Antarctica

The Falkand Islands

Saturday 8 December

Woke up early – very gentle swell. Went for a walk around the decks – just passing Isla de los Estados at the Eastern end of the Beagle Channel.

Buffet breakfast – excellent freshly made pancakes, and fresh fruit (watermelon with the seeds still in).
PolarCirkel (zodiacs with heightened sides – used by Hurtigruten as tender boats) boat briefing after breakfast. A second section of the briefing covered excursions on the Falklands and South Georgia. This was immediately followed by the Captain’s Welcome and Cocktail (senior crew plus all expedition staff introduced). Went for Muck Boot fitting (these are toughened wellies, with neoprene legs), then lunch (buffet – similar to previous evening). Briefing about activities and landings on the Falklands, then a (separate) kayak briefing (with demo of getting kitted up, including how to put on a thermal dry suit). Walked around deck looking at seabirds, in glorious sunshine! No land in sight. Afternoon tea in the lounge – choice of teas, also scones, cucumber sandwiches (with the crusts cut off) and pastries.
Seated dinner (5 courses) – ceviche then bean, bacon and chorizo soup, then lamb or salmon, coffee sorbet and cake. We were second sitting, did not enter dining room till 8:10 (10 minutes late). Watched sunset after dinner, then returned to our cabin, to find the beds turned down and a chocolate on the pillows – done while we were at dinner.

Sunday 9 December

Woke up early (glorious sunny day, hardly a cloud in sight) – land in view – Falklands! New Island, looked rather like Orkney. Admired the view, had breakfast (waffles today!), admired the view some more, prepared for landing (commenced at 8:30 with first boat group). Went down to tender lobby, acquired life jacket and boarded tender (room card scanned to check numbers disembarking).

Disembarked on New Island (a few houses with corrugated iron roofs at the pier). Walked along coastal track to small beach with wrecked ship and small museum/shop. Lots of gorse bushes, smelling very strongly. Many geese wandering about on the beach. Cut across the middle of the island (path through tussac grass) to rookery – rockhopper penguins (with recently hatched chicks, some still with eggs), blackbrowed albatross (still on eggs) and blue-eyed shags. A few skua soaring about in a predatory way (much squawking from the other birds when they came close) and a couple of caracara. Left rookery, walked back along track then found a route up the hill had been marked with red flags – this had to be checked (by the expedition team) for nesting prions before we could venture onto the hill, hence the delay. Took 25-30 mins to climb hill – wonderful views from the top. Watched caracara digging a hole on the way down. Walked back to the pier, boarded tender and returned to Fram for a buffet lunch.

Once everyone was back aboard (cards scanned as we boarded – this made checking whether everyone was back or not very easy) , Fram moved North to West Point Island (good views of islands en route, also saw penguins swimming and more shags). Arrived at West Point around 4pm, at 4:30 started transferring via tender to shore. Walked up and over a col to the rookery (approx 2km – LandRover transfer available for those who didn’t want to walk). Rookery sprawls down a gully, path created round tussac grass for viewing. Could get amazingly close to the albatross (also good views of penguin chicks). Very noisy, lots of squawking going on! Saw a turkey vulture soaring overhead, walked back and saw a red-breasted meadow lark sitting on a fence post. Stopped for tea at the farmhouse, huge spread: mince pies, Christmas cake, shortbread, chocolate cake…..Tender back to Fram, arive 18:45. Showered, dinner (Swedish fusion), then briefing on tomorrow’s activities, then bed!

Monday 10 December

Overnight Fram had continued North around West Falkland, and the weather had also changed, it was now grey and murky with low clouds. First boats left 8:30 for Carcass Island. We were now in the last boat group, so did not leave till 9:30. Saw a few Magellan penguins swimming from the tender boat. There were a couple of yachts in the bay. Landed at the pier, walked along a dusty track to the settlement, then an undulating path round the bay before cutting across the island to Leopard Beach. Saw a siskin on a gorse bush by the track. Lots of geese on the shore, and on the hillside. Leopard beach surrounded by dunes and very fine white sand (lots of silica in the rock). Colony of Magellan penguins on the beach (also nesting in burrows behind the dunes). Walked along the beach to the dunes, saw more penguins and a caracara which posed very nicely for photos (several caracara visible soaring above the beach). Weather closed in somewhat (smirr of rain in the air), walked back to the settlement (unfortunately too late for tea and cake – though this was probably good news for our waistlines!). Spotted a nest under a fence post only because we saw the adult bird returning with food. Moorland very noisy with calling birds – lots of oyster catchers about. Saw an animal (probably penguin, but possibly seal) porpoising from the tender boat. Back on board for a buffet lunch.

