In the early morning we reached WestPoint Island. Our first view out of
the window showed us that this would not be an easy landing. The wind was
blowing and we had a huge swell. But we did not give up; we wanted to see the
Black-browed Albatrosses and the Rockhopper Penguins. Our first try has not
been successful but the 1. Officer Benny turned the ship a bit in another
position – and we could go. Another dream came true.
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| Black-browed Albatross |
First we walked over the island to see the albatross and penguin colony.
Once we have been there the weather changed; the sun came out and we got best
possibilities to enjoy our morning next to the wildlife. Our pictures will give
you the best impressions what we could see. It was so unbelievable that some of
us had even tears in the eyes. There are not so many places on earth where you can
come so near to wild animals. Here we had the feeling to be even part of the
wilderness.
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| Next to the colony |
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| Black-browed Albatross portrait |
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| Rockhopper Penguin portrait |
On our way back we have been invited to the farmhouse where Kiki offered
us her fabulous cookies and English tea. It has been a real English teatime,
perhaps a bit early in the day, but more than wonderful. Next to the house we
could watch a lot of birds too. It was nice to sit in the garden and observe
Turkey vultures, Siskins, Thrushes and of course Caracaras and Geese.
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| Black-chinned Siskin; FriedaPhoto |
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| Turkey Vulture; FriedaPhoto |
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| Long-tailed Meadowlark; FriedaPhoto |
After lunch and a short rest on board we started our second landing of
the day in Sounders. David Pole - Evans, the owner of the island welcomed us at
the beach. David is one of our keen blog followers and reads the FRAM blog
every day. David – thanks for giving us the possibility for such a great experience!
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| Thanks to David; Photo: Walter Torreon |
The spectacular beach was full of breeding Gentoos, we saw our first
King penguins and a huge colony of Rockhopper Penguins and King
Cormorants. Of course we saw Upland
Geese and Kelp geese, some Caracaras, and even more, we cannot speak about all
we have seen.
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Remains from the whaling and sealing time in Saunders
FriedaPhoto |
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| King penguin; FriedaPhoto |
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| Commerson's Dolphins; FriedaPhoto |
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Macaroni Penguin; we saw a couple in the Rockhopper colony
FriedaPhoto |
Look at the pictures and you will understand our enthusiasm.
