Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands

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    • Day 72

      Falklands: Volunteer Point

      February 21, 2023 in Falkland Islands ⋅ 🌬 57 °F

      YAY! We made it ashore.

      We had a 50/50 chance of being able to do so, but the weather gods favored us today. But you already know that we were able to tender into Stanley because I turned the day on its head and started from the end of the day. Now for the first part of our day.

      Our luck followed us ashore and we managed to get on the first tender to begin our exciting adventure.

      I am of the ilk that believes that there is no such thing as seeing too many penguins. In 2007, we visited Gypsy Cove where a colony of Magellanic penguins nest. So, today we went to Volunteer Point to see not one, but three species of penguins — the kings (next largest after the emperors), gentoos, and Magellanics.

      Volunteer Beach is an Important Bird Area. It was named for a ship by the same name that called on the Falklands in 1815. The nature reserve is located on the Johnson’s Harbour Farm. Established in 1870, this 52,000-acre sheep property is the largest surviving farm that is still privately owned. I understand that the owner charges an entry fee that is included in the tour cost.

      To get to the beach, Mui and I joined a public tour operated by Patrick Watts. There are other operators who do the same tour, but his name seems to be synonymous with Volunteer Point. The trip requires a 4WD to get out to the beach … with good reason.

      Normally, four people are squeezed into each vehicle. But we lucked out. Robert, a segment passenger on Insignia, was traveling solo, so the vehicle we were assigned to had just the three of us. Thank goodness … it would have been an incredibly uncomfortable ride otherwise.

      I’m not sure what the distance was to get out to the beach. It doesn’t matter really because the terrain is such that the last 10 km or so took us about 1.5 hours to accomplish. With our driver, John, at the wheel, we started out on the paved roads in Stanley. Then we connected to a dirt road for the remaining distance to the farm. Here we had a potty break. And also took advantage of the “Bake Safe” to get ourselves a couple of the most delicious cherry muffins we’ve eaten in a very long time.

      And then the adventure to get out to the beach began in earnest.

      We went bumpity-bump-bump over boggy terrain covered with grass, clumps of tussock, and diddle-dee berry bushes (the latter is an acquired taste). We went up steep hills. Down even steeper hills. Crossed heavily rutted, wet ground where boards were placed over heavier run off water to ensure we didn’t get stuck in the mud. There were five gates that we had to open and close. That job fell to the first and last vehicle. We were in the middle of a convoy of 6 4WDs … traveling together for safety reasons.

      It was interesting to watch the vehicles doing a dance of sorts as we moved further onto the farmlands, jiggling this way and that … but always courteously maintaining their position in the convoy. Along the way, we passed herds of sheep staring at us … perhaps wondering why on earth we were putting ourselves through the gyrations of going out to the beach.

      (I’m uploading a video of the 4WD portion of the drive, but it does not reflect how bumpy it was because the camera has built-in stabilization that eliminated the worst of the shake.)

      Finally, about 2.5 hours after leaving Stanley, we arrived at Volunteer Beach. It was now getting on towards 11:00a. After a quick stop to swish our shoes in a special solution to kill any invasive species, we parked in the area set aside for the vehicles … very neatly organized, with each tour operator having its own designated space.

      John gave us the basic rules — don’t cross into roped off areas; don’t step inside areas encircled by rocks painted white. That’s it. We were then free to roam amongst the penguins, maintaining a 20 foot distance from all wildlife. But the penguins could approach us. Which they did with equanimity … going about business as usual as though we did not exist.

      The kings and gentoos are apparently at the reserve year round, and we saw plenty of them. They are 4,000-strong, including 600-700 chicks reared annually. The other two species are in the thousands. The Magellanics migrate, and we saw just a few of them … mostly those waiting to complete their annual molt so they could swim away to points north. We were OK with that since we’d been to a Magellanic colony in Punta Arenas. There were also Falkland skuas, upland geese, dolphin gulls, South American terns, and ruddy-headed geese, Except for the upland geese, they were all at a distance, so we did not see much of them.

      We had 1.5 hours at Volunteer Point and spent most of that with the king penguins in their nest area. Yes, it stunk to high heaven, but the wind was blowing strong — and getting stronger by the minute. By positioning ourselves downwind, we minimized the assault on our olfactory senses. It was wonderful to see chicks at different stages of growth amongst the adults. No eggs, however, as the incubation period, for the most part, is between December and January.

      Eventually, we left the kings to go down to the beach where we saw the gentoos. By this time, the wind was blowing so strong that the white sand looked like the beginnings of a blizzard. The gentoos were hunkered down and gave us some nice photo ops. Soon, some of the kings made their way to the beach. They were fairly clean, so I imagine they were some of the “bachelors and bachelorettes” we saw in a small cluster. They waddled their way to the shoreline, looking like they were trying to decide if they wanted to go hunting for food. They were still there when we finally had to leave to return to the vehicle.

