Falklands Flightless Steamer Ducks

The day on the Falklands was mainly a penguin trip but our driver, Derrick, was so good and stopped for every other bird on the way back to the ship adding a good few specialities to our list.

Gentoo Penguins, Volunteer Point, Falkland Islands

These were just so adorable and there were plenty of chicks visible. They won the cutest bird of the day, hands down !

It really was a magical day, one that we still can't believe we have done !

Magellanic Penguins, Volunteer Point, Falkland Islands

These were numerous and were seen most days from the ship, although when they were on the water and we were high above, they didn't resemble penguins at all. Most were sitting on eggs on the Falklands and were tucked away in burrows. The area was cordoned off to prevent any burrows collapsing in.

The Falklands

We couldn't quite believe our luck today, the gales that blew yesterday afternoon had gone and all was calm. The day before we had been in our cabin most of the day with the ship in very rough sea so Karen dosed up on Quells and slept most of the day. The Falklands is reached by tender (lifeboat) as the ships cannot get into the port. The last 4 ships had not been able to lower their tenders due to the swell and we were hoping beyond all hope that we would be ok to get ashore. We certainly were although our tender into the harbour (about a 20 minute journey) was choppy to say the least!

We had arranged for a guide to meet us and he was taking a few 4 x 4's over the island to Volunteer Point where we would see 3 species of penguin. Our trip was arranged through Patrick Watts at Adventure Falklands. He was so helpful and his prices were 1/3 of what the ships charged for a lot more. We were in  a convoy of 6 vehicles as this trip involved a lot of off road driving infact the driving was quite exciting ! Our driver was Derrick, the local mechanic and a lovely guy. Also driving was the bloke from the local chippy 'Mr Chips', a local councillor, Derrick's old English teacher and Derrick's sister in law who defied all odds with her off road driving skills! We visited Volunteer Point where the warden was Derrick's father-in-law !  A very close knit community that made you instantly welcome.

We had been given a packed lunch......mushy egg sandwiches and Walkers crisps, a delicious treat after all the rich cruise food.

 As we sailed in, we could still see evidence of the conflict.

A huge flock of penguins could be seen in the distance but this was nothing compared to what we would see later in the day.

The remains of a helicopter from the conflict and yes, that is snow.

The number plate that was the downfall of Top Gear !

 and 'that' woman with a memorial and a road named after her !

 Yes that's a snow storm that you can see. It's an island with many seasons in one day. It was mid summer but we experienced sun, rain, hail and we finished in a very heavy snow storm !!

Sorry this is blurred as it was taken from the window of a vehicle but it shows Nigerian contractors (in bomb suits) employed to clear the mine fields left by the Argentinians.

 The ship is now at anchor at the entrance to Port Stanley and the sea is calm.

Volunteer Point

As we sailed in we could see 1000's of penguins and knew it was going to be a good day !

Falklands here we come !

Our first docking was in Montevideo, a small town with not a lot to do so we decided on a good walk through the dockyard piled to the sky with containers, then through the town to the shoreline.  It was nice to sit and birdwatch. We got talking to a lovely couple from our ship who lived in Belton! It's such a small world.

Back to the ship after a few hours, probably for more food! Later in the afternoon we set sail and were on our way south, out of the mouth of the River Plate into the Southern Atlantic and heading towards the Falklands which we would reach in two days. There was little bird activity so we ate more food !

The following morning we were up at 5am, very excited and longing to get on deck to see what was about. Karen pulled the curtains to have a look at the sea, checking the swell and shrieked 'whales'. We could see blowing in the distance but we were travelling at a right old speed so wanted the whales to breach.......oh my lord above, it was only 3 KILLER WHALES !  It was the sight of a lifetime, one that will stay with us forever. We couldn't have asked for a better start to our trip.

So, on deck we were for the day with whales everywhere, blowing and breaching. A magical day. We met our fellow whale and bird watching travellers on deck and we were soon shouting 'whale' constantly throughout the day. This was by far the best whale day and although we saw them every day throughout our journey, they were never in these massive numbers.

Photography was difficult from the ship as were steaming ahead at a good speed  and we also had to guess where they would next breach but Simon managed a few quality shots. They were also very difficult to identify but we all agreed that we saw Southern Right, Minke, Fin and Sei during our time onboard, and we added our Killer Whales to the list.

As we sailed further south, the birds started to increase in numbers and species until we were in albatross and petrel heaven, literally 1000's of them everywhere we looked. It was certainly a birdwatchers paradise onboard this ship.