Hangin' with the Kings

Last night, our band had a gig in Dubai.  I decided to make a weekend of it by getting a hotel room and taking a stroll at Emirates Mall in the afternoon.

Lunchtime view of skiers.

I walked over, had some lunch at Miu Shanghai where I had a nice view of the ski slopes.  After lunch, I moseyed on down to the viewing platform.  I guess there is a small penguin show at 2:00; it was 1:57 when I got there.  Perfect timing.  To my surprise, there was an announcer with us saying he was going to give away a free ticket to anyone that could answer a question.  The question was:  "Name one of the two kinds of penguins that are here."  I was listening, to the show so I knew the answer!  The answer was King Penguin (I heard the guy mention it, but thought he meant Emperor penguin, so I said, "King penguin or Emperor penguin."  Luckily, I only had to name one correctly, so I won a free ticket to the Penguin Encounter."

The show begins.

I was really happy and went straight downstairs to claim my prize.  It was me, two Indian women, a Saudi Arabian man and his two small sons, and four French girls in our group.  They emphasized that we were not allowed to bring any camera or take our own pictures; they have a professional photographer to do that.

After putting on our cold weather gear, we were led to an area to watch a video about how the proceeds of our admission price will go to penguin research and penguin etiquette.

The penguin habitat a Ski Dubai according to their website:

Our King and Gentoo Penguins at Ski Dubai reside in the most sophisticated habitat in the UAE. The enclosure consists of several areas including a private pool, a top deck area with rocks, and a private holding area. For guests who will be doing the Penguin Encounter, there is a possibility to see the penguins through a glass wall, as they will reside in their private pool or on the top deck. The private holding area will not be visible directly to public.

Our kitchen is fully equipped to provide daily fish banquets for the Penguins, and if needed, a hospital facility is available. The penguins are free to move around the private pool, top deck and their private holding area.
During scheduled times, our guests will be able to get up close and personal as the penguins are invited to join us in one of the encounter areas. This is where our guests will meet the Penguin Trainer who will be guiding them through the encounter, and of course, meet our Penguins.

At set times, our Penguins will also be able to move from the private pool to a splash pool, which is situated in the Snow Park of Ski Dubai. Playing around in the splash pool, our penguins will be visible for all guests in Ski Dubai, as well as all guests in the Mall of the Emirates through the glass wall looking out over Ski Dubai. Last but not least, our penguins will have a ‘Penguin March’ through the Snow Park every day, escorted by the Penguin Trainers. This will give guests the chance to see our Penguins up close and to learn all about our Penguins, as their trainers will tell you everything you want to know about Penguins.           

The trainer with one of the Gentoo penguins.

The King penguins.

 A bit of penguin video from the show.

First we got to see two male Gentoo penguins and have our pictures taken with them.  Of course the obnoxious French girls pulled out their cell phone cameras and snapped some photos much to the dismay of the trainer who had to reprimand them. 

Gentoo Penguin Facts: 

• They are the 3rd largest specie. 
• They mostly live on the Falkland Islands. 
• All of the penguins came from SeaWorld in San Antonio,Texas.  
• They weigh about 10-14lbs. 
• They are the fastest swimmers and can reach speeds of 22mph!  
• Life span: 15-20 years.

Me with two Gentoo Penguins

Posing with two male King Penguins.

Hey handsome!

King Penguin Facts: 

• King Penguins are the second largest penguin specie. 
• They have four layers of feathers to help keep them warm on the cold subantarctic islands where they breed.  
• They are about 3 feet tall and weigh up to 35lbs. 
• Life span- 15-20 years. 
• Like Emperor penguins they only lay one egg at a time.  
• They mate for life.  One penguin offers a female a rock.  If she accepts it, then they are married.

Me with two King Penguins

Kiss kiss!

I had a really nice time with them.  They are super cute.  Btw.  The 18 pictures that they took basically cost me over $100.00!  Yep.  That's how they get ya.  You can't take your own pictures, and if you don't buy theirs, then you don't get any.  What a racket!

Afterwards, I decided to head back to Al Ain.  Just before I got on the highway, my car started to fill with smoke.  Crap!  The a/c/motor had a short or something.  I called the police and it took them about 20 minutes to find me.  Ugh.  By then the smoke had stopped.  Eventually, I decided to drive my car home with the a/c/ turned off, rather than pay $100.00 to have to towed back.  I made it home in one piece, thankfully.

The sunset reflecting off the Burj Khalifa as I attempt to drive my disabled Jeep 1 1/2 hours back to Al Ain.

Cruisin the Cape

Today I decided at take an all day long Cape Tour.  There was a French guy, a Japanese lady and two Pakistani guys on our small bus.

First stop Clifton Bay...I think.

At Hout Bay, we opted to take a boat ride out to see the Cape Fur Seals on Duiker Island.

Chapman's Peak Drive.

Noordhoek or North Corner Beach

You can buy any one of these massive stone sculptures here and have it shipped anywhere in the world.

Ostrich Farm! Ostriches are the world's largest bird. are the fast runners of any birds or other two-legged animal and can sprint at over 70 km/hr, covering up to 5m in a single stride.  They have three stomachs and the largest eye of any land animal, measuring almost 5 cm across, allowing predators such as lions to be seen at long distances.

Hunter-gatherers in the Kalahari use ostrich eggshells as water containers, punching a hole in them. 

When attacking a person, ostriches deliver slashing kicks with their powerful feet, armed with long claws, with which they can disembowel or kill a person with a single blow. Yikes!

Beautiful eagle.

The Cape of Good Hope was a stopping point for trading ships sailing between Europe and European colonies in the east. Initially the Europeans bartered with the local Khoikhoi people for food and water but in 1652 the Dutch East India Company established a small provision station in the sheltered bay behind the Cape peninsula, forming the first European settlement in the region.  

The Cape of Good Hope is the legendary home of The Flying Dutchman. Crewed by tormented and damned ghostly sailors, it is doomed forever to beat its way through the adjacent waters without ever succeeding in rounding the headland.

The Beacon of Good Hope up above the Cape.

I was super excited about our stop at Boulder's Beach to see the African penguins.  

African penguins also called the jackass penguin, as the penguins’ call sounds similar to a braying donkey. African Penguins are medium sized penguins and they reach up to 27 inches in height and weigh up to 3.5 kg.

African Penguins live around 10-15  years. They start breeding when they are around 4 years of age. These penguins are monogamous, the penguin pair stays together usually for many years and often move back to their old nesting sites too.

Penguin nests.

They are very social.  This penguin is helping his friend shed his molting feathers.

Chillin' on the beach.

After Boulders Beach, our last stop would be the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens established in 1913.  We only had about 30 minutes to walk around since it was getting late. 

What makes the Gardens so famous worldwide is that (with minor exceptions) only indigenous plants are cultivated.

Guinea Fowl

I was excited for the day to be over.  I was excited to get back to the hotel.  Someone special was waiting there for me.  :)