Falklands West

First stop on the voyage was at West Point Island in the Falklands where we were greeted by the caretaker Alan White, a fifth generation Falklander. The island was a golden blaze of gorse and we passed Upland geese and Striated caracara (Jonny Rooks) on a hike up over the saddle of the island to the Devil's Nose to reach a huge colony of Black-browed albatrosses. The colony itself was a short journey down through a maze of tussock grass which opened up to a field of rocks and old growths of tussock which had been smashed under the weight of the giant albatross and their monstrous chicks. Scattered below the nesting black-brows were a multitude of comparatively tiny, rockhopper penguins. Refreshments were served up by the caretaker’s family in the lovely English style cottage on the grass hill overlooking the bay we transited to Saunders Island. We landed on a beach where Gentoo penguins were nesting and walked across the small peninsula to the north side of the island and saw four species of penguin including the large colourful King penguins, with huge fluffy brown chicks, Magellanic penguins that make their nests in burrows and rock hopper penguins.

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