GeorgeCharlie

It is said that most of the pictures of penguins you see were probably photographed in the Falkland Islands - especially in the case of King Penguins. King penguins no longer breed in Patagonia, or indeed any other part of South America, and the Volunteer Point colony is the only one which can be visited somewhat easily. Human impact is currently very low, despite King penguins being a great tourist attraction in the Falklands. They are very tolerant of human presence and are not alarmed by the presence of tourists, provided that they remain on the outskirts of the colony. The King penguin is the world's second-largest penguin (after the Emperor penguin), with a typical weight of 14kg (31 lbs), and an average length of 90cm (3 ft). King penguins have distinctive orange patches on either side of the head, which extend down and meet beneath the chin, where they become yellow and fade into the silvery white breast plumage. The mandibular plates on either side of the bill are also orange in color. The female is slightly smaller than the male but has similar plumage. King penguins make no nest, and instead lay a single egg, which they hold on their feet for the entire incubation period of about 55 days. Hatching may take up to 2–3 days to complete. This adaption allows breeding in much colder terrain than would be the case for species that lay their eggs on the ground and negates the need for nesting material. The eggs are brooded by both parents in turn, with shift changes of 6-18 days; the non-brooding parent goes to sea on extended foraging trips. Sitting on their egg/chick. The newly hatched chicks are also held on the parents' feet for the first 30-40 days, by which time they have developed their mesophile plumage, and are able to regulate their own body heat. Because of their large size, king penguin chicks take 14–16 months before they are ready to go to sea. This is markedly different from smaller penguins, who rear their chicks through a single summer when food is plentiful. King penguins time their mating so the chicks will develop over the harshest season for fishing. In this way, by the time the young penguins are finally mature enough to leave their parents, it is summer when food is plentiful and conditions are more favorable for the young to survive alone at sea. King chicks are very curious and will wander far when exploring their surroundings. The chicks form a group, called a crèche and are watched over by only a few adult birds; most parents leave their chick in these crèches to forage for themselves and their chick. Other species of penguins also practice this method of communal care for offspring.

At Volunteer Point, the nesting areas for King and Gentoo penguins have been either roped off, or ringed with white stones. You are not to enter these areas, because if you cause the birds to move off their nests, they will abandon the eggs/chicks. The rocks are set well back from the King nests. They are a little closer at the Gentoo nests. The birds you see, and meet, outside those areas are normally birds which have not mated yet. There’s lots of them wandering around, so people have no difficulty getting their picture taken with a penguin in it.

Jane, Tom, and Bill are all Falkland Islanders, and whether we were driving, flying, or walking with them, they gave us a running commentary on Falkland’s history and wildlife. This was especially noticeable while visiting Volunteer Point, where Tom and Bill, besides giving us general information on the wildlife, also pointed out various things people may walk by without noticing them. Things such as… …. the red splotches on the ground, which are regurgitated krill with small stones in it. The adults need to swallow small stones to assist in digestion, but the stones are dangerous for the chicks, so they have to get rid of the stones before feeding the chicks. ….. the many burrows scattered around the area and people walking past them not realizing they are Magellanic penguins’ nests, with adults tending their young. If you look closely at the center burrow, you will notice some of the white on the bird. …. the skeleton showing how long penguin legs are. Most people think penguins have very short legs, as they normally walk around in a squatting posture. But they actually have fairly long legs, which they use while swimming. …. don’t have a picture of it, but Tom pointed out an adult Magallanic sitting on it’s nest which contained an obviously dead chick, along with a second chick that was near death. What has happened is that the other adult did not return (likely killed) from foraging for food to feed the chicks, so they will end up starving to death.

This is a picture of the penguin nesting areas at Volunteer Point. You may have to enlarge the picture to see it better, but the area outlined on the left side of the picture is the King penguin nests and the outlined area on the right side is the Gentoo penguin nests. The vehicle parking area is on the centre right of the picture.

Missed including the picture of the helicopter sitting on the top of the rise. You will also note the sheep grazing amongst the penguins, as Volunteer Point is part of a working sheep farm. Almost all of the land in the Falklands is privately owned and the owners charge the tour companies an access fees.

We landed on a small rise a short distance from the penguin colonies. Volunteer Point is about 25km (15 miles) as the crow flies, north of Stanley and received its name in 1815, when the sealing ship Volunteer left a boat's crew there to collect seal skins while it went in search of opportunities elsewhere. Volunteer Point is notable for having about 2000 pairs of king penguins breed here, at the most northerly part of their range. King penguins were once nearly extinct in the Falklands, and Volunteer Point contains most of the Falkland population. There is also a colony of about 3600 pairs Gentoo penguins. Along with a colony of about 2500 pairs of Magellanic penguins.

