December 2nd:
We asked my parents to take Theo for the day while Josh and I went on a 4X4 trek to see the King Penguins.
Mom, Dad, and Theo took the tender from the Zaandam to Port Stanley where they went on a walking tour of the tiny town. It was a little bit chilly, but they had a nice time and really liked their tour guide.
[Mom and Theo]
[Christ Church Cathedral - southernmost Anglican cathedral in the world]
[Blue Whale Jawbones outside the church]
[Flightless steamer ducks]
[SS Great Britain Mizzen Mast]
[Town Hall]
[St Mary's Church]
[Post Office]
[City Hall]
Josh and I took another tender to the port and during the 20 minute ride we saw a Striated caracara (aka Johnny Rook).
[Not my picture... obviously]
The Falkland Islands are know for their bird population. There are five (of the 18) species of penguins (Gentoo, King, Rockhopper, Magellanic, and Macaroni), the black-brow albatross, cormorants, swans, geese, ducks, vultures, caracaras, oystercatchers, sandpipers, snipes, owls, gulls, and more! To be honest, the only birds I was interested in seeing were the King Penguins!
[Not my picture... obviously]
The Falkland Islands are know for their bird population. There are five (of the 18) species of penguins (Gentoo, King, Rockhopper, Magellanic, and Macaroni), the black-brow albatross, cormorants, swans, geese, ducks, vultures, caracaras, oystercatchers, sandpipers, snipes, owls, gulls, and more! To be honest, the only birds I was interested in seeing were the King Penguins!
Once we arrived at the port we found our tour guide and her 4X4. There is room for four people (plus the driver) in each 4X4, so we were paired up with a nice French couple.
[Iconic Falkland Islands sign]
We all jumped in the 4X4 and headed out of town on a dirt road. During the hour drive we passed by "Boot Hill" and a helicopter crash from the 1982 Falkland War.
[Our 4X4 and travel companions]
No one really knows where "Boot Hill" got it's start (it reminds me a lot of the "Shoe Trees" in Park City, Utah) but one story is that a man got his leg (and boot) blown off by one of the landmines (30,000 land mines were laid in the Falkland Islands by Argentinian forces during their occupation before the Falkland War). He left his boot on the hill and soon other boots and shoes were accumulated, most likely out of sympathy.
[We didn't have time to stop, so again, this is not my picture]
[We didn't have time to stop, so again, this is not my picture]
We then stopped at Johnson's Harbour (a sheep farm) where we were told we would take a 15 minute break. While we waited for the rest of the 4X4s to show up, Josh and I took pictures and bought some tasty treats from the "Home Baking Honesty Box."
[Our 4X4 and travel companions]
Once the rest of the group showed up, we all got buckled in and headed out towards Volunteer Point.
We started on a two-track dirt road that quickly became no road. Yep, NO ROAD!
It was so wild! There were 50 4X4s racing across an open grassland!
We crossed over small streams, bridges, ditches, and bogs. At one point I slammed my head and knees pretty nicely (I was sitting in the back middle) when the driver hit her breaks too hard, but it would be all worth it once we arrive at the colony.
After almost TWO hours of an intensive off-roading adventure, we finally arrived at Volunteer Point.
We exited the 4X4, stretched our legs, grabbed our raincoats, and headed towards the King Penguin and Gentoo Penguin colonies.
At Volunteer Point there are ~1200 adult King penguins (largest colony outside of South Georgia Island), ~1000 Gentoo Penguins, and ~2000 Magellan Penguins!
[Upland Goose]
The two colonies were surrounded by small, white rocks, which we were told not to cross. But the penguins did not stay in the colonies. They wandered freely around the grasslands and would often walk down to the beach to go fishing.
We ran into a few King Penguins on our way to the Gentoo colony. They were not afraid of people and you could get pretty close to them, although you should NOT attempt to touch them!
[Love birds!]
The Gentoo Penguins still had their babies and they were so cute!
After seeing the Gentoo colony, we made our way over to the King Penguin colony. Most of their babies were grow, but there were a few fluffy chicks hanging around.
[King Penguin chick]
We then left the colony and headed to the beach.
[Upland Geese]
The Magellanic penguins nest in small burrows in the ground. You have to watch your step or you may accidentally walk right on top of one!
[Magellanic penguin and a King penguin]
[Magellanic penguin protecting his burrow]
Once we arrived at the beach we found some Gentoo and Magellanic penguins coming out of the sea.
