Wildlife of the Far South

Santiago

Arrive Santiago, with a short walk with your guide to get to know the neighbourhood near your hotel.

Patagonian steppe

Back to the airport to fly to Punta Arenas in the far south. You are met and driven across the Patagonian steppe (3.5h) on your way to spend 2 nights in Puerto Natales on Last Hope Sound. Soon into the journey you may spot Chilean flamingo at Laguna del Toro, then look for Darwin’s (these days ‘Lesser’) rhea striding quickly across the landscape at your approach. Family groups of female guanaco and their young nibble away at the hummocks of steppe grasses guarded by their dominant male, and you should see a selection of roadside and soaring raptors.

Bernardo O’Higgins NP

A wonderful boat trip in Bernardo O’Higgins NP to the head of Last Hope Sound and the Balmaceda Glacier, descending from the immense Southern Ice Field. You may see eagles, osprey and condor, along with Black-necked swans, gulls, grebes, geese, ducks and cormorants. Close to the glacier there are icebergs in brilliant turquoise and the captain should find one of the sound’s small groups of South American sealion. You dock and follow a trail of about 1km through lenga nothofagus beech woods, coihue and native mahonia to a small lake at the snout of Serrano glacier. Lunch is served at a traditional sheep estancia beside the Sound, with time to walk in the very birdy countryside nearby with superb views when the skies are clear.

Torres del Paine NP

Today you meet your private guide/driver for the next 4 days in and around Torres del Paine NP. On one of these days you are joined by a specialist puma tracker. Weather and recent sightings may influence which parts of the park you visit. The north east is favoured by large groups of guanaco and is dubbed ‘the pumas’ larder’ by some. It usually offers the best chance of seeing puma, sometimes impressively close. Pumas are secretive and solitary, but present around the massif in good numbers. Best chances for sightings are in early spring (September-October) when they are moving to higher areas as the snow recedes, or in early autumn (late March-April) when females bring cubs down before bad weather closes in. You should also find Patagonian hog-nosed skunk, hairy armadillo, huemul deer, grey fox on the steppe and the larger red fox in nothofagus forest. Chilean flamingo are seen in several lakes and Andean Condor is just one of the park’s 15 raptors.

Wildlife experiences in or around Torres del Paine NP.

Punta Arenas

A full day with your guide in or around the park and on your way back to Punta Arenas. You might call in at Shackleton’s Bar this evening.

Tierra del Fuego

You join a guided shared tour, catching a ferry across the Strait of Magellan to the main island of Tierra del Fuego, arriving at the small town of Porvenir. You visit its museum which focuses on the native peoples of Tierra del Fuego, see box on p21. After lunch you travel by minibus to the shore of Bahia Inutil where a small but growing colony of King Penguins has taken up residence year-round–one of the very few places they are reliably seen outside Antarctica and the subantarctic islands. The adults are majestic: up to 1m tall, with strong orange markings on beak and cheek setting off the pure black of their heads, pure white chests and sleek grey backs. What their young lack in style they make up for in ways only their parents can truly appreciate. The colony is protected by a special reserve, whose staff provide a short briefing before you approach on foot to a wooden screen at a reasonably close distance. From a path to the shore you can see individual Kings making their way to the water. After a 45min timed visit, you drive over the steppe to catch a car ferry across the narrowest part of the Magellan Strait to Punta Delgada. From here the minibus makes a long journey back to Punta Arenas. You arrive in time for a late dinner and bed after a memorable day.

Magdalena Islands

Between November and March Magellanic penguins assemble in huge numbers to breed on the Magdalena Islands which lie 2h by boat from Punta Arenas. The colony is protected by a grandly-named reserve, the ‘Monumento Nacional Los Pinguinos’. You join a boat at the dock and land on the islands amid up to 40,000 breeding pairs. The penguins spend much of their year at sea but return to these islands with their life partners to hollow out nesting burrows and raise their young. It is an intense scene at many levels: sight, sound and smell. You can visit the lighthouse museum before the return. While sailing look for Commerson’s dolphin, kelp gull, cormorants, skuas and terns. On your return you collect your luggage and are taken to the airport for your flight to Santiago where you spend the night. Very occasionally, primarily for weather or tides, the penguin colony boat does not sail; you are refunded, with free time in Punta Arenas.

Santiago

From Santiago we could arrange additional days for you to visit Valparaíso or stay at a winery. If not, you are taken to the airport for your international flight home.