Penguin news

We thought all penguins huddled together on icy rocks in the Antarctic but Patagonia had other ideas. We got a flight from Buenos Aires to Comodoro Rivadavia, the closest place to the Valdez Penninsular that we could get a 'free' flight to. It saved us a 24 hour bus ride from BA but we did have to take a 5 hour bus to get to the gateway town of Trelew. Sounds a bit Welsh? It transpires that Northern Patagonia was settled by the Welsh and many towns and landmarks retain their Welsh names and there is a fair bit of Welsh heritage around. Our objective was to see thhe penguins and Punta Tombo and the whales at Valdez and we calculated that we would save money by hiring a car rather than paying for tours to both places. Of course it was siesta but we located the ebullient and diminutive Eduardo, thanks to the local tourist info, and promptly hired a cheap motor - which turned out to be a little more thanks to the milage limit and the 'cleaning fee'. But we were off, heading for the penguins and by tusk we were face to face with 175000 breeding pairs of Magellenic penguins. Or more like shin to face - they are little fellas and it was nesting season. And they burrow. They burrow like what bunnies are supposed to be. This was a big shock. In the scrubland and bush behind the beach the land was pitted and pock-marked with thousands and thousands of penguin nest-holes. And we walked amongst the penguins - some of the tracks had pengy bridges where there was a main thoroughfare for the little minstrels, and often the paths were blocked by their dallying as the wandered in search of the correct nest. IIt was understandable - they all do look pretty much a alike. And there were thousnads and thousands of them stretching off into the distance - but they didn't huddle. They waddled, lazed, lay, preened and squawked. And by sundown we were back in Trelew in some very shifty accomodation.

In the morning we drove up through Puerto Madryn and again visited the tourist info. These Patagonian info stops sealed our wonderfully symbiotic relationships with tourist offices in Argentina and beyond. We are no longer afraid of bum steers and mis-info. In New Zealand most villages on the map are just a tourist office and a farm so we kinda have to visit for any sign of (non-sheep) life. But we are not too proud. In fact we rather like window shopping in info point tourist tat meccas.

Anyway, we found out that we should drive to El Doradillo beach, just past the town but before the pricey (and off-road) entry into the Penninsula proper. The area is a major breeding ground for the Southern Right Whale and we were to have a close encounter. As we drove Anna was already spotting dozens of whales out to sea. Sometimes it is easy to confuse the spray from offshore reefs for the gentle giants but here we could stop on a headland and follow the arched backs, tailfins and blow spray from whales in all directions near the headlands and off to the horizon.

On our previous whale watching trips (in Vancouver; Killer Whales, and Puerto Lopez, Ecuador; Humpback Whales) we have been in boats and usually 150-200m at least away from the animals. We parked up at El Doradillo and started walking on the rocky beach. In the distance we noticed some people gathering at one spot so we picked up the pace. Then we looked out to sea. About 25m away there were three sea lions looking at us and following us along the beach. They were playing but also heading in the same direction up the beach in a hurry. When we got closer we could see a big (12-13m) whale just off-shore, only maybe 40m from where we and the other 10 or so viewers were standing.

Mum was barnacle encrusted and lazily wallowing in the shallows. The sea lions arrived and we noticed that mum was accompanied by a 6-7m calf gently nuzzling in and out of the water. We watched as the sea lions and the calf danced around each other, gyrating and breaching, right in front of us. They never got bored and we watched transfixed. It was a real privilage and very different to our experience in Baja Califorinia, Mexico where we were out of season and missed the whale extravaganza - and also in stark contrast to New Zealand where the Southern Right whales have been hunted to the point where there are only a few hundred left and are very rarely sighted near land. On this same topic we have since seen three more species of penguin in New Zealand but all in tiny numbers (there are only a few thousand left of a couple of the species) and those are only able to be seen because their habitats have recently been reintroduced by special reserves having all been destroyed by farming.

We only saw the tip of Patagonia, with the rest having to wait until next time. In our brief glimpse we saw what true wilderness it is, with its vastness, unspoilt and windblown land, and teeming ocean. The lesson - if you want whale watching go in season. We knew we would be in for a feast at Valdez - some people on the far end of the headland were seeing Killer Whales attacking sea lions in the surf whil we were at El Doradillo - and the places, like Vancouver, with small groups of resident whales pale by comparison, even if they do use 'western' techniques to market nature watching very well.

Behind you!


Some penguins