A few white
ranch houses with red and green roofs could be seen on the
island. The wreck of an old minesweeper that had been used for
seal hunting was grounded near the shore.Friday, January 19
We arrived at New Island in the Falklands early on Friday morning. Debbie and I went up to the buffet breakfast in the Columbus Lounge for early coffee.
The Falkland Islands are low lying, rounded islands that are nearly devoid of trees. They are covered for the most part with grass. The Hanseatic dropped anchor in a sheltered harbor.
A few white
ranch houses with red and green roofs could be seen on the
island. The wreck of an old minesweeper that had been used for
seal hunting was grounded near the shore.
We bundled up in our parkas and headed down to the storage lockers on the Amundsen deck where we kept our wellies and life jackets. We switched from our shoes into our wellies. Although you tuck your pants inside the wellies, it is important to keep your outer, waterproof pants outside to prevent water from getting into the top of the boots when stepping into deep water.
We were directed down the gangway and a pair of deck hands assisted us into the Zodiac. The water was still and the ride to shore was reasonably smooth. The Zodiac scraped the sand next to the minesweeper wreck. The passengers disembarked from both sides at the front. The method involves sliding forward and then swinging both legs around to the rear, over the pontoon.
We waded onto the sandy beach near a stone structure that was identified as Barnard's barn. Barnard had been an early settler in the Falkland Islands. Half of the roof of the barn was lying on the ground next to the barn. It had been blown off during storms in December. The other half of the roof was in the grass about a quarter of a mile away. Barrels were set up on the beach for us to put our life jackets in while we hiked to the rookery.
The expedition followed a primitive road up a gentle incline, across the island to the penguin rookery. A single file of red-jacketed hikers followed each of the two tire ruts. A flock of Upland Geese was grazing in the grass near the roof of Barnard's barn. We spotted a couple of feral rabbits also.
The rookery was located in rocky cliffs above a narrow beach, about a mile from the landing on the other side of the island. It was populated by large numbers of Rockhopper Penguins and Blue-eyed Shags, nesting all mixed together. Rockhopper Penguins have a crest of yellow feathers sprouting from the sides of their heads and a set of spiky black feathers on the top. They have red eyes and an orange beak.
Shag is another name for Cormorant. The Shags were black and white, and were marked very much like the Penguins. They have a bright blue eye-ring around their eyeball, from whence they derive their name.
The penguins had to negotiate a rocky, penguin highway to get down to the water a hundred feet below the rookery. After feeding in the open ocean, the adult penguins climbed back up the rocky path, hopping up a few inches at a time with a belly full of fish to feed their chicks.
Black-browed Albatrosses circled overhead on the rising air currents above the cliffs. Their nests were concentrated on one side of the rookery. Each Albatross had built a nest out of a mound of guano that was slightly larger in diameter than its downy, gray albatross chick. The Albatross chicks have oversized beaks and black stripes running around the sides of their face, so it looks like they are wearing beak masks.
There were lots of Kelp Gulls and several brown Falklands Skuas with white patches on their wings circling above the rookery.
When an adult Rockhopper Penguin reached its chicks it identified them by calling to them and listening for their distinctive little penguin voices. The chicks would nuzzle the beak of the adult, prompting it to regurgitate the fish that it had caught. The chick would stick its head right into the open mouth of the adult to get its meal. Once the chick had gotten its fill, the adult would swallow back down what the chick hadn't taken.
Single male penguins advertised their availability with a loud calling display. They raised their beak skywards and flapped their outstretched wings as they sang their penguin song. Each performance lasted the better part of a minute. Often there were a few performers scattered around the rookery singing at the same time.
We hiked back across the island to Barnard's Barn. The property owner had a table set up with postcards and art prints of whales that had been drawn by Kim Chater, a woman who lives on the island. I bought a stack of postcards to mail from Port Stanley and one of each of the two art prints. Kim signed and dated the prints for me.
We returned to the Hanseatic, which hauled up the anchor and headed northeast to Carcass Island. The sun was in front of us and I found it impossible to shake the feeling that we were going south.