      John had picked up lunch bags for each of us. We ate our egg salad sandwiches, chips, and sweet treats as we went bumpity-bump-bump back to the farm. A dirt road never looked as good as it did today!

      The adventure of getting to Volunteer Point was definitely worth it for the up-close penguins we saw today. Hands down the best tour yet!
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    • Day 38

      Falkland Islands - 3 of 3 PENGUINS

      February 21, 2023 in Falkland Islands ⋅ 🌬 55 °F

      Gentoo & King penguins form their colonies 1.5km inland and walk to the sea. They nest in the same area every year. The King in the photos is the one with the orange neck. Adults carry the eggs on their feet and raise 2 chicks every 3 years. They are very tame and intrigued by humans ... also, very cute!

      Don't miss the first video in this posting ..Karen's favorite.

      We also visited the town of Stanley, many pubs and tourist shops.
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    • Day 38

      Falkland Islands - 2 of 3 PENGUINS

      February 21, 2023 in Falkland Islands ⋅ 🌬 55 °F

      WE HAD A PENGUIN ADVENTURE HERE

      4,700 sq miles of beauty. A British Territory that is self-governed with wonderful people that albeit remote, are very educated and love living here (and a nice house is only $200k).

      With its strategic location (before there was a Panama Canal), Port Stanley in the Falklands specialized in ship repairs for ships traveling through the rough waters of the Straits of Magellan. The Falklands had significance to the UK thru history as it is the closest UK ownership to islands and sections around Antarctica. It also had a role in both WW as there were military bases here helping control the South Atlantic. Many of us know of the Falklands due to the 1982 Falklands War with Argentina, which ended 2 months later but tension between Argentina and the UK grew and remains. It took 10 years after the war to remove the 30,000 mines that were planted by the Argentines (in the road we drove on today).

      For more about this beautiful territory see https://www.falklandislands.com/
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    • Day 38

      Falkland Islands - 1 of 3 PENGUINS

      February 21, 2023 in Falkland Islands ⋅ 🌬 55 °F

      We made it to the Atlantic Ocean. We were very lucky to land here in 40 knot winds since there are such heavy winds up to 115 knots (averaging 60 knots) that at leave half the ships that come here must turn back. The wind is so strong that we had to park cars into the wind or risk losing your car door or worse.

      We arrived at Stanley (with tenders from the ship), the capital and although the temperatures have warmed up as we move north (40’s), I had to change to long pants to spend the day with the Penguins. The population of the Falklands is 3,600 pop (plus 2,000 military) with origins from 86 countries) although at least half the residents have been here for many generations)! There are 2 main islands and 700 small ones (none with trees). The diddle-dee plant is native here and is used to produce jam (yes, we had to buy diddle dee jam).

      As you would guess, their revenue is from fishing, tourism and some farming. Education is important and the government pays for students to further their college and graduate studies in the UK. The UK is an 18 hour (and approx. $2000) flight away… not easy to get to.

      Enjoy our visit with the Gentoo Penguins!
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    • Day 13

      Stanley - Falkland Isles

      March 6 in Falkland Islands ⋅ 🌬 7 °C

      Arriving at Stanley, we have a guided walking tour at lunchtime, otherwise free time to explore the town and try some local walks. Well the guided walk didn’t happen, no guide available for our time slot, so told we could join another one - next one in an hour or any up until 4pm ! So we did the “walk” ourselves. Basically Stanley has one long road that runs parallel to the sea and most things are on that. The first houses you see make you think you could be in Newton Abbot, Jubilee Villas is a typical Victorian terrace of four houses, a short walk further on is the cathedral and the whale bone arch. We next went to the Maritime museum, this has some old room settings including one of the British Antarctic huts, similar to the one we saw at Damoy point. The post office still has the old red style phone boxes outside, but were told they no longer work. Further along is the Governor’s Mansion and a number of memorials, commemorating the 1982 war, the World Wars and one specifically to the marines who apparently helped in the original establishment of the colony. In Victory Gardens there is part of the mizzen mast of Brunel’s SS Great Britain, which was abandoned here for many years before being taken back to Bristol and restored. Back passed the jetty in the other direction is the Cross of Sacrifice and the cemetery, the cemetery is part local and part war graves, looking at some of the early graves you see how hard life must have originally been as 50 to 60 appeared a good age. Whilst on the walk we saw a number of geese, believe the ruddy headed variety and black-browned Albatross flying overhead, supposed to be rockhopper penguins but didn’t spot any of those. But we are around the Falklands for the next couple of days so perhaps we are in the more remote areas. Too many pictures today have uploaded some for the sights mentioned.
      Across the bay from Stanley, laid out in white stone are the names of some of the old naval Antarctic and Falklands protection vessels, Karen’s father - Roy, served on the Protector in the mid 50s down here in the South Atlantic.
      Trivia facts: Karen recorded 13000 steps I recorded 10000, Karen walked 7.2km I walked 7.4km.
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    • Day 44