Fram travelled around to Saunders Island, moored in the bay and landings commenced. Saw penguins porpoising from the tender. Arrived at the landing site (no pier this time, just stepped straight onto the rocks), walked along track past several caracaras (including one perched on the exhaust pipe of a LandRover), and down to the beach. A number of gentoo penguins on the beach, and about a dozen caracaras (two groups of six) digging in the sand. Walked over the sand bar to the magnificent beach on the other side of the island – more gentoos, Magellans and some king penguins with a very fluffy brown chick. Walked along beach to rockhopper colony – also a kelp goose and chick, and a steamer duck (flightless). Lots of albatross and some shags in the rockhopper colony. The sun started to emerge, clearing the low and murky cloud. Walked up the cliff to see the rockhoppers from above – a few caracaras soaring around, also a couple of (ground nesting) skua. Tender back to Fram. Italian buffet for dinner.

Tuesday 11 December

Sailed overnight from Saunders Island to Port Stanley (East Falkland), docking in Stanley at 8am. Saw whale blows in the distance just before we entered the harbour. Moored at the fish dock (FIPASS), pontoon originally constructed by the oil companies. Left boat at 10am for Nature trek. Drove to Whalebone Cove (past the wreck of the Lady Elizabeth), and started walking around the coast. Number of turkey vultures hovering overhead in the thermals. Typhoon jet (Eurofighter) passed overhead – low, fast and noisy – on a training run. Saw local plants: thrift (which had finished flowering), hebe, daisy, long and short fern, and balsalm (bolax) – which grows as a hard green dome. Saw Upland geese, steamer ducks and kelp geese – all with chicks. Also passed the wrecks of the steam tugboats Plym and Samson – sent to the Falklands to help ships in distress into the harbour. Saw a variable hawk, Southern petrel. The local rock is quartzite, very hard (too hard to use for building, which is why a lot of the local houses are pre-fab). Geologically the rock is African (not South American), but contains very little gold and no diamonds. Passed the Narrows (the entrance to the harbour), and the remains of a WWII gun emplacement (garrison was left here in case the Japanese tried to invade via Cape Horn). The next beach was out of the wind – and suddenly much warmer! Magellan penguins on the beach, and in burrows behind the beach. The water was so clear we could see them swimming underwater. A rusted gun was visible at the other end of the beach (also WWII). Turned inland and climbed a small hill before coming out at Gypsy Cove. More penguins on the beach, lots of gorse, blue sea and white sand. Beach cordoned off – possibly still mines (from the 1982 Falklands War) in the area. Demining is still in progress (by a team from Zimbabwe), due to finish in 2020. Saw a wren in a gorse bush, night herons nesting on a sea stack. Carried on round to Yorke Bay, where the minibus picked us up and dropped us back at the boat.

Walked into town (took approx 40 mins – shuttle bus service was available), went to the Post Office and posted postcards (66p to anywhere!), saw the Antarctic Monument, and had a quick lunch at the museum cafe, then went round the museum itself. Very good on the history of the islands, WWI Battle of the Falklands, HMS Exeter and the Battle of the River Plate, and Antarctica. Also a large section on the 1982 Falklands War. Taxidermy display of the local wildlife. Walked slowly back to the Fram, stopping to look at the Cathedral and the Whalebone Arch. Very vigorous broom growing in some of the gardens (red and yellow, or yellow and white flowers). Looked at garden of local plants at Falklands Conservation in Jubilee Villas (built of brick for Queen Victoria’s Jubilee).

Arrived back at Fram at 17:00 (everyone required to be back by 17:30 for 18:00 departure). Sailed out through the Narrows – initially quite rough, but had calmed slightly within a couple of hours of leaving Stanley.

Some restocking of Fram appeared to have taken place – Falklands Beer cans now in the bar (no draught beer available on leaving Ushuaia, due to a dispute with the supplier!). Lamb was also acquired on Carcass Island.
Dinner ‘American Columbus’ theme – Caesar salad, clam chowder, New York steak, grapefruit sorbet, key lime pie.