Kavey

My husband and I just got back today from our wonderful trip to the Falkland Islands.

We flew there and back on the RAF flights from Brize Norton, currently being operated by Air Seychelles.

This is our itinerary

1 night Darwin
1 night Carcass Island
3 nights West Point Island
4 nights Carcass Island
5 nights Pebble Island
8 nights Saunders Island (this should have been 7 nights with first 2 at Rookery and then 5 at Neck but we had an extra night at the settlement because FIGAS weren't able to operate any flights on the day we were due to leave, because of weather)
2 nights Volunteer Point (should have been 3, see above)
2 nights Stanley

Please let me know if I can answer any questions. It will be a while before we sort photos as we have some major DIY to do before a new fitted bedroom is put in next week!

Kavey

eenusa

I imagine it was a terrific trip; looking forward to hearing more about it all when you surface from your DIY project.

Kavey

Will do my best to write up a report but in meantime please do ask any specific questions so I know what is of interest!

mistadobalina

I'm sure they all had their pluses and minuses, but what would you most recommend to someone who could spend only 2-3 days?

I was there for only 2 days (in late 2008), and West Point (especially the area with the Black-Browed Albatross and the Rockhoppers) was phenomenal. We also went to Carcass Island, and the Magellanic penguins were nice, but they were much more reserved than the Rockhoppers.

So I'm curious if anything really stood out, especially anything that was better than Wes Point.

Kavey

If you only have a few days, I'd recommend The Neck at Saunders. (If it's not available, do not book Rookery, it's not the same in terms of wildlife at all). Whilst the accommodation is not great at all, the setting and wildlife are even more phenomenal than West Point. You have amazingly easy and close access to kings (a small breeding colony of about 15 or so adults), gentoos and magellenics, rockhoppers and also black-browed albatross, both types of caracaras, lots of turkey vultures, skuas plus the occasional seals and we also watched commerson's dolphins playing for an hour and a half in the surf on the beach, really shallow and close to shore. Nowhere else has this range of wildlife with all of it SO accessible in such a tiny area.

I did love West Point, of course, and we spent 3 nights there. And if the main interest is black-browed and rockhoppers, I'd recommend it any day. I think I got some amazing photos there.

But The Neck cannot be beaten for the variety and close access and setting. Just the accommodation leaves a lot to be desired.

xyz99

I'm sure it was a great trip. Do you have any pictures?

Kavey

I do but we took several thousand between us and they're in RAW format so it'll be a while before I get any processed and online! I'll update the thread when I do!

Kavey

I have uploaded a few photos here:
http://www.gowander.com/photos-list....cb3aadfbb78014
These aren't my best shots, but I chose a few that I was willing to post on my food blog, which you can also view at kaveyeats.com with some info about food we ate during the trip!