Carcass Island & West Point Island
“A bleak and gloomy solitude, an island thrown aside from human use, stormy in winter and barren in summer... where a garrison must be kept in a state that contemplates with envy the exiles of Siberia", stated by Samuel Johnson. One way to describe Falkland Island, but our experience was very different!
Through the night we sailed away from the surviving Victorian bastion of Stanley on East Falkland, to the wild, western side of West Falkland. Here lie a number of islands with rich and diverse wildlife, some even still free from rats, rabbits, cats, dogs, pigs, sheep, cattle... The sealers and whalers of the early 19th century released these animals on many of the sub-antarctic islands. The first to disappear after the introductions were the smaller seabirds and songbirds.
The morning was dedicated to the rat-free island Carcass, named after an early ship that visited 1766. As the first Zodiac started to head for the shore, a wild pod of Commerson's dolphins rushed up to ride our bow. Approaching the shore we were greeted by a Falkland Island specialty, the Tussac-bird (Blackish Cinclodes). Some landed on the front of the Zodiacs and one even on top of the Zodiac driver! Soon we were on the beach and the wildlife was more or less jumping over us, ducks, geese, penguins, oystercatchers...
Capture the moment is always a useful phrase… A sleepy penguin standing in very shallow water along the beach, thought it was safe. Suddenly a torpedo shot up, a large, hungry male sea lion. Nature has many sides, playful animals like dolphins, sparkling colours, amazing shapes, but can also be very, very brutal. To eat or to be eaten is the name of the game, and the motto always "watch your back!" Whether you are a krill or a penguin does not matter.
The more energetic made the long hike to the Settlement while others explored the beach and then took the Zodiac shuttle there, where awaiting us was a grand traditional Falkland tea. Few of us have seen such a spread before, truly "a table groaning with cakes"! All too soon it was time to depart from the lavish hospitality of Rob and Loraine McGill.
The afternoon was spent at the island nearby, West Point, a place with a very long Lindblad connection. This time Peale's dolphins set up a fine show for our Zodiac landing. It was flat calm but many of us still arrived to the beach wet! Not from waves or wild driving, but from the dolphins splashing water into the boat by slapping their tails. How and why these intelligent creatures have learned to do this we don't know, but they certainly seem to love it!
From the beach some hiked and others used the traditional Falkland Island transportation, the Landrover, to get to over to Devil's Nose, a spectacular cliff on the west side. Here we found a larger breeding colony of rockhopper penguins, mainly now molting. Also large black-browed albatross chicks waited hungrily for the adults to arrive back with food. The more brave and energetic folks took a perilous hike out to the tip of the Devil's Nose for breathtaking scenery. Of these, the most daring and deranged even climbed down the sculpted sandstone ledges to have a cold +8oC (46oF) swim in the Southern Ocean! Back at the Settlement, Roddy & Lily Napier had put on a second BIG Falkland Island tea, and again we were overwhelmed with different cakes. For us it was really the BIG TEA DAY!
Through the evening we experienced a major "bird fall" aboard the ship. Bright lights and drizzling rain quickly make birds disorientated, so staff and crew turned out or blocked all outdoor deck lights to prevent birds from striking the ship. Several birds had already landed onboard but helping hands soon got them safely back out to sea again. This incident shows how a minor thing like ship lights can have a major impact on a small bird population. These birds were all returning to feed chicks ashore. Had they stayed onboard all night, their chicks would have to wait another 24 hours to be fed! And who wants to miss out on a big meal?
"Dinner is now being served, enjoy and Bon Appetit," were the magic words intoned by our head waiter for our last feeding frenzy of the day.
“A bleak and gloomy solitude, an island thrown aside from human use, stormy in winter and barren in summer... where a garrison must be kept in a state that contemplates with envy the exiles of Siberia", stated by Samuel Johnson. One way to describe Falkland Island, but our experience was very different!
Through the night we sailed away from the surviving Victorian bastion of Stanley on East Falkland, to the wild, western side of West Falkland. Here lie a number of islands with rich and diverse wildlife, some even still free from rats, rabbits, cats, dogs, pigs, sheep, cattle... The sealers and whalers of the early 19th century released these animals on many of the sub-antarctic islands. The first to disappear after the introductions were the smaller seabirds and songbirds.
The morning was dedicated to the rat-free island Carcass, named after an early ship that visited 1766. As the first Zodiac started to head for the shore, a wild pod of Commerson's dolphins rushed up to ride our bow. Approaching the shore we were greeted by a Falkland Island specialty, the Tussac-bird (Blackish Cinclodes). Some landed on the front of the Zodiacs and one even on top of the Zodiac driver! Soon we were on the beach and the wildlife was more or less jumping over us, ducks, geese, penguins, oystercatchers...
Capture the moment is always a useful phrase… A sleepy penguin standing in very shallow water along the beach, thought it was safe. Suddenly a torpedo shot up, a large, hungry male sea lion. Nature has many sides, playful animals like dolphins, sparkling colours, amazing shapes, but can also be very, very brutal. To eat or to be eaten is the name of the game, and the motto always "watch your back!" Whether you are a krill or a penguin does not matter.
The more energetic made the long hike to the Settlement while others explored the beach and then took the Zodiac shuttle there, where awaiting us was a grand traditional Falkland tea. Few of us have seen such a spread before, truly "a table groaning with cakes"! All too soon it was time to depart from the lavish hospitality of Rob and Loraine McGill.
The afternoon was spent at the island nearby, West Point, a place with a very long Lindblad connection. This time Peale's dolphins set up a fine show for our Zodiac landing. It was flat calm but many of us still arrived to the beach wet! Not from waves or wild driving, but from the dolphins splashing water into the boat by slapping their tails. How and why these intelligent creatures have learned to do this we don't know, but they certainly seem to love it!
From the beach some hiked and others used the traditional Falkland Island transportation, the Landrover, to get to over to Devil's Nose, a spectacular cliff on the west side. Here we found a larger breeding colony of rockhopper penguins, mainly now molting. Also large black-browed albatross chicks waited hungrily for the adults to arrive back with food. The more brave and energetic folks took a perilous hike out to the tip of the Devil's Nose for breathtaking scenery. Of these, the most daring and deranged even climbed down the sculpted sandstone ledges to have a cold +8oC (46oF) swim in the Southern Ocean! Back at the Settlement, Roddy & Lily Napier had put on a second BIG Falkland Island tea, and again we were overwhelmed with different cakes. For us it was really the BIG TEA DAY!
Through the evening we experienced a major "bird fall" aboard the ship. Bright lights and drizzling rain quickly make birds disorientated, so staff and crew turned out or blocked all outdoor deck lights to prevent birds from striking the ship. Several birds had already landed onboard but helping hands soon got them safely back out to sea again. This incident shows how a minor thing like ship lights can have a major impact on a small bird population. These birds were all returning to feed chicks ashore. Had they stayed onboard all night, their chicks would have to wait another 24 hours to be fed! And who wants to miss out on a big meal?
"Dinner is now being served, enjoy and Bon Appetit," were the magic words intoned by our head waiter for our last feeding frenzy of the day.
