New Island and Beaver Island, 2/19/2024, National Geographic Explorer
Aboard the
National Geographic Explorer
Antarctica
It was a spectacular sunny day and it couldn’t have been a better start for our first day exploring the Falkland Islands. In the morning, we went to a New Island settlement to observe the black-browed albatrosses and rockhopper penguins. In the afternoon, we had the rare opportunity to land on Beaver Island to experience the gentoo penguins and the beautiful landscape.
Maria Intxaustegi is an internationally awarded maritime archaeologist, naval historian, commercial diver, professional offshore sailor, and expedition guide from the Basque Country.
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This morning, National Geographic Explorer anchored in Stanley Harbor, the capital of the Falklands. Stanley became a port of refuge for ships which had been damaged rounding Cape Horn. A busy ship repair trade sprung up in the 19th Century and merchants bought the damaged ships which were incapable of repair to use for storage. In the harbor we could see some of those derelict hulls from that era. Later, Stanley was an important coaling station for the Royal Navy and many people remember the 1982 conflict when Stanley was occupied by Argentine forces for ten weeks during the Falklands War. Today, Stanley is home to the majority of the archipelago’s population (3000) and remains a quaint, small town. It was another blustery morning, so after breakfast we donned our rain gear for a wet Zodiac ride to shore. Groups divided into their tour of interest and explored town and the greater surroundings on the Stanley highlights tour, hiking out to Gypsy Cove, or visiting a farm.
Our adventure began with high hopes for Royal Bay and Drygalski Fjord in South Georgia. After a peaceful breakfast aboard National Geographic Endurance , we arrived at Royal Bay where we marveled at the towering ice walls from the ship, setting an awe-inspiring tone for the day. Leaving the massive walls of ice surrounding the bay, we navigated through spectacular fjords where pristine glaciers were accompanied by graceful snow petrels gliding against the icy-blue backdrop. Our day culminated in Cooper Bay with exhilarating Zodiac cruises, where we encountered a bustling world of wildlife. Macaroni penguins perched along rocky ledges, fur seals lounged by the water, and we were even graced by a close encounter with a massive leopard seal. The evening wrapped up with insightful recaps and a delicious dinner, a perfect close to an unforgettable day in South Georgia.
National Geographic Explorer found just enough protection from the stiff north winds this morning in the lee of Carcass Island, on the western reaches of the Falkland Island Archipelago. Carcass Island offers opportunities to take a good long leg stretch on a trail that follows the shoreline for about two miles. Those who wanted a more leisurely morning spent the time enjoying the homemade pastries offered by our hosts inside their farmhouse, and some of us spent time looking for the elusive Cobb’s wren, a bird endemic to the Falklands. One wren was very cooperative and perched on numerous branches near the settlement for us to photograph. The afternoon was spent on West Point Island, making a long uphill hike to the far side of the island where a colony of black-browed albatross were nesting. With strong winds blowing, the birds put on a display worthy of an air show. The albatross share their nesting site with rockhopper penguins, who were quite busy getting started with their breeding season, gathering nesting materials and tending to newly laid eggs.
