Our spirits, soaked with sadness on having to forgo driving up the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island because of the storm, were completely lifted upon reaching the sunny east coast near Kaikoura! There, we experienced incredibly calm turquoise seas, warm temperatures, ocean wildlife, and peace.
On the way we reserved a room at the Sunrise Lodge Hostel. We really lucked out as our room was right across from the beach! With that in mind, I brought out a chair and watched the sunset. Almost immediately a school of dolphins approached, jumping all over.
It was so relaxing after the disappointments we’d had. This was quite a nice reward! I prepared dinner at the kitchenette in our hostel apartment, and then Elwin returned – we decided to make a bonfire out on the beach.
This was great fun. The stars came out, and it was so clear that we could pick out the Southern Cross, and the Magellanic Clouds. Two local Kiwis taking a stroll noticed our fire and took part in collecting more wood.
To the north lay the mountains.
And looking south the Kaikoura Peninsula. Beautiful!
Right in Kaikoura there is a worthwhile hike – on the Kaikoura Peninsula. So that would be next day’s plan.
Another beauty of a day dawned, and we packed our backpacks with lunches and headed out for a hike.
The Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway is a four-hour loop hike taking you out into the Pacific.
A Southern Sea Lion takes in the UV rays.
It meanders along the water’s edge, past sea lion colonies, red-billed gull colonies, nesting shearwaters, and coves where snorkelers were harvesting rock lobsters, known locally as crayfish.
Angelique, Elwin and I spent hours meandering amongst the many bays created by the fingers of land reaching into the sea. The water is perfectly clear, and you can watch the sea swells ebbing into the bays. There, bull kelp sways to and fro with the water’s motion.
Then the trail climbs the bluffs, and you can see forever in each direction. Up top, of course someone’s farm with cows comes right up to the trail. But the unlimited views are spectacular.
There is a lot of beautiful pampas grass which flows like flags in the wind.
After our rigorous hike and refreshing air and views, it’s time to head up north – we’ll be staying in Nelson, our staging point for a few days hiking and kayaking in Abel Tasman National Park.
Wow! I had the most amazing sleep! I did not awaken once. And today I am recharged! We’re to take a boat from the Ushuaia waterfront out to see islands and marine wildlife colonies in the Beagle Channel. Luckily we got another weather break. Thin clouds but no wind nor rain. The highlights will be getting up close with colonies of terns, cormorants, sea lions and more.
We get to the waterfront early, so we’ve got some time to observe. There are some huge factory fishing ships docked here, and just their size makes me concerned about collapsing fish stocks. With ships like these, towering above the docks, how can Planet Earth’s fish survive? Where is the catch going?
There are plenty of tourists shooting photographs of themselves in front of a sign declaring they’re at the “end of the world.” They’re not – the end of the route is where I hiked to yesterday! There are also some very interesting sailboats. They are private yachts. They are *not* luxury yachts.
These are built for solo circumnavigation with all the overbuilt toughness required to survive the Southern Ocean. These sailboats can capsize, go inverted, and come up righted and survive.
We board our little boat and it takes us out of the harbor and into the channel. We cross, and looking around, I can see some very impressive glaciated mountains to the west that go into the sea. They are part of the Darwin Range, in Chile.
The glaciated Darwin Range
Though they look over 10,000ft high, they are only 6,000ft. It is because that we are at such an extreme latitude that lower mountains can have such impressive glaciers.
Looking back at the city one can see the shanty town creeping up through the forest behind.
Crossing the channel, we navigate amongst some islands home to marine animals of varied species. We land on one of them and take a quick hike. We see cormorants nesting, and even skuas. Skuas are the bane of nesting birds. Skuas, which look like brown, oversized seagulls, live by scavanging the weak, young, and infirm. They’ll eagerly snatch a chick from a distracted parent.
Looking overhead, I notice the sun is far to the north of 12:00 high. That shows just how far south we are! Wow. We depart for several other island colonies. Each island is home to a species.
One colony is a sea lion island. I’ll never forget the noise, and the smell. They belch, burp, and make the mose grotesque gutteral noises, as well as bark. There are hundreds, with calves, and bulls making all kinds of noise. It smells! It smells because they eat fish!
Skuas and seagulls are making the most of the leftovers, as is another bird I’ve never seen, which is called a snowy sheathbill. This bird is all white.
We move on to a colony of cormorants.
A snowy sheathbill
They are super busy! There must be a thousand of them. And, they are flying back and forth building nests, bringing food to chicks, and so forth.
The cormorants are black and white, and I’m tempted to call them flying penguins. They make these nests that look like cereal bowls attached to the rocks. These guys squawk incessantly!
Here too, opportunistic scavangers are working the colony hard. Parents are on guard defending against attacks from the hungry predators.
Then, it’s on to the shrieking tern colony.
Like the cormorants, the terns remind me of an aircraft carrier. Lots of “planes on deck,” and others coming and going.
It’s non-stop buzz of activity!
I do have a couple of videos, which I will show you.
The terns are really pretty, I think.
We get back to the Ushuaia harbor in time for an afternoon exploring the city, and lunch.
Tonight, we depart for Buenos Aires (unless there is another Airline Strike). Elwin, Ivo, Echbert, myself, and Flores head to town in search of lunch. Ushuaia is a tax-free zone so one would think the shopping would be good. Shopping turns out to be a let down. Prices are too high and there are no bargains to be had – they are obviously expecting lots of tourists – especially the ones from cruise ships. We pick an “Irish Pub.” The Irish-ness of the establishment stops right at the front door. While they do offer Guiness, the food isn’t Irish. I see a hamburger on the menu but instead try for what they call a “steak sandwich.” And again, I’m faced with meat on a dry bread / bun or something. While not satisfying, I guess it contained some nutrition. Lunch completed, we wandered around town. The parts Elwin and I visited were nothing worth blogging about. Touristy shops, some liquor stores, hostels, and up back on the hill, some strip clubs. We went down to the water to watch the activity – pass some time.