First rough cut of helicopter flight from Stanley to Volunteer Point. When you are riding in the helicopter you are wearing headphones like the pilots are, which cuts out the noise of the helicopter and allows you to communicate with each other.

It's difficult to see in this picture, but down there are a number of crisscrossing tracks made by the 4x4 vehicles on their way to/from Volunteer Point.

The white areas in this picture is not snow. It is actually what is called a stone run, or stone river; which is a rock landform resulting from the erosion of particular rock varieties caused by freezing-thawing cycles in periglacial conditions during the last Ice Age. These rock features appear in abundance in two areas of the world, Falkland Islands and Vitosha Mountain (Bulgaria).

Stanley from the air. (Falkland Helicopter Services photo) Some other pictures of the countryside. One of the rain showers passing through.

The wreck of Lady Elizabeth - a Historical landmark. In her final voyage, she was bound for Mozambique (from Vancouver) but due to severe weather near Cape Horn, she was heavily damaged. Four crew members were lost overboard, along with the ship's two boats and part of her deck cargo. She also sustained damage to the deck fittings, wheel, moorings, and other parts of the ship. Lady Elizabeth altered course for Stanley, Falkland Islands. 15 miles (24 km) north of Port Stanley, she struck Uraine Rock just off Volunteer Point and suffered a 6-foot (1.8 m) break in the hull and keel along with a 1-foot (30 cm) hole. The ship began to sink but was able to get to Port Stanley for repairs. After she was examined, Lady Elizabeth was condemned (declared unseaworthy) because of the damage. She was and remained stationed in Stanley harbour until 17 February 1936 when her mooring lines broke during a storm, and she drifted to where she now lies in Whalebone Cove in Stanley Harbour.

The two most common tours they offer are the Volunteer Point and Rockhopper tours. When we originally booked, it was a combination of these two tours, where we were to stop to see the Rockhoppers on the way back from Volunteer point. Unfortunately, a serious Avian Influenza outbreak was affecting some seabird colonies in the northern hemisphere with devasting consequences. This meant we could not go directly from one colony of birds to another, as we would have to return to the airport to get our footwear treated first. The advantage for us, was that we got to see more of the countryside.😎

We then headed back to the pickup point for our helicopter tour. We were picked up by Jane (Tom's wife) for the short drive to the airport. Although Tom and his brother Bill would be our pilots for the tour, Jane is actually the Chief Pilot for their company - a position she is well qualified for - as she has been flying helicopters since 1998. To date Jane has in excess of 8500 hours total flight time with the majority being as a Captain flying the Sikorsky S61 helicopter here in the Falkland Islands.

If you do manage to take the helicopter tour, I'm sure you will come back with many lifetime memories of the Falkland Islands - I know we sure did.😎

Some of the sights we saw. Christ Church Cathedral The most southerly Anglican cathedral in the world, the iconic Christ Church Cathedral was consecrated in 1892 by the first Bishop of the Falkland Islands, Waite Hockin Stirling. This historic building features a cathedral tower with a ring of five bells, 19th and 20th-century stained glass windows and a two manual pipe organ built in Ireland. In addition, there are also locally-stitched needlepoint hassocks with scenes relating to the church and life on the Islands along with a collection of historic memorabilia. The Whalebone Arch. Adjacent to the cathedral is the Whalebone Arch, constructed in 1933 from the jawbones of two blue whales to commemorate the centenary of continuous British administration in the Falklands. A fairly long fence had a nice display of information boards covering some of the local history and facts. I found their poster on penguins rather interesting as it shows what the inside of a penguins mouth looks like. Penguins eat their fish whole and don't waste any time chewing their food like humans do. Instead of teeth, penguins have papillae (rear-facing spines or fleshy ridges) inside of their mouths that are specialized to allow them to swallow live fish whole. The local police station. Along with it's lonely looking police vehicle. The Falkland Islands are a very safe place to visit. Threats to personal safety and thefts of any items are extremely rare, particularly for visitors to the Islands. Walking around the streets of Stanley at any time of day or night is safe for everyone in our community. Crime rates are exceptionally low. Pick-pocketing is unheard of. Saint Mary's Church. It is the only pro-cathedral and parish of the Apostolic Prefecture of the Falkland Islands, an isolated territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church directly dependent on the Holy See. It is the only Catholic church in the islands. It is made of wood and was consecrated in 1899. On the West wall it has oil murals, illustrated by British/Argentine artist James Peck, born in the islands.

Noticed a double-decker bus parked on a nearby pier, but was not able to find out if it was being used for tours.

