February 24, 2016
Today I went to Estancia Harberton (Haberton Ranch), about 50 miles east of Ushuaia. This 48,000 acre ranch was founded by Thomas Bridges, a missionary from the UK in the 1880s, and includes four mountains, three rivers and 40 islands. It was named after his wife’s hometown of Harberton, Devon. They raised cattle and sheep on it for generations, until in the mid-1990s a snowstorm that lasted 21 days wiped out most of the livestock. At that point, the fourth generation family owners decided to stop ranching and the sole source of income now is from tourism, including tours to Isla Martillo, a tiny island on the ranch that has a large penguin colony.
The ranch also has a museum which has a large collection of marine mammal skeletons, including various dolphins, seals, sea lions, and whales from the area, and some penguins and other birds.
Many of the skeletons are mounted on the wall over a corresponding painting of the animal.
Whale skeletons, too large for inside.
Orca
Marine biology students serve one month internships here. This one is cleaning the skull of a specimen.
But the big attraction is Isla Martillo. It’s a ten minute boat ride from Estancia Harberton, and they only allow 80 people a day to actually walk with the penguins on the island. They do two morning tours with 20 people each, and two afternoon tours with 20 people each.
Magellanic penguins
Many of the younger penguins were molting, changing to their adult feathers.
Gentoo penguin. Note the different markings from the Magellanic penguins. Similar size. While the Magellanic penguins go north for the winter, the Gentoo stay here year round.
Feed me!
The lone pair of King Penguins on the island.
There are 7,000 nesting holes on the island.
Chick in the nest
I caught a short video of this “beak slapping” ritual between two penguins, likely mates. If you listen, in the background you’ll hear what sounds like a donkey braying. That’s the sound Magellanic penguins make. They raise their beaks straight up, puff out their chests, and make this braying sound.
From the ranch you can see across to Puerto Williams. I really wanted to go there, if for nothing else because of the name. But it’s a difficult and costly proposition, and the truth is, there’s nothing there. It’s a town of about 5,000 people with little infrastructure. The passenger ferry from Ushuaia (without the bike) is $300 round trip, and it’s only a 30 minute boat ride, plus a 30 mile bus ride each way. The car ferry is from Punta Arenas, and only leaves on Wednesdays, returning on Saturdays, and is a 34 hour trip and much more costly. And with both, there’s no guarantee on the sailing either direction due to the wind conditions here.
These are called Bandera, or Flag Trees. Did I mention the wind blows here? A lot.
Pat, the penguin whisperer…seeing those whale skeletons took me to lots of places of taken my boy to see Dino bones, u seen any, please post, my boy at 2 yrs old could recite over 30 types.
Wonderful pictures! Thanks for pointing out the different types of penguins…I think I’m in love with a penguin.
Penguins. Do they ignore you? It appears you walked right up to them. So cute. We seldom see them in Minnesota…
The penguins on Martillo Island are definitely used to people. You are told before you get on the island not to move quickly and to stay 3 meters away from them, but if they approach you, it’s okay. In some places, if you stay on the assigned path, you walk within a couple of feet of them, and they don’t seem to care. But if one runs, they all run. I was also told to crouch down or sit, because they are intimidated by tall people. I’m surprised you don’t have more in Minnesota. It’s colder there.
Love these pics! Aquariums are the only places I’ve ever seen them! That and a movie called Happy Feet!
Great photos Pat – a real pleasure to follow along.
Thanks for following along Jordan. Headed north now for a change…probably wont be much to post for the next few days as it’s a fairly bland coastline and wifi may be spotty as I’m camping for the next week or more.