An Expedition Blessed with Dolphins, Whales and Penguins

October - November 2019

My trip to Argentina is to join a 20-day expedition to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the Antarctic.  Before getting on the expedition ship at Puerto Madryn, I spent five days exploring the area nearby to look for the cetaceans and wildlife of Argentina.

Puerto Rawson - Commerson’s Dolphins
The Commerson’s Dolphins were on top of my wish list.  Their black-white combination reminds me of the Giant Panda.  In order to photograph them well, I made three trips, including two chartered ones on a smaller zodiac, on two different days.  The Commerson’s Dolphin is a small dolphin species of 1.2-1.5 metres.  While they are small, they are not shy and had approached our boat for bow riding, or jump up high in the wake of our boat.  Website of the dolphin watching company:
https://estacionmaritima.com.ar/en/dolphins/ 

Punta Tombo - Magellanic Penguins
After visiting the dolphins, we went to Punta Tombo - the largest Magellanic Penguin colony in the world.  The website of the penguin reserve:
https://www.pinguinosentombo.com.ar/en/

Peninsula Valdes - Southern Right Whales and other wildlife
Southern Right Whale (season: June - November)
There are whale watching boats setting off from Puerto Piramides, a small town within Peninsular Valdes.  During the nursery season from June to November, Southern Right Whale mothers will nurse their calves off Puerto Madyrn and in the sheltered bay of Puerto Piramides.  Whales are often observed with active display near to the water surface - breaching and tail-slapping, with the calves follow their mother closely.  When I went there, I observed sea gulls pecking on the whale calves.  There were studies showing that such behaviour will have long term impacts on the health of the whales.  Some information about the whales of Peninsula Valdes:
https://peninsulavaldes.com/wildlife/whales 

Orca (best season: March - April, September)
We also spent some time watching the beach with sea lions, looking out for Orcas.  As November is not the right season, we can only try our luck next time.  Some information about the Orcas of Peninsula Valdes and the Handbook on whale watching in Argentina can be found here:
https://peninsulavaldes.com/wildlife/orcas
https://wwhandbook.iwc.int/en/country-profiles/argentina

Other wildlife
Peninsula Valdes is a place teeming with wildlife.  For more information about this area, please check out this website: https://chubutpatagonia.gob.ar/en/

Guanaco

Burrowing Owl

Patagonian Cavy

Larger Hair Amadillo

Elephant Seal

Sailing to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Antarctica
It was exciting embarking the expedition ship, MV Hondius.  On our way to the Falkland Islands, some of the passengers, including myself, stayed at the outer deck on the front to watch out for sea birds and cetaceans.  We had a glimpse of