The Beagle Channel
Position 3:30pm 22 February: 52°59’41”S 48°57’10”W (MAP)
Monday 19 – Wednesday 22 February 2024
Since all my trips from & to Ushuaia had left in the evening and arrived in the early morning, I’d never seen the full length of the Beagle Channel. So it was good to see this and watch the change in birds as we transitioned from the shelter of the Channel to the open southern Atlantic.
With briefings and lectures through the day, and yummy meals in the restaurant, the day went quite quickly and we arrived at Saunders Island, one of the Falkland’s many islands, on Tuesday morning ready to visit the penguins here.
Meeting the Gentoo & King Penguins
Gear on, camera in bag, hiking pole at hand, we were soon in the Zodiac and landing at low tide. As we came towards the beach we could see Gentoo penguins everywhere – on hilltops, waddling down to the water, squabbling with each other for reasons we can’t understand. It was wonderful!
[Gentoo penguins are medium-sized and looked very well dressed, with orange/red beaks and almost matching feet.]
We walked along the marked trail, giving way to any that wanted to scamper across in front of us. Coming over a hill we came to a marked off area where a group of King penguins were standing with their black heads and colourful plumage around their necks and down their chests. These are the larger ones, but not as tall as Emperors.
Some had very young chicks, still fluffy dark grey and staying very close to the adult. Photos later!
A wonderful aspect of seeing these was that they were in the same place as the Kings I’d seen when I was here in 2015. Some of the adults might well have been chicks then.
From there we walked down to the beach to see the Gentoos coming in and out of the surf, and waddling to and from their nests. Unfortunately by the time we came close to the Rockhoppers, the tide was in, and we could not get close.
Back on the ship, it was time to shower, enjoy the outside decks before dinner, and watch Saunders Island disappear into the distance as we sailed to Stanley.
Stanley
This was a brief stop, with time for Phyllis and I to walk through the main town, enjoy a cuppa, do a little shopping, and find info on some of Falkland’s history.
In the afternoon, two gorgeous puppy dogs came on board to sniff around the cargo hold for any rodents that might have snuck in with newly acquired food. With their all-clear, we set sail for South Georgia.
This afternoon every person on the ship participates in a mandatory biosecurity check to ensure that we’re not carrying anything in our parkas, overpants, boots, backpacks etc that could transmit diseases to South Georgia.
We’re now making good time in comfortable seas. The overcast skies & low cloud make whale-spotting a little difficult, but who knows when a humpback might pop up beside us?