South America and Antarctica

Our second day in Punta and a chance to drive south to the Museo Etnico - Kenkeu, which is a recently established park focusing on the history of local tribes, especially the Selk’nam who were mercilessly decimated by the 1900s. The Selk’nam were indigenous to the Tierra del Fuego region. They were an average height of 2 metres, were mostly naked, and had adapted to the sub-zero climate through increased metabolism, use of animal fat to coat their bodies and crouching positions which allowed them to conserve energy.

Our guides spoke a little English, and as we had read a bit about the tribe, we were able to assist them to improve their English whilst learning more about the area from them. The guides were excited to have their first Australian visitors, and even more delighted that two of the visitors were Aboriginal.

Earlier in the day we took the opportunity to visit the Salesian museum in Punta, which houses a large collection of Selk’nam artefacts and information on other regional tribes. In the early 1900s, a Salesian brother, Brother Agustino took it upon himself to document in great detail, the local tribes in order to preserve their culture. Sadly there are few Selk’nam descendants today due to the bounty imposed on them by the colonial powers of the time.Read more