      Port Stanley Falkland Islands

      December 23, 2023 in Falkland Islands ⋅ 🌬 9 °C

      Heute haben wir in Port Stanley auf den Falkland Inseln (britisches Überseegebiet) Halt gemacht. Da die Hafeneinfahrt zu klein/eng für unser Schiff ist, wurden wir mit den Rettungsbooten „getendert“, also vom Schiff in die Stadt gebracht, von wo aus wir auf die Wanderung zu Gipsy Cove gegangen sind. Wir waren ca. 5,5h unterwegs. Vorbei am Schiffswrack „Lady Elisabeth“ haben wir am Strand viele Pinguine beobachtet. Es war super stürmisch 🌬️.Read more

    • Day 11

      Baia Yorke

      February 14 in Falkland Islands ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

      A Baía de Yorke é um excelente local para se avistar os pinguins em seu habitat sem perturba-los. No local também pode-se observar leões marinhos e tres diferentes tipos de pinguins, incluindo o pinguim rei.Read more

    • Day 14

      KöPis Teil III und ein bischen Stanley

      Yesterday in Falkland Islands ⋅ 🌬 12 °C

      Pinguine, Punguin Eier , Magellan Pingu , Upland Gänse….

      Auch hier wären wir sehr gerne länger geblieben,Volonteer Point 😍👍👍👍

      Aber wir mussten ja noch die ganze Strecke wieder zurück hoppeln 🫣/ fahren 🤗

      In Stanley hatten wir noch ein knappes Stündchen Zeit fürs Shopping und Cachen😉

      Könnte passieren das es später noch Teil IV oder gar V gibt 🫣🤣🤣🐧🐧
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    • Day 18

      Stanley, Falkland

      October 27, 2023 in Falkland Islands ⋅ 🌧 6 °C

      Legen tatsächlich nach 06.00 Uhr und 3590 km Weg auf See, an. Das hat also schon mal geklappt. Gönnen uns einen Café und ein Schoggigipfel. Ab 07.00 stehen wir artig aber verschwiegen an der Tür, bereit zum Aussteigen. Es verzögert sich, da die Treppe klemmt. Ein gute halbe Stunde später steigen wir in die 4×4‘s und lassen uns über Falkland rumpeln. Unsere Chauffeuse, nennen wir sie Miss Marple, nuschelt diverse Infos vor sich hin. Einige verstehen wir, andere nicht. 😄 Schwieriger Akzent, viele Wörter. Fahren an der one and only Fuel Station, der one and only Bank, dem one and only Museum vorbei. Weiter gibt es zwei Supermärkte, drei Kirchen, 6 Pub's in und um Stanley. Biegen nach 30 Meilen auf eine Schotterpiste ab, die letzte halbe Stunde ist dann Offroad zu den Klippen hoch. Wenige Meter vor uns mehrere Gruppen unserer kleinen schwarz-weissen Freunde.☺️Herzhüpfer! ❤️Doch nochmals Pinguine, bevor es nach Hause geht. Diesmal Felsenpinguin, im Englischen besser benannt als Rockhopper's. Genau das machen sie! Sie hüpfen die steilen Felsen hinauf und bauen auf dem kleinen Plateau ihre Nester. Einige haben bereits Eier gelegt🥰 Dazwischen stehen, gut getarnt, einzelne Goldschopfpinguin, für den Laien kaum zu unterscheiden. Wir zählen uns aber gerne zu den Halbprofis und erkennen die Macaronis (so genannt im Englischen) sofort. Bisschen gedrungener und die Augenbrauenpüschel etwas oranger. In der Luft lauern ein paar Raubmöwen auf die Eier. Die werden aber gut verteidigt. Viele Blauaugenkormorane flattern um uns herum. Innerhalb von 2 h wird das Wetter zunehmend schlechter. Der Wind nimmt an Fahrt auf und Regen setzt ein. Schweren Herzens verabschieden wir uns von den kleinen, flugunfähigen, total herzigen Federtieren...
      Gleiche Fahrt zurück. Glücklich diesen Ausflug erwischt zu haben, wärmen wir uns im schwimmenden Häuschen auf. Ausflugsgruppe Nummer Zwei wurde aufgrund des Wetters gecancelt.
      Wollten eigentlich noch kurz ins Städtchen. Der Bus fährt uns verfrüht vor der Nase weg und Wind und Regen haben an Ungemütlichkeit zugenommen. Bleiben drinn und geben uns dem Abendprogramm hin...
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    • Day 72

      Welcome to Stanley, Falkland Islands

      February 21, 2023 in Falkland Islands ⋅ 🌬 54 °F

      With this post, I am going to turn our day on its head and start from what we did last — a stroll around Stanley. Why? Simple … the images from around the city are a more appropriate means of welcoming readers to the capital city of the Falklands Islands.

