King penguins and their babies were a delight at Volunteer Point

Exclusive Penguin Tour with Derek in the Falklands

Taking a southern cruise from Santiago around the Cape and up to Buenos Aires, we had a port stop in the Falkland Islands. Doing my do diligence, I found that penguins could be seen in the Islands. We plan to take a Lindblad trip some day to Antarctica, but until then, I really wanted to see any penguins that I could on this trip. There appeared to be one area close to port which was frequented by the Gentoo penguins. I assumed that everyone would take this easy jaunt and see a few penguins. We definitely did not wish to become part of the masses.

So I dug a bit deeper and found an amazing alternative. Johnson’s Harbour Farm on Volunteer Point is a 54,000 acre farm north of our port in Stanley. Derek and Trudi Pettersson are the wardens for this farm where 3,000 King penguins and 7,000 Gentoo penguins come to roost and nest each year. We happened to be arriving into port when the Kings were hatching their baby penguins – we would see penguins AND babies ! Perfect.

Derek was delightful to work with. Emailing him about our visit, he explained that he could only pick up 4 people in his jeep to take us out for a day visit, but he cautioned us that the trip was 2 1/2 hours each way, and we wouldn’t be driving on roads. There were 4 of us and we thought we could handle a jaunty jeep drive. We were in.

When we rode the tender into the port, Derek was waiting for us with a smile. He was so excited to teach us what he knew about penguins and his job at Volunteer Point, that the long drive was more fun than we could have imagined. He was right about the terrain, however. We drove over small boulders, through river beds, and bounced over tufts of moss and lichen. I don’t remember any normal “roads”. We were on our own penguin safari with no one else around for miles !

Hopping out of the jeep at Volunteer Point, the four of us were mesmerized by the gorgeous green ocean water, the white sandy beach, and the sounds of King penguins in the distance. Derek directed us to the Point where the penguins swim up to the shore each year and lay their eggs close to one another. Derek and Trudi place small stones to circle the eggs and this becomes the perimeter for guests like us. We were allowed to wander all over this grassland but we must not enter the nesting zone.

 

Standing four feet from these bright colored creatures and experiencing the interchanges between mom, dad, and baby was such a delight. I just sat there and cried. I was so happy and overwhelmed. Their mournful pleas were so distinctive. I finally became mesmerized by two penguins walking away from the nesting area. We followed them as they waddled to the beach and one stopped and raised his wings. Rick began to mimic him, lifting his arms to copy this cute new friend of ours. Even their squish squish sound as they walked on the sand made us laugh. I was just enamored with the entire experience and we all wished we could stay forever. As we sat and chatted with Derek over a box lunch, he informed us that one could indeed stay at the Point in the warden’s home. But he laughed as he noted that there was only one flight in or out each week. We all agreed that we could definitely be transformed if we were allowed to have an amazing seven days on the property.

 

 

Finally our time at the penguins’ home was winding down. Taking our final video, we clambered into the jeep and laughed and sang our way back over the rugged terrain to our boat tender.

Our five senses had been heightened as we experienced one of the best days we could have imagined. We all believed that we had indeed savored a magical day.

Contact Derek at drp@horizon.co.fk for your own penguin encounter.