Falkland islands
the ‘Shag rocks’ are are six small islands in the westernmost extreme of South Georgia, on the way to the Falkland islands. They are a lone string of tooth-shaped islands jetting out of the sea providing real estate for thousands of blue-eyed shags.
The Falklands are an archipelago - a whole bunch of islands - in the South Atlantic, about 500 km from South America.
The main Falklands island is actually two islands - East and West, split by the Falklands sound, the strait which separates the two. We were first going to be landing on the main one where the capital - Stanley - is.
We would be going first to a place called ‘Gypsy cove’ to see Magellanic penguins along the coastal trail, and then come back to Stanley town to walk around and explore the place.
The main Falklands island is actually two islands - East and West, split by the Falklands sound, the strait which separates the two. We were first going to be landing on the main one where the capital - Stanley - is.
We would be going first to a place called ‘Gypsy cove’ to see Magellanic penguins along the coastal trail, and then come back to Stanley town to walk around and explore the place.
Gypsy Cove is part of the Cape Pembroke peninsula, which is a National Nature Reserve. The small bay with its stunning white sand beach and turquoise water is home to Magellanic penguins which breed here in underground burrows - and quite a few other endemic birds as well- and not to mention the breathtaking views!
I saw one penguin on the beach and 2-3 on the hillside - and went exploring to see the coastal trail and luckily saw Magellanic penguins - and even saw one in a burrow!
We found some ancient guns dating from the Falklands war
I loved the city of Stanley. It was like entering an episode of ‘Dr Who’ where you go back in time and enter into a UK of the 1950s. The whole place had a very retro air, the people spoke with a bygone accent and there were even red telephone boxes. It was quite charming. It was like being in an Agatha Christie novel- I almost expected to see Poirot twirling his moustache or Miss Marple nosing around somewhere.
There was a very cute little museum telling the fascinating story of the falklands, how they were settled, almost abandoned by the UK, then accepted only because Argentina wanted them!
The next day, we were taken to another island - West Point Island, in the north west corner of the Falklands. It was earlier known as ‘Albatross island’ - because it was a popular nesting place for Black browed Albatrosses.
The location was very nice - with amazing sights of the Rockhopper penguins with their chicks and a huge number of Albatrosses with their chicks! Incredible! This place was at the top of a cliff - and the poor Rockhoppers literally hopped all the way down and all the way up here to catch krill and fish and come back to feed the chicks!
These rockhoppers look like very sharp dressers, with some very cool hair accessories! They are crested - like the Macaroni penguins - and look very cool with their red eyes, orange beak, pink webbed feet, and the yellow and black spiky feathers they have on their head!
Total gangsta!
Most of the adults seemed to have gone off to catch food - and only the fluffy black and white chicks were left, with a few adult babysitters, who looked harassed and careworn - poor guys.
Total gangsta!
Most of the adults seemed to have gone off to catch food - and only the fluffy black and white chicks were left, with a few adult babysitters, who looked harassed and careworn - poor guys.
And these penguins were living in and between lots and lots of Albatross nests!
Talk about unlikely neighbours! Black-browed albatrosses and rock-hopper penguins, the masters of flight and the flightless who shared this slope and rookery.
Thousand and thousands of these Black-browed Albatrosses had built their small mud nests on the cliff, and hatched their eggs. The nests were full of their chicks - one extremely cute fuzzy cottony chick per nest!
It was an awe-inspiring sight!
Talk about unlikely neighbours! Black-browed albatrosses and rock-hopper penguins, the masters of flight and the flightless who shared this slope and rookery.
Thousand and thousands of these Black-browed Albatrosses had built their small mud nests on the cliff, and hatched their eggs. The nests were full of their chicks - one extremely cute fuzzy cottony chick per nest!
It was an awe-inspiring sight!
I was the very last person at the place and got very few minutes to see the amazing colony - scores and scores of albatrosses and penguins - so close that I could touch them and unfortunately smell them too. Fluffy huge albatross chicks sat on by mum, and dark coloured penguin chicks
I managed to take a look at the beautiful and sweet smelling garden of the Napier’s farmhouse - where the Napiers used to serve a legendary afternoon tea to the visiting cruise passengers!
