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Published: January 22nd 2023
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After our time in Antarctica we made the 2 day crossing back across The Drake Passage, even worse “Drake Shake” than on the way over and had us walking a little sideways around the ship. While we did experience motion sickness that had us in our cabin a little longer than normal it usually passed after a few hours and wasn’t a major distraction at any point on our trip. Following the undulating trip across the Drake our first stop back in civilization was Stanley, East Falkland. We arrived at the dock and were welcomed by a pile of seals sleeping on the end.
We had pre-booked a day trip to Volunteer Point with
Jimmy Curtis Tours. If you are in East Falkland you definitely want to go here. The drive to Volunteer point is an adventure on it’s own. You traverse fields and rugged terrain for well over an hour that requires some type of 4x4. After bouncing around the interior of our Land Rover we arrived at Volunteer Point where we were treated to stunning views of white sand beaches and azure ocean water. If you never stepped outside you might think you arrived at some tropical location! A visit
to see that beach itself would be a highlight of any trip. But Volunteer Point is also home to large colonies of Gentoo, Magellenic and King Penguins! It was penguin palooza out there and you walk amongst them; Penguin’s (and sheep and geese and other avian compatriots) surround you as you trek around this gorgeous landscape. We were there for about 2 hours and it’s an experience we will never forget. We then jumped back into our Land Rover and headed back over the rugged return. After returning to ‘town’ our most excellent driver, Adrian, dropped us off at The Falklands only craft brewery,
Falkland Beerworks. The beer was delicious and the owner was a treat to chat with. We enjoyed our pints there but the owner had to shut it down as he had an appointment to get to (welcome to the Falklands!); we then moved on to The Globe tavern where they had different Falkland Beerworks on tap; in the tavern we found many other of our fellow passengers enjoying a pint before heading back to our ship.
We made a few other stops in West Falkland over the next 2 days but
a key highlight was the colonies of Black-Browed Albatross and Rock Hopper Penguins at the Rookery at West Point on West Falklands. After taking a short Zodiac ride to shore we arrived at a small farm from which we hiked a little over a kilometer to the rookery over the hill. Upon arriving at the rookery we were treated to hundreds (maybe thousands) of Albatross & Penguins sharing nesting sites, squawking, jostling and mingling amongst themselves. It was hard to know where to look as many Albatross (with 7+ foot wingspans) swooped within inches of our heads. The cinematic backdrop also included massive cliff faces, crashing ocean waves and gorgeous green rolling hills.
On our last day in the Falklands we had two stops. One was the historic first settlement in the Falklands followed by a stop at a beautiful beach that was once again littered with Gentoo & Magellanic penguins. This location was yet another breathtaking beach that could easily be confused with a tropical beach were it not for the temperature (and the penguins). Beyond the beach the penguins mingled with cows and sheep and after a short hike we were also treated to
another Black Browed Albatross rookery nestled along the cliff sides. It was a good final Falkland stop.
If you want to see more pictures and videos from The Falkland Islands you can find them here on Flickr and here on YouTube
The Falkland Islands was such a treat to visit! You should go!!!
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