Not long after we made it down to the beach, a number of Rockhopper penguins came swimming and waddling ashore, surprising a lone Gentoo penguin in the process.

I must admit that I have a hard time grasping the whole concept of a bird that can’t fly, but is able to swim. I mean, what do you call a bunch of penguins emerging from the water? A flock? A school?

At any rate, this flock/school of Rockhoppers didn’t pass by us on their way back to the colony, but another group did. I’ll let this sequence of pictures tell their story:

Yes, I can attest to the fact that Rockhopper Penguins do, indeed, hop from rock to rock, climbing all the way up to the top of that hill, about 100 feet above the beach! It was an amazing – if not slightly hilarious – sight to behold.

Rock-hopping, mountain-climbing, flightless birds that swim underwater as deep as 60 feet to catch fish.

Evolution and God (take your pick) work in mysterious ways.