Ultimate Falklands 2010
My trip to the Falklands was totally awesome, from seeing the advert in the newsletter of a beautiful landscape of penguins to the real thing nothing can compare. We met up with most of the group in October and then the second time was at the airport.
The plane was 23 ½ hours long including stops, which was of course uncomfortable as we were all squashed up. Seeing Chile was amazing and with the recent events of the earthquake it makes it even more unbelievable.
It was a short trip only one day but we saw some beautiful views of the Chilean landscapes. When we finally landed in the Falkland’s it was rainy and cold but the bus ride to Stanley showed some amazing views of the landscapes and lots of sheep!
We met up with the local Brownies, Guides and Rainbows who were really welcoming and eager to hear about the UK.
On our first day we took a walk to a famous ship wreck the Lady Liz and saw some Penguins! They were so cute (much better than at the zoo) all huddled on a untouched beach because of the mines that are fenced off around the Falklands.
Then a couple of days in we went off to one of the islands, Saunders Island where we spent 3 nights, one extra because of a bad storm and saw albatrosses and all four types of penguins. The king penguin, Gentoo, Magellanic and Rock hopper penguin, these were all around a young elephant seal. Then we travelled to another island Sea lion island. This is where we saw over 50 elephant seals together and the smell was unbelievable just such a stench!
However there was a colony of over 500 Gentoo two minutes away from the hotel. Then back to Stanley on a Figas plan (I get terribly plane sickL) so I did not enjoy the view. Then in the rest of the planned trip we visited different parts of the island and saw even more penguins, had a look at mount St pleasant airport and all the different teams.
Then ended it with some conservation work of pulling up plants to help the wildlife and a tour around the battlefields. However, at 3.00 on the Saturday the earthquake struck and we were unable to get on our flight, tensions were funning high but we managed to get through it as a group. The locals helped us out a lot and gave us lifts around the island to see different places, we walked the Governesses sheep and I sat my grade three music exam.
Recently I found out that I passed it J. We then managed to get a flight home on the airbrigde and four of our group had gone three days earlier, the air bridge was a bit less squashy and only 16 hours which is a lot better!
Truly my trip to the Falklands islands was one of the best experiences of my life, I’ve made so many new friends and memories and I strongly suggest that other young leaders like myself should get involved in trips as well.
Rosy Crawley