Conveniently located where you come ashore, is the Visitor Centre. The visitor centre is run by volunteers with the Falkland Islands Tourist Board and they where very busy in trying to help people locate various tour operators. Falkland Islands has a very limited number of tour operators, so even when a modest sized ship (1,800 pass.) such as ours comes to visit, there is not likely much of a chance arranging for a tour once you get there. When two, or more, ships are going to be in port, you best try arranging for a popular tour at least six months in advance. Heard of people going ashore and expecting to arrange for a taxi ride out to Volunteer Point, as it's something they have always been able to do when they were in Caribbean, or Mediterranean ports. We also noticed a couple of other souvenir stores located along Ross Road. There is also a fairly large supermarket (The West Store) about a block from the Visitor Centre on Ross Road. There is only one bank, the Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) located on Ross Road. It opens weekdays 9am - 3pm. They can change money and issue cash advances against Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards. Charges apply and photographic identification is usually required. Local currency has the same value as UK sterling and both circulate freely in the Islands. US dollars are widely accepted and euros can be used in some places. The use of credit and debit cards is increasing, with the majority of shops and restaurants now accepting these. However, it’s a good idea to check your method of payment in advance and it is highly recommended to carry cash for use outside of Stanley. There is a cash machine (ATM) at Stanley Services fuel station on Bypass Road.

With lots of time before our tour was to depart, we decided to go ashore and have a leisurely look around. The first thing we noticed was some sea lions sunning themselves on a nearby floating dock. It appeared to be a male, with a harem of six females. We were told the females were most likely pregnant. Later in the day, we notice his harem had almost doubled in size.

We were in Peru for 4 days about 3 months ago and had no problems using credit cards for meals, etc. But, it was just prior to when the current unrest started.

We were very fortunate in being able to book Falkland Helicopter Services for a tour of the Islands, as it greatly enhanced our experience in seeing (and learning) about penguins and the Islands as a whole. Bill & Tom beside the Robertson R44 helicopter. For reference in size, both Tom & Bill are well over 6 feet tall. The helicopter tour meant, rather than taking over two hours by 4x4 vehicle to get to Volunteer Point, by helicopter it would only take about 20 minutes. In addition, with our tour scheduled to leave at 10:30am, we didn’t need to be in any big rush trying to catch a tender. Plus, you get a different view of the landscape from above.

“WE MADE IT ASHORE”😎😎 For us, having Falklands on a South American cruise itinerary was mandatory, and I’m sure we were not the only ones onboard who were concerned as to whether we would be able to make it ashore. It ended up being a fairly nice day, with scattered clouds and an odd shower passing through. Oosterdam at anchor, with Stanley in the background. Of course, getting to see penguins was the main reason we wanted to visit the islands. And we got to see them in all kinds of shapes and colours!!!! A chick still wearing its winter coat.

By early the next morning, we were offshore from Cape Horn. The Chilean Navy Station is on the left side, with the famous Monument in the right background. Cape Horn marks the start of the Drake Passage. With its infamous for churning seas and wicked winds, this passage is one of the apex predators of the maritime world. It’s believed that more than 10,000 seamen have perished “rounding the horn.” The sculpture was designed by Chilean sculptor José Balcells Eyquem in 1992 and depicts an albatross in flight—the seafaring symbol for souls lost at sea. There are two marble slabs on the path to the monument. One with the dedication and the other with a poem by Sara Vial. (Internet Picture) Which translates into: I am the albatross that awaits you At the end of the world. I am the forgotten souls of dead mariners Who passed Cape Horn From all the oceans of the world. But they did not die In the furious waves. Today they sail on my wings Toward eternity, In the last crack Of the Antarctic winds. The monument is 7 meters (23 feet) high and consists of two independent pieces, each made of five steel plates. It was built to withstand wind gusts up to 200 kmh (125 mph). Unfortunately, in November 2014, the monument was damaged by strong winds. (Internet Picture) After having the ship rotate 360 degrees, so everyone had a chance to view the site, we then headed back north - on our way to the Falkland Islands.

Passing Puerto Williams, Chile, as the sun was setting.

A view of the Ushuaia area as we were departing.

I did not broach the relationship between any of the countries, although I had the feeling locals valued tourism to much to raise the subject on their own - especially the guides. As a bit of an interesting side note: At the End of the World post office, I tried to purchase a souvenir magnet which depicted the Malvinas and when I went to pay for it, the clerk refused payment. I don't understand Spanish, but from what I could make of it, he was so happy I was buying something regarding the Malvinas, he just wanted to give it to me.🙂 The Magnet.