Two Oceans Aquarium Environmental Education Centre P.A. to Head of Education Katja Rockstroh is on the road this week, live-tweeting and blogging from the annual Waddle for a Week for the African penguin.

Day four of the waddle meant the longest day of the week was upon us – 29km of hot, open road. The team prepared for the day with a homemade breakfast at one of the cottages at The Grail Centre.

Thank you to Joan and Derek from The Grail Centre for accommodating us in their Bokmakierie, Sandpiper and Sugarbird cottages.

Before we started the walk, the Arabella Hotel & Spa invited us for some coffee and pastries.

Thank you for the great hospitality, and we will definitely see you next year!

Cape Nature joined us again for the day and brought along a four-legged waddler, Dundee.

Dundee!

The waddlers reached Kleinmond in no time, covering 10km of the 29km.

The first aid kit becomes a vital component of the waddle towards the end of the week. Here, the team restocks on plasters and other items.

Kleinmond Primary School surprised us with a penguin parade. All its Grade 1 learners dressed up as penguins for us.
Steven Casper, a volunteer from the Two Oceans Aquarium, spoke to the kids about penguins and marine pollution.
Peter Baloi, from uShaka Sea World, gave the children a chance to hug one of our penguin mascots.

Whale Coast Tourism provided us with some refreshments at Siyabulela Pre-Primary School, and the waddlers got to enjoy the company of the children, who danced and sang for us.

Day four was a hot day, but the waddlers made it to Betty’s Bay, covering the last 10km to Stony Point.

A special thank you to the Betty’s Bay councillor, Lisel Krige, who showed her support by buying the thirsty waddlers refreshing drinks, before joining us on the last stretch to the Stony Point penguin colony.

Thank you also to the Harold Porter National Botanical Garden staff who stood on the roadside, encouraging us over the last few kilometres.

Betty’s Bay home-schoolers and children from Pringle House joined us for the walk to Stony Point, bringing along some great posters of their own.
Stony Point at last! Thank you to all the children, Betty’s Bay residents and Cape Nature staff for joining us today.
And thank you also to Cuan McGeorge, who works at Stony Point and is an avid supporter of Penguin Promises. He is always very willing and happy to talk about penguins.
And last, but definitely not least, to our feathery friends: the African penguins. The long walks were all worth it after seeing these birds in their natural habitat. April 25 was World Penguin Day – Happy World Penguin Day!

Join us!

Day five, our second last day, starts at Bikini Beach in Gordon’s Bay at 10am and ends at the Somerset West Mall. It will be a short, but fun, walk of 11km. Please join us –  the whole way, or just for part of it, if you can.

Again, if you are in a car driving along this route, please hoot! The total number of hoots on day four was 431, with 1 582 cars driving past. Our “success rate” on day four was 27%! However, we contributed to the low success rate owing to the fact that our “Hoot for Penguins” signs had to be taken for repairs halfway through the day. Thank you, Don Ingle, for fixing them for us!

For those of you unable to join us, please follow us on our Twitter page, or go check out www.penguinpromises.com and make your Penguin Promise.

Thank you to our sponsors:

• The Grail Centre
• Cape Nature
• Two Oceans Aquarium
• uShaka Marine World
• Chrysler Jeep Newlands
• Brands For Change

Stay in touch: For daily Aquarium updates, follow us on Twitter (@2OceansAquarium) and become a fan on Facebook.