this morning. The rain was gone and so was the wind.
The Waddlers started their morning with an incredible breakfast that Graeme from Mosiac Farm had organised. A quick check for blisters and “potential” blisters revealed only one or two. There were some complaints about stiff muscles, but those were soon forgotten as distraction was provided by the sun that peaked its head from behind a dark cloud – but only for a moment!
Great excitement rippled through the group as we made it into Die Burger and photos of the article were Facebooked, Tweeted, MMSed and just generally sent all around the country. I’m very sure that this won’t be the last of the articles featuring the Waddlers and our cause.
The Waddlers were ready for their second day of walking and, as if on cue, the rain started bucketing down. Now, I live in Cape Town and I am pretty used to rain, but these raindrops were big, fat, heavy blobs of water that soaked everyone within minutes! The rain stayed with the Waddlers for a large part of the day, but if you were to look for a picture describing “determination” you would find one of the Waddlers.
Onward to Hermanus they just kept going, even with the blister count rising (wet shoes don’t play nice). It seems the rain had given the Waddlers renewed energy and the kilometres flew past in a flash.
In Hermanus, the Waddlers were joined by a group of Hermanus Primary pupils – their school’s eco-warriors. Together they finished the last leg of the second day, ending in front of the Whale Museum, with the learners interviewing the Waddlers for a school project and a penguin documentary.
At the end of the day, the blister count for today is considerably higher than yesterday and the stiff muscles are making their presence known, but that won’t stop the Waddlers. They have a mission and they are committed to it. Tomorrow they will walk from Hermanus the Arabella Western Cape, another 24km.
The Waddle Team would like to express their sincere thanks to Graeme and everyone from Mosaic Farm in Stanford for their incredible hospitality and for accommodating the team in the most amazing setting.
7 Waddlers from various organisations (Two Oceans Aquarium, uShaka Sea World, National Zoological Gardens Pretoria, SANCCOB and Gold Reef City) are walking from Gansbaai to Simon’s Town to raise awareness about the plight of the African penguin. Pledge your support by sending an SMS with the keyword PENGUIN, followed by your promise, to 34008. Follow them on Twitter @penguinpromises, Facebook and www.penguinrpomises.com.
Penguin promises: Waddle for a Week
- Penguin Promises: Waddle for a Week Day 1 (23 May 2011)
- Penguin Promises: Waddle for a Week Day 3 (25 May 2011)
- Penguin Promises: Waddle for a Week Day 4 (26 May 2011)
- Penguin Promises: Waddle for a Week Day 5 (27 May 2011)
- Penguin Promises: Waddle for a Week Day 6 (28 May 2011)
More blogs about the African penguin
- Penguin Promises: Waddle for a Week Day 1 (23 May 2011)
- Waddle you do for the African Penguin?
- African penguin numbers at an all-time low
- Ambassador Ayoba arrives at Aquarium
- African Penguin Awareness Day
- A special day for African penguins
- Photo essay: Zuki, our resident African penguin
- Photo essay: Zuki’s got mad soccer skills
- Q&A with Senior Bird Trainer Hayley McLellan
More blogs by Renée
- Penguin Promises: Waddle for a Week Day 1 (23 May 2011)
- Waddle you do for the African Penguin?
- Stranded turtles: What to do
- Pleased to meet you: Shoreline Café Chef de partie Evelyn Tholi
- Pleased to meet you: Membership Co-ordinator Amina Hoosain
- Meet the teacher: Xavier Zylstra
- Farewell Ivan
- A special day for African penguins
- From Brunei to Bellville, banish rubbish from beaches
- It’s a fish eat fish world
- Joseph the cheetah visits the Aquarium
- Aquarium staff rub shoulders with Leon Schuster!
- Two Oceans Aquarium: A photo essay
