"Cape Town's penguins come to Simon's Town to breed. In the early 1980s, an enterprising pair mated for the first time on Boulders Beach, and their tuxedoed descendants now number several thousand. To see the penguins in their natural habitat, make the one-hour drive from Cape Town and stroll the wooden pathway, part of Table Mountain National Park. Park employees patrol the beach, keeping an eye out for the little guys—they were classified as an endangered species in 2010—so the penguins feel safe enough to leave their protected area and waddle onto the sand or splash in the Caribbean-blue water. Robben Island is another great spot to view these stars of the Southern Hemisphere; tours depart daily from Cape Town's Nelson Mandela Gateway."