Tags
cruise, Falkland Islands, MS Fram, photography, photos, travel
Pour cette excursion de fin d’après-midi, on nous promettait deux heures et demie pour faire un aller-retour de huit kilomètres et observer les manchots. Cela allait être difficile car nous partions avec le dernier des six groupes de zodiac. A l’arrivée sur l’île, nous n’avions effectivement que deux heures pour la balade. Nous avons donc marché très vite vers la plage de sable blanc sur laquelle on retrouve une colonie de manchots de Magellan. En chemin, nous avons croisé des manchots papous qui allaient ou revenaient de la mer. Ils étaient tout simplement magnifiques. Arrivés à la plage de sable blanc, nous avons pu voir la colonie de manchots de Magellan (environ une vingtaine d’oiseaux) qui vivent dans un décor grandiose. Malheureusement, c’était presque déjà le temps de retourner; nous n’avons eu qu’une dizaine de minutes pour apprécier le spectacle… Quant au retour vers les zodiacs, ce fut une randonnée pénible de quatre kilomètres face au vent qui soufflait très fort. Nous étions bien contents de voir apparaître la plage d’où partaient les zodiacs pour retourner au navire qui mouillait au loin.
For this late afternoon excursion, we were promised two and a half hours to make an eight kilometre round trip and observe the penguins. It was going to be difficult because we were leaving with the last of the six zodiac groups. On arrival on the island, we actually only had two hours for the hike. So we walked very quickly towards the white sand beach on which there is a colony of Magellanic penguins. Along the way, we came across gentoo penguins going to or coming back from the sea. They were simply magnificent. Arrived at the white sand beach, we were able to see the colony of Magellanic penguins (about twenty birds) which live in a grandiose setting. Unfortunately, it was almost time to make our way back; we only had about ten minutes to enjoy the show… As for the return to the zodiacs, it was a painful hike of four kilometers against the wind which was blowing very hard. We were very happy to see the beach appear from where the zodiacs were leaving to return to the ship which was anchored in the distance.
Carcass Island
Huîtrier de Garnot / Magellanic oystercatcher 
Manchot papou / Gentoo penguin
Manchot de Magellan / Magellanic Penguin 
Carcass Island, Îles Malouines / Falkland Islands (30 novembre / november 2022)
[Auteur/Author: Pierre & Suzanne]
Les voyages de Suzanne & Pierre 
Adorable penguins! If this was summer, can you imagine how tough winter must be there?? Yikes!
Thanks Eliza. We were there in spring so the weather was still quite cool but it never gets really warm in the summer. Winter aren’t so harsh here as Falkland Islands have a marine climate. They get some snow but not much and they don’t get extreme cold. However, the wind is ever present and quite strong all year round. Not certain it would be a climate for me so I don’t intend to move to the Falklands!
Amazing shots again! I just love penguins, they are so adorable!
Thanks Donna. You are right that penguins are adorable and they were the star of this cruise. We saw 7 of the 8 species that live in the area (we only missed the Emperor which isn’t frequently seen in the areas we visited.)
Wow, amazing to get to see 7 of the 8. I wish you had seen the Emperor though, darn it. When I take our grandboys to the zoo, the penguins are my favorite attraction. 🙂
We were quite pleased to see so many species of penguins. We weren’t as lucky with seals and other animals. Penguins are often a favorite as they have a high quota of cuteness.
Même si ce fut trop court, même si au retour le vent pénible vous a un peu incommodés, cela valait la peine pour voir tous ces merveilleux oiseaux qu’on ne voit pas facilement hors de ces zones là. Et dans les zoos perso je n’aime pas, je trouve même que pour eux c’est vraiment dégueulasse de leur faire subir ça.
Merci pour ce partage, j’ai vu que tu avais aussi capturé un huitrier pie, lui je le vois souvent en Bretagne et je l’aime bien avec son long bec rouge. Bonne fin de journée.
Merci Marie. Effectivement, cela a valu la peine de courir un peu pour pouvoir voir la belle colonie sur la plage. Nous aurions bien aimé avoir un peu plus de temps mais il y avait des contraintes hors de notre contrôle. Bien contente que vous ayez apprécié cette nouvelle série.
Penguins are cute but the landscape is also magnificent. Some great shots here. I am guessing the shadows shot was a substitute for your usual feet in the sand shot.
Thanks Jacqui. The Falklands was indeed a beautiful place.
It would have been difficult to take a feet picture on the beach as we were wearing big rubber boots. They were needed as we had a wet landing to get on the island. Plus, because of the avian flu we weren’t allowed to touch the ground with any other parts of our body except for our feet (the boots were disinfected and cleaned every time we wore them.)
It’s important that measure like disinfecting are done. I was being facetious when I asked about the classic foot shot. You said it was cold and windy and the wet trek back to the boat made the boots a necessity. Let’s hope the measures taken on these cruises help to preserve the wildlife and habitats.
We certainly hope so. The cruise operator was very diligent with the bio-security and we were quite happy they were so careful.
They are adorable!
Thanks Anabel. Glad you enjoyed this series. They are indeed very adorable. The “cuteness” ratio is very high!
De très beaux paysages captures , ça fait vraiment plaisir
Merci Vic. Bien contente que cette série ait su vous plaire. C’est effectivement un très bel endroit.
Complètement, vraiment beau
Looks lovely.
Thanks for your note. It was indeed lovely. We quite enjoyed our time in the Falklands.