West Point Island and Beaver Island, The Falkland Islands, 3/12/2024, National Geographic Endurance
Aboard the
National Geographic Endurance
Antarctica
Clouds greeted us this morning as we awoke onboard National Geographic Endurance. The rain attempted to dampen our spirits, but we weren’t having any of it – a colony of albatross and penguins awaited us!
West Point Island delivered an unbelievable morning walk through mossy ground and rolling hills. Beaver Island brought sunshine in the sky and penguins in the surf. Beautiful views and wildlife were all around.
Born and raised on the edge of the Mojave Desert, Nick was accustomed to hot dry days, far from the ocean. Everything changed when he attended California State University Monterey Bay, a short 1.5 miles from the beaches of Central California. This is...
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The last day of an expedition is always a mix of feelings. There is the rush to pack and get last minute things done, combined with a cascade of emotions from all that has been experienced during a once in a lifetime journey. The sunrise was colorful, the seas calm, and seabirds dotted the skies around National Geographic Endurance. Throughout the day there were a number of presentations and during lunch we were able to enjoy the stunning mountains of Isla de los Estados off our port side. Teatime was a superb occasion! There was an impressive choice of cheeses, crackers, vegetable sticks, and jams all paired with a selection of wines. On our port side, a rainbow appeared over the gray seas. During dinner and throughout the evening, we sailed along the Beagle Channel and past the Bay of Good Success. It was from here that a 23-year-old man wrote in a letter home, “I have decided to dedicate myself to natural history and hope to make some small contribution to it.” His name was Charles Darwin.
This morning we explored West Point Island, a place that has been taken care of by Thies Matzen and Kicki Ericson in recent years. We were able to hike towards the black-browed albatross colony which is shared with southern rockhopper penguins. There are thousands of pairs that nest on this island, making it an important site for biodiversity and conservation in the Falklands. After lunch we repositioned the ship to Grave Cove located in West Falkland. Here we landed our Zodiacs on a beautiful white sand beach and walked across a narrow isthmus to see the largest colony of gentoo penguins in the Falklands. Watching hundreds of penguins come and go from the waves towards their rookery on the white sand was an incredible visual experience. We observed many other species that inhabit these islands, including a Southern sea lion stalking the shallows along the beach, unsuccessfully hunting the penguins. The last day of our expedition was marked by striking landscapes and an abundance of wildlife that makes this part of the world preciously unique.
We started the day with a visit to a working farm owned by a family on Saunders Island. The main product of this farm is wool, and being that it’s the start of spring, sheering had just begun. We were able to see the whole process and marvel at the skill and speed of the workers sheering and selecting the wool. After the visit our guests were treated to an incredible barbecue lunch at the farm. In the afternoon, we repositioned the ship to another side of the island to visit the sea bird colonies. We saw a large black-browed albatross colony and just a few hundred meters away, a colony of southern rockhopper penguins. We had time to explore the area and understand more about the behaviors of these incredible birds, including their courtship rituals and how they care for their eggs. The breeding season has just started but we could see that there were already several nests with eggs in them.