      On our way back to the tender pier after our tour, our driver, John, gave us a quick drive-by of some of the sites on the outskirts of downtown Stanley … showing us the skeletal remains of whales, memorials, and a few other things. We found the city to be much expanded since we were here in 2007. Even the small museum we had visited then had been relocated to a larger facility.

      The one thing that had seemingly grown smaller was the wreck of the Jhelum, a ship that was launched in Liverpool in 1849. It was damaged going around Cape Horn while carrying guano from Peru to France. The Jhelum “limped” into Stanley Harbor for repairs and was eventually deserted by the crew. From what John said, the reason there is so little of the wreck left since we saw it in 2007 is the worms that are eating the wooden hull.

      After we were dropped off at the tender pier, we went for a “reminiscence stroll” near the waterfront. We visited Christ Church Cathedral with its beautiful stained glass windows and an iconic arch on the grounds … made from the jawbones of two blue whales; went into a supermarket to see if we could find some McVities chocolate (no luck); and wandered along some of the back streets, looking for the shop from which we bought woolen goods last time (closed, alas).

      Our stroll completed, we returned to the tender pier by way of The Globe, one of the pubs in Stanley. No time to sit down for pub fare, but at least we got a snapshot of it with one of the iconic British phone booths.
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Falklandinseln, Falkland Islands, Falklandeilande, Fɔlkman Aeland, የፎልክላንድ ደሴቶች, جزر فوكلاند, Folkland Adaları, Фолклэндскія астравы, Фолклендски острови, Maluwini Gun, ফকল্যান্ড দ্বীপপুঞ্জ, ཕལྐ་ལནྜ་གླིང་ཕྲན།, Inizi Falkland, Folklandska Ostrva, Illes Malvines, Falklandské ostrovy, Ynysoedd y Falkland, Falklandsøerne, Falkland ƒudomekpowo nutome, Νήσοι Φώκλαντ, Islas Malvinas, Falklandi saared, Malvinak, جزایر فالکلند, Duuɗe Falkland, Falklandinsaaret, Falklandsoyggjarnar, Îles Malouines, Oileáin Fháclainne, Illas Malvinas, ફૉકલૅંડ આઇલૅંડ્સ, Tsibiran Falkilan, איי פוקלנד, फ़ॉकलैंड द्वीप, Falklandi, Falkland-szigetek, Kepulauan Malvinas, Falklandseyjar, Isole Falkland, フォークランド諸島, ფალკლენდის კუნძულები, Visiwa vya Falkland, Falklandi qeqertaq, ಫ್ಹಾಕ್‌ಲ್ಯಾಂಡ್ ದ್ವೀಪಗಳು, 포클랜드 제도, Bizinga by'eFalikalandi, Bisanga bya Maluni, Falklando salos, Lutanda lua Maluni, Folklenda salas, Nosy Falkand, Фолкландски Острови, ഫാക്ക്‌ലാന്റ് ഐലന്റ്, फॉकलंड बेटे, ဖောက်ကလန် ကျွန်းစု, Falklandsøyene, फकल्याण्ड टापु, Falklandeilanden, Falklandsøyane, ଫଲ୍କଲ୍ୟାଣ୍ଡ ଦ୍ବୀପପୁଞ୍ଜ, Falklandy, Ilhas Malvinas, Inslas dal Falkland, Izinga rya Filikilandi, Insulele Falkland, Фолклендские о-ва, Falklandsullot, Âzûâ tî Mälüîni, ෆෝක්ලන්ත දූපත්, Falklandski otoki, Zvitsuwa zveFalklands, Jaziiradaha Fooklaan, Фокландска острва, Falklandsöarna, ஃபாக்லாந்து தீவுகள், ఫాక్ లేండ్ దీవులు, หมู่เกาะฟอล์กแลนด์, ʻOtumotu Fokuleni, Falkland Adaları, Фолклендські острови, فاکلینڈ آئلینڈز, Quần Đảo Falkland, Orílẹ́ède Etikun Fakalandi, 福克兰群岛, i-Falkland Islands

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