An escape from school and a tense wait to see if we had to
travel to Teeside airport to avoid the fog, resulted in the flight leaving only
two hours late from Brize. Phoebe
celebrated her birthday at 30,000 feet and we landed at 4pm in time for
birthday supper and cake made by David.
We had a week just the three of us and set off to enjoy some
time together – first to Carcass, and then to Weddell island.
Carcass was beautiful and welcoming as ever. Rob lent us a
Rover and Roland filled us full of food. Fresh milk, and cream skimmed off the
top of the bucket – fabulous. We walked to Leopard Beach to see the penguin
chicks – many still very tiny – just a few days old. Johnny Rooks were waiting
their chances and unwatched eggs and chicks were easy prey. On the second day
we headed over Stanley hill towards the FIGAS (Falkland Island Government Air
Service) airstrip and spent the day watching elephant seals roaring and play
fighting. They were in full moult and looked fairly tramp-like, itchy and
scruffy, but were unbothered by our stumblings and watched, vaguely interested
as we crept through the tussac. We
picnicked on the warm lichen-painted rocks at the north end of the island,
watched by magellanics and tussac birds, and with seals curiously bobbing in
the sea.
Before heading off to Weddell we had a few days at home, and
the Kilmartins came for lunch so that they could visit the typhoons. Toby, 6,
sat in the cockpit and pressed a few buttons, so the nation is safe for the
future; his grandfather was a pilot – maybe Toby will follow in his footsteps..
We had never visited Weddell and were not sure what to
expect. A huge island – 98 km square, and third only in size to the two main
East and West islands, Weddell now houses two inhabitants, Jane and Martin, ex
military, and living here 6 month of the year for the last 6 years.
The cottages are gradually being refurbished; we stayed in
Sea View – perfect for a family, with two bedrooms and a dining kitchen and
living room. Chickens squawking on one side of the house, meadowlarks tapping
at the windows on the other. Mountain View can sleep at least 8, and Hamilton Cottage
looks to be being renovated at the moment. We had thought Weddell did not have
much wildlife, but we were wrong. A Gentoo colony busy with chicks, is 5
minutes from the settlement, and seals (fur seals, sea lions ?) are around in
the sea, with a large colony of Sea Lions at the end of the point a 45 minute
drive away. Unique to the island are the Patagonian foxes introduced by a previous
owner. Small and cat-like, they are sandy coloured and appear to live mainly on
insects, predating to some degree on Magellanic chicks when they can slip into
undefended burrows. With the conservation focus and the drive to eradicate
invasive species, the foxes have been studied and at one point, targeted for
eradication, but the consensus now is that they do little harm, and they are
certainly an interesting addition to the environment.
Only 750 sheep live on Weddell at the moment, but in the
past maqqqny thousands have overgrazed the island and much of the tussock has
gone, leaving it a little bare in places. The flora is abundant despite this,
and we found Ladies Slipper and white and yellow orchids in bloom, as well as
Vanilla daisy (yes it smells just like ice cream according to Phoebe) and field
mouse ear and berry lobelia. The very botanists we are becoming… We did the
whole lying on the ground in the wet thing to take close up photos..
Home again to prepare for Christmas. Oh my goodness lots of
cooking and decorating. Off to Bertha’s Beach to find a Kelp tree (no trees
here, so dried kelp will do – 6’ high branches, dried like wood and painted
white) – very modernist.
On Sunday 23rd the livers in arrived at the house for carol
singing, mulled wine and mince pies, and on Christmas Eve the Military wives’
choir did the same but different, just as the family arrived on the airbridge
(I think they thought it was an especially warm welcome), followed by a
Christmas drinks party which the family, jaded though they must have been,
galloped their way through gamely.
Christmas day brought the usual deliveries of mince pies and
sprouts to the troops, and after chapel we finally all reconvened for mass
present opening before lunch. It is midsummer here, but during lunch it snowed.
And not just a bit – a LOT. The Summer has been bizarre this year – it must be
following the UK. We are still hoping for some blue sky..
The Stanley Races (100th Anniversary) were
cancelled because of the rain, but we drove into Stanley anyway to see the
sights, and as a cruise ship finally
managed to make it into the harbour as the wind dropped in the afternoon, a
couple of gift shops opened for an hour or to, and the girl’s day was complete.
A visit to Surf Bay with spectacular storm waves, and Gypsy Cove to see the
magellanics (Zoe and Hannah’s first penguin !) and Night Herons before home to
leftovers and bubble and squeak.
The 27th saw a first Heli trip for the Ford
family. Off to Volunteer Point amidst sun wind and rain – we were sunburned and
wet through all in the same half hour. Here are perhaps the largest group of
penguins on the islands; Gentoos, Kings and Magellanics, and we had time and
peace to watch their antics and photograph the slightly embarrassed looking
King chicks currently moulting and looking rather weird.