[King penguins heading towards the sea]
[Oh no! That one lost his head!]
While we were on the beach it started to rain and hail, so we made our way back to the King penguin colony to get some more pictures.
[King penguin chick... almost young adult!]
[King penguin calling out]
[At the beginning of the video you can hear the calls of the King penguins. It was pretty windy so they are a little hard to hear.]
It continued to rain and the wind was getting nasty so we headed over to see the Gentoo penguins one more time before we headed back to the 4X4.
Most of the chicks were hiding, while their parents blocked them from the wind.
We made it back to the 4X4, threw out wet clothes in the back, ate our sandwiches and penguin-shaped cookies, and then prepared for the LONG ride back to Port Stanley.
Our driver dropped us off at the tender port, but we still had 30 minutes before the "All Aboard," so we walked down Ross Road.
[Ross Road]
Even though Port Stanley is the capital of the Falkland Islands, only 2460 people live there (out of 3398) and most of the sites are located on the Ross Road.
[Christ Church Cathedral]
[City Hall]
[Sea lions]
Once on board the Zaandam, we went up on deck and took a few pictures before we headed out.
[The tiny capital town of Port Stanley]
January 3rd:
We spent the whole day at sea cursing from the Falkland Islands to Puerto Madryn, Argentina.
While onboard the Zaandam we attended four "Talks": Puerto Madryn and Montevideo, Melting Ice in a Warming World, Falkland War, and Human Impacts on a Frozen Continent. We also played three trivia games and spent a lot of time relaxing in the Crows Nest.
After almost TWO hours of an intensive off-roading adventure, we finally arrived at Volunteer Point.
We exited the 4X4, stretched our legs, grabbed our raincoats, and headed towards the King Penguin and Gentoo Penguin colonies.
At Volunteer Point there are ~1200 adult King penguins (largest colony outside of South Georgia Island), ~1000 Gentoo Penguins, and ~2000 Magellan Penguins!
[Upland Goose]
The two colonies were surrounded by small, white rocks, which we were told not to cross. But the penguins did not stay in the colonies. They wandered freely around the grasslands and would often walk down to the beach to go fishing.
We ran into a few King Penguins on our way to the Gentoo colony. They were not afraid of people and you could get pretty close to them, although you should NOT attempt to touch them!
[Love birds!]
The Gentoo Penguins still had their babies and they were so cute!
After seeing the Gentoo colony, we made our way over to the King Penguin colony. Most of their babies were grow, but there were a few fluffy chicks hanging around.
[King Penguin chick]
We then left the colony and headed to the beach.
[Upland Geese]
The Magellanic penguins nest in small burrows in the ground. You have to watch your step or you may accidentally walk right on top of one!
[Magellanic penguin and a King penguin]
[Magellanic penguin protecting his burrow]
Once we arrived at the beach we found some Gentoo and Magellanic penguins coming out of the sea.
[King penguins heading towards the sea]
[Oh no! That one lost his head!]
While we were on the beach it started to rain and hail, so we made our way back to the King penguin colony to get some more pictures.
[King penguin chick... almost young adult!]
[King penguin calling out]
[At the beginning of the video you can hear the calls of the King penguins. It was pretty windy so they are a little hard to hear.]
It continued to rain and the wind was getting nasty so we headed over to see the Gentoo penguins one more time before we headed back to the 4X4.
Most of the chicks were hiding, while their parents blocked them from the wind.
We made it back to the 4X4, threw out wet clothes in the back, ate our sandwiches and penguin-shaped cookies, and then prepared for the LONG ride back to Port Stanley.
Our driver dropped us off at the tender port, but we still had 30 minutes before the "All Aboard," so we walked down Ross Road.
[Ross Road]
Even though Port Stanley is the capital of the Falkland Islands, only 2460 people live there (out of 3398) and most of the sites are located on the Ross Road.
[Christ Church Cathedral]
[City Hall]
We took a few pictures and then headed to the dock to catch a tender back to the Zaandam.
[Sea lions]
Once on board the Zaandam, we went up on deck and took a few pictures before we headed out.
[The tiny capital town of Port Stanley]
January 3rd:
We spent the whole day at sea cursing from the Falkland Islands to Puerto Madryn, Argentina.
While onboard the Zaandam we attended four "Talks": Puerto Madryn and Montevideo, Melting Ice in a Warming World, Falkland War, and Human Impacts on a Frozen Continent. We also played three trivia games and spent a lot of time relaxing in the Crows Nest.
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