Steeple Jason 4 – 6 April

A huge privilege: for 2 nights we were able to visit Steeple Jason, the most north westerly and one of the more remote of all the Falkland Islands, a wildlife sanctuary owned by the Wildlife Conservation Society.  What’s more, we had the whole island to ourselves, if we were to ignore (which is quite hard) the countless thousands of Black-browed Albatross and Giant Southern Petrels, amongst many other birds and animals, which normally live here.

First impressions on arrival were created by the 30 – 40 adolescent Striated Caracaras which were set on greeting us. These ‘Johnny Rooks’ are incredibly inquisitive and very playful, wanting to investigate anything new – including us!  Once one got used to the fact that at least 15 birds of prey were intent on flying within 2 feet of one’s head, it was an ‘interesting’ experience to walk anywhere – almost like taking a troupe of pets for a walk.  Bill even got a number of them flying off with the end of his walking stick – if it had not been attached to him, it would have certainly been stolen; they are the real ‘magpies’ of the South Atlantic.

Having been shown the ropes by Rob and left to our devices by everyone, we walked out to the Albatross colony on the NW point.  I believe that it is home to some 170,000 breeding pairs, but even though most of the adults had left there were still thousands of fledglings sat on their nests flexing their wings.  One could tell when a gust of wind was coming as a wave of flapping wings rippled across the colony as the chicks made the most of the natural assistance to their physical exercise; so strong was the wind that the few adults present only had to run a few feet to achieve the lift needed for these supreme gliders to get airborne: it was almost surprising that none of the chicks learned to fly ‘by accident’.   As we had seen in February, there are many Rockhopper Penguins mixed in with the Albatross; many of them looking decidedly scruffy as they go through their moult. 

As the squalls came through, we sought refuge in the tussac grass, getting a real appreciation of the shelter it provides to so many different animals as we kept out of the worst of the wintery showers before fleeing to the comfort of the house – an extremely well appointed building with fantastic views over the local Gentoo colony and of the antics of the penguins getting in and out of the water, almost in the same manner as their Rockhopper cousins.

Thursday started bright and sunny but soon gave way to wintery squalls again, nevertheless we were able to dodge the spots and creep up on some of the gentoos who had sensibly established their colonies in the midst of the tussac grass.  Despite almost being blown off the rocks by the wind we also espied a family of fur seals fishing in the kelp.  A trip to the island’s neck took us to even more Gentoos – with one of the colonies being sensibly being half-way up the steep slopes to get the most shelter out of the wind and weather but yet more hundreds of them progressing in & out of the sea.  Even more thrillingly we were also able to see a mother and young fur seal at very close quarters as they basked in the sun (it was shining at this point!).  Further on we thought we had come across another penguin colony but closer inspection revealed it to be 1,000s of Giant Southern Petrels (I guess the fact that there were so many birds in the air should have given the game away sooner!)  Seeing some of their fluffy and moulting chicks at fairly close quarters was a true treat as these are usually easily disturbed, as was sitting in the middle of the colony’s runway as the Petrels flew around our heads - not that the birds needed much effort to achieve lift to glide supremely easily around the area, given the rising South Westerly wind.  The wind, however, was the harbinger of a storm coming out of the south (which, of course, here means a pretty chilly place) hastening us back to the house just as the elements let loose.  Sixteen hours or more of very rough weather followed with the house seemingly wanting to take off as gusts of over 70 mph buffeted us all night - and this is probably significantly underestimating what was the worst weather for some considerable time according in to the locals!  What an occasion to choose to abandon oneself on a remote lump of rock!!  The scale of the storm was evident as we flew home on Friday, seeing the size of the waves attacking the exposed shores and, tellingly, a number of the offshore international fishing boats sheltering in the lee of Grand Jason. 

In all, a hugely thrilling and very privileged opportunity to stay privately in one of this region’s wildlife and scenic jewels. 

Escape to the West again. March 26- 30. Port Stephens, Roy Cove, Port Howard

Our holiday started a day late as we had been stranded on New island and had consequently arrived home too late to catch the Sunday ferry…so it was 6.30 Monday morning when new set off for the ferry to the West.
Usually, we manage the journey from MPC to the coast in an hour, but we had borrowed a truck from camp, and all hire cars have a 40 mile per hour limiter fitted for safety (bad roads, and too many fatalities in the past), so we very nearly missed our time slot – but the ferry waited and we were on our way.
First stop Port Stephens – the most southerly settlement – a beautiful spot, with a strange rock formation called Indian village. We walked around the peninsular to the gentoo colony, and arrived late in the afternoon. This is the time when penguins return to land after a day’s fishing, and rafts and rafts of birds were bouncing from the waves; leaping, tumbling, flippers a flap. The colony was on the neck of the peninsular, and the wind was howling through; the waves were crashing, spray flying, and the power of the water even seemed to challenge the penguins. Many were flattened, swept back out to sea, fell backwards; none seemed to bother – on the contrary, they seemed happy to go back for more.
We sat with Peter and Ann Robertson, whose cosy cottage we were renting, and heard stories of when the settlement had 10 times its current half dozen inhabitants. And of life before the roads were built; ferries would call every 6 weeks up until 5 years ago, and life was easier; now everyone is expected to use the road, and with a 7 hour drive to Stanley, with a 1-2 hour ferry trip on top, deliveries are not easy. Most people have left, and the Robertsons, father and son, continue to run the sheep farm. Shields from many naval ships line their walls – the old days of the 80s and 90s when there were more military out and about, and many islanders were generous in their hospitality. The generosity and warm welcome continues; in our cottage was left fresh milk (oh luxury – a break from the dreaded UHT!), new potatoes fresh from the ground, eggs form the run and tomatoes -the end of the season. Treasures indeed !
We headed off next morning, after a walk up to Great Hawksnest, where perhaps unsurprisingly, we climbed up to, and sat in the hawk’s nest. Huge great pile of sticks high up in the rock face -fortunately the hawks have fledged – otherwise we could have been in trouble!