Shortly after leaving the harbor a small pod of Peale's Dolphins could be seen approaching the ship, leaping clear out of the water every several seconds. Blue-eyed Shags flew over the ship from behind, madly flapping their relatively small wings. When they caught the ridge lift generated by the ship they were able to stretch out their wings and glide for a few seconds. It must be a rare and wonderful experience for them to get to glide.
After lunch, the ship passed through the narrow strait between West Falkland Island and tiny West Point Island. More dolphins were frolicking near the shore of West Point Island. The wind was rising, but the air temperature was quite comfortable.
The Hanseatic rounded a point and headed up a channel alongside Carcass Island. At the other end of the island it wheeled around and dropped anchor off of a sandy beach. Through binoculars, numerous small black specks on the beach could be seen to be penguins.
The ship's crew lowered the Zodiacs into the water alongside the ship. We put our wellies back on and rode a Zodiac in to the shore. The ship's photographer was waiting at the shore to shoot pictures of the occupants of each Zodiac.
Landing at Carcass Island
On shore we were led through a Magellanic Penguin rookery. It was very different from the Rockhopper rookery. Magellanic Penguins dig burrows in the sandy soil under the grass near the shore. They lack the head crest of the Rockhopper Penguins and have a white ring around a black face. The lie around or stand grouped together in the short grass. Upland Geese graze on the grass around the Penguin burrows.
Farther inland the topography is dominated by Tussock Grass, which grows in large clumps. A Falklands Thrush landed on a fence post just a short distance away from us and looked us over carefully. Fearless little Tussock Birds hopped around our feet as they fed on the grass and small flowers. They would jump right on our feet if we stood still long enough.
The destination of our hike was the McGill settlement, a couple of miles along the shore from our landing point. The Hanseatic pulled up its anchor and steamed around the headland to meet us at the bay near the settlement.
After a short climb up a shallow hill we came to a primitive road. We followed the road past a Gentoo Penguin rookery. Gentoo Penguins have orange beaks and orange feet. They have white spots on either side of their head that are joined by a white stripe over the top of the head. They don't build nests or dig burrows. They stand, clustered in colonies. Penguins that have successfully mated have an egg balanced on their feet.
As we approached the colony, a group of Gentoo Penguins that had been on the other side of the trail from the colony came running down the hill. They charged right through the middle of our group, as fast as their stubby little penguin feet could carry them, to join the other penguins.
Caracaras and Turkey Vultures were riding the ridge lift along the hill above the trail. We continued to pass Magellanic Penguin burrows and grazing Upland Geese all the way to the settlement. As we approached the settlement, we came across a family group of Kelp Geese with a pair of downy, gray chicks. The male Kelp Goose is snow white and looks a lot like a common barnyard goose.
We worked our way down to the shoreline for the last part of the hike. Kelp Geese and Crested Patagonia Ducks were feeding along the water's edge. Three Caracaras were standing on a rocky outcrop a few yards offshore. A few solitary Magellanic Penguins were trolling the water of the bay. They pedaled themselves through the water with their head submerged, looking for small fish and other prey.
An Oystercatcher with a long, bright red beak was investigating the rocks on the shore, looking for small invertebrates to eat.
Some of the earlier arrivals were already boarding the Zodiacs to return to the ship. We found our way to the main residence where the property owner had set up an afternoon tea. There was a big table in the middle of the living room that was overloaded with cakes, pastries, and toast. The toast was thickly layered with butter, like icing on a cake.
As we ate our teacakes in the back yard, the Falklands Thrushes and Tussock Birds were boldly investigating our packs and walking across our feet. A dried-out sheep carcass had been placed on the roof of the shed for the birds to feed upon.
A stand of trees had been planted as a windbreak between the main house and the shoreline. Black-Crested Night Herons were building large nests of sticks and small branches in the trees.
While we were taking pictures of the waterfowl along the shore, a pod of dolphins appeared in the bay, leaping out of the water around the Zodiacs. The Zodiac drivers turned to follow the dolphins, which leaped and cavorted in the wakes from the small boats. Debbie and I got into the next Zodiac to leave shore, but the dolphins seem to have had their fun and were nowhere to be seen.