Well this is it. The final day of expeditioning. There’re two more days at sea but the next time we set foot on dry land will be at Ushuaia, Argentina. According to the original itinerary, the Falkland Islands were to be our first stop. Weather dictated otherwise, and as it turned out today was a very fitting end to a great trip of exploration.

But first, Judy’s still at it. Here’s her video about our trip to Grytviken, the shore excursion requiring our rescue in ferocious winds!

https://judyrick.zenfolio.com/p1039409213/hdab9d926#hdab9d926

West Point Island is owned by Roddy Napier whose great uncle established it as a sheep farm in 1879. It had the usual history, for this region of the world, as a seal and penguin oil production site in the early 19^thcentury until overkill ended the industry here. Today, it continues as a sheep farm and as a tourist stop. In fact, West Point Island was, with Port Stanley, a pioneering tourist stop for expedition trips in the Falklands. The first visitors came here in 1968.

Roddy Napier and those who came after him were active in replanting tussac on the island. Tussac is a favorite habitat for both the albatrosses and penguins. Napier and family also planted gorse, reminiscent, perhaps, of merry old England. But here, as in other places we’ve visited, gorse is an invasive species that takes over from native plants that serve as fodder for sheep. We saw this in New Zealand where colorful gorse could be seen to dominate previous sheep grazing fields.

The main attraction here are the large colonies of Black-browed albatrosses and Southern Rockhopper penguins. The fauna are viewed at the end of a 1.2 mile hike across rolling hills with extraordinary views of the island. Today brings our lifetime penguin count from 5 to 9, adding Chinstrap, King, Gentoo and Southern Rockhoppers on this trip. There are only 18 species in the world so we’re halfway there. We’d seen plenty of Black-browed albatrosses earlier on this trip. And for those keeping score at home, I’ve entered 24 birds into the Merlin app on this trip, penguins included. I guess I’ve become a birder; we’ll see how long it lasts. I could go through the past 20 years of bird photos. The spirt is willing, but . . .

The hike was somewhat challenging. The ground was a bit uneven, the initial hill fairly steep and, worst of all, most of us hiked in our big rubber expedition boots. Because our landing was by zodiac, we were warned to wear them to avoid getting our feet wet.

The reward for making the trek, in addition to the breathtaking views and experience of viewing the birds, was a visit to the cottage occupied by the caretakers, Kiki and Thies. Kiki serves visitors a wide variety of sweet treats along with tea or coffee.

Kiki and Thies, not related to the owners, have an interesting history. The sailboat moored in the bay is the only home they have known for the past 38 years. Originally from Vienna, Austria, they have sailed that craft around the world and have made the sail from the Falklands to South Georgia three times. Kiki told us that the South Georgia trip is difficult because of the weather. Their sailboat lacks a wheelhouse so their foul weather gear is their only protection during storms. And because they lack radar, they must maintain a 7×24 iceberg watch while making the transit.

Life as caretakers on West Point Island must be much simpler since the weather, even in winter, is mild. No snow falls and, judging by the absolutely perfect weather we enjoyed, summer time is great too.

So back on board, our cabin stewards, Ming and Lau, have placed our rubber boots and waterproof pants in the hall for collection, signifying that our adventuring is done. Nothing left to do but eat our way to Ushuaia and home.