We set off for our next location, but stopped at South Harbour to have a cup of tea (and chocolate cake yum) with Brian and Ceri Jamieson who have chosen to live here on a small holding with their pack of lurchers. Brian is a computer whizz and can work anywhere. Ceri is chickenmeister, and sent us on our way with 2 dozen eggs (for the promise of a black pudding in exchange when we next meet). Hoorah. We had a fabulous walk with them around their beaches with all our dogs galloping free. A red letter day for Archie and Finn who rarely have such an opportunity on a conservation island. They slept well that night.
Leaving late, we arrived at Roy cove, three hours’ drive away, at twilight, to find that Danny and Joy had been out looking for us along the road.. Islanders look after each other and are generous with time and thought – no AA here, and no local garage if you have broken down (and no mobile signal if there was one!).
Roy Cove is a stunning place – at Crooked Inlet in the north west of the West. The settlement is another which has shrunk form a thriving farm 30 years ago, to just the Donnellys now. They are surrounded by empty houses. But their farm appears to thrive – cattle and sheep, and a self catering cottage to rival many. Cosy and well appointed, the view from the living room heads straight down the inlet, where dolphins curve, and whales can be seen at this time of year.
Joy had left us potatoes and carrotts, and lettuce and spring onions from the greenhouse. A feast ! A wonderfully peaceful night, and in the morning, Danny took us to his fishing spot ; a fabulous, shelterd and pretty spot, with pools and curves which produced a fish for Phoebe instantly. We were not so lucky after that – but we had a fun few hours, and ate well that evening; a supper of delicious fresh trout.
A second peaceful night, and the next day Bill had to head back to work, so the heli picked him up from the cottage, and Phoebe and I and the dogs set off on the drive to Port Howard across the island. We spent a happy couple of hours travelling across the beautiful green rolling countryside of the West, stopping for a picnic lunch beside a winding stream, and arriving mid afternoon at Port Howard. We were staying at Critta’s self catering cottage , and only had to wander in the settlement for two minutes before we were spotted and looked after. Critta arrived soon after, surrounded by his working dogs. I think Phoebe counted 9. Just a little bit better trained than Archie and Finn..
Bill flew back to join us for the evening, and the next morning we had an hour or so spare for fishing before the ferry. We caught a couple (well Phoebe is actually the success story of this holiday) and trailed onto the ferry last again, to enjoy the most perfect crossing; no wind, blue skies, mirror-like water, dolphins alongside, whales spouting around us. A picnic on deck; a magical end to a few days’ escape.

New Island Friday 23rd March-Sunday 25th March

After arriving into the Falklands for Easter holidays in the rain at four in the morning on the plane, we set off at lunchtime on a helicopter to New Island on West Falkland. When we landed, we were followed to the house we were staying at by a group of Caracaras, a very inquisitive bird of prey. The house we were staying in overlooked a beautiful bay where you could see the dolphins playing in the evening, and for this reason, and because we don’t know the name of the bay, we have named the bay ‘Dolphin Inlet’.
When we had unpacked we walked to the Rookery where we saw lots of Rockhopper penguins in a sea of Black Browed Albatross. The adult Albatross had already left, but the young were still there and were testing their wings by sitting in their nests and flapping flapping flapping! After this we went for a walk around the island and found millions (!) of rabbits, and a small bay at the back of the settlement which harboured a wrecked ship which used to be an old minesweeper. At the back of the bay there was a stone house, which was called the ‘Barnard Building Museum’, named after a sea captain who was stranded on the island over 150 years ago.
The next day, Georgina and Jason (who live on the island) drove us up to the north end of the island. We stopped where the road got too muddy and we walked the rest of the way. We found a Gentoo colony on a beautiful beach surrounded by ‘Snowy Sheathbills’ (a white seabird- which is usually seen standing on one leg!). We then walked up the ridge above the beach and looked down on the sea. We watched the penguins jumping in the waves for a while, and then noticed some seals/sea lions (one looked like a sea lion, but the others looked like seals) in the water as well. We decided that they must have been fishing as the penguins were swimming very close to them, and neither seemed at all bothered. Then we walked back to the other side of the island, and had our picnic in the shelter of a small shed(or rather shared it with the Caracaras). The helicopter was meant to be fetching us soon, so we phoned Heliops to ask when they were coming. To our surprise, they told us that the weather in MPC was too bad to fly anywhere, so they would pick us up the following day. We were very confused because the weather where we were was sunny and bright! It also meant that we had an extra day on the island to explore!
That night, because we had to stay unexpectedly, Georgina and Jason asked us for tea at their house. We had mussels off the beach, and quiche which Georgina had made. She also had made some 'no-knead bread' which, as its name suggests, didn't need kneading (!) and had a bit of treacle in to make it a bit sweet. It was delicious. That evening, we also met their two kittens (Gingernut and Diesel) who were very sweet!
The next day, we wandered about the island, played games, and Mummy and I drew pictures of the wildlife.
In the afternoon, the helicopter came to collect us, and we flew back to MPC.
Overall, New Island is teeming with wildlife and when we were there, had amazingly good weather. We will be back!
By Phoebe x