We only have two days left in Argentina! I wonder how Buenos Aires will have changed since we left? It’s 1,266 miles north to Buenos Aires. We’ll be wearing shorts and t-shirts again! I was told the Jacaranda trees will be in bloom! Looking forward to seeing the beautiful avenues!
The ride on the double-decker sleeper bus from Buenos Aires to Puerto Madryn is a positive learning experience for me! It’s got lots of leg room, entertainment, food, and as long as one has ear plugs and sleeping mask, one can manage quite fine. We are on Route 3 (Ruta 3), which goes all the way to the end at Tierra del Fuego. The gentle rocking of the bus and distant engine noise seems to aid in sleeping. Most of us sleep through the night, and are up at dawn marveling at the sunrise. Still, even then, nothing to break the horizon. Over fourteen hours and no hills, no ocean, just what looks like sage from horizon to horizon.
After what seems like an eternity or a mirage, billboards emerge, shouting for all to see: “PUERTO MADRYN” in so many kilometers. We learn that the reason we don’t see trees is the area is nutrient poor. Incredibly, everything around us is volcanic ash, devoid of good nutrients. This is why there are no trees. We finally pass through some “painted hills” like in Oregon, though the colors are different. The layers are ash. This means ash deposited here came from the other side of the continent, the Andes!
Finally things descend and the Atlantic Ocean emerges, viewable to the east from north to south. As the road drops, a city emerges into view; it’s Puerto Madryn. Cargo ships lie at anchor offshore, and there’s a long pier with more ships tied up.
Semi trucks are coming and going from the pier with cargo. Industrial sized fishing boats, and Argentinian Coast Guard ships are also docked. As we navigate the town’s roads, we see auto dealerships, restaurants, banks; on the waterfront I see kayak rentals, some kite boarders, and hotels – signs this place is a beach destination in summer season.
It’s about 9:00 a.m. We come to a stop on the waterfront boulevard at the Hotel Costanera. Seems a right place to be, steps from the beach! We’ll spend two nights here. So we disembark, to check in and get right back out because we are headed south, to see a Magellanic Penguin colony this afternoon! We are going to the Reserva Provincial Putna Tombo, the largest Magellanic Penguin colony in South America!
The hotel room is a bit outdated, but at least the bathroom has been recently overhauled. It will be OK for a couple of nights. The “window” of the room looks out onto a narrow interior column of other hotel “windows.” So, we cannot see the beach from here.
Although it’s on the Atlantic coast, Puerto Madryn is situated in one of the bays of the Valdes Peninsula. It was founded by the Welsh in 1886.
So it’s, nestled in the Golfo Nuevo, sheltered from the force of ocean waves. The beach is pleasant, and we would be taking strolls along the sand. The tourist business is year round. In summer (January to March) it’s popular with Portenos from Buenos Aires seeking beach time. In August to early November, wildlife tourists flock here to witness the spectacle of Elephant Seals, Southern Right Whales, Southern Sea Lions and Magellanic Penguins rearing their young.
Well, it’s off to the penguin colony! I’m very excited to see the penguins in action. Having seen so many documentaries I imagine myself immersed on the beach with tens of thousands of squawking tuxedo-clad flightless birds. We are all horrified to learn it’s a two hour ride to get there. O-M-G. I don’t have to tell you what we just finished! But as I was to learn, this is Patagonia, and it’s often a long way between highlights!
The nothing-ness of Patagonia continued until we arrived on a dusty, windy road at the Reserva Provincial Putna Tombo, where the Atlantic coast, with its wind and waves, is in full force. So, if you can imagine, it’s like Eastern Oregon right up to the sandy beach! Soon, something unexpected emerges.
There are penguins! There are penguins walking amongst the growth that looks like sage or juniper. We walk along trails built for viewing. We’re told that right now, the penguins have come in for mating season, paired up, mated, and eggs have been laid. We’ve arrived at the egg-tending part of the reproductive cycle. That means that at any given time, one parent is at sea foraging, and the other is on the nest tending. Here, Magellanic Penguins dig burrows for their nests. I don’t know why. It sure is windy. Maybe that’s why? But instead of a million penguins fighting for real estate on a beach, the penguins walk up to a half mile inland and dig burrows amongst the little hills behind the coast.
Penguins don’t walk. They waddle. They are so cute!
Got to love these guys! They were not at all bothered by us! They would just stop, look at us, and then go on their way home. We never could figure out how they find home!
There’s never a boring moment with penguins!
They were coming and going all afternoon. We were respectful of their paths. They were here for business…to get to their nests so their partner could go to sea and eat!
Tomorrow, we are to visit Peninsula Valdes proper. We will see the elephant seals, seal lions and other wildlife! Can’t wait!
Our spirits, soaked with sadness on having to forgo driving up the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island because of the storm, were completely lifted upon reaching the sunny east coast near Kaikoura! There, we experienced incredibly calm turquoise seas, warm temperatures, ocean wildlife, and peace.
.
After our rigorous hike and refreshing air and views, it’s time to head up north – we’ll be staying in Nelson, our staging point for a few days hiking and kayaking in Abel Tasman National Park.
Cabin Fever Chronicles - Getting Outdoors with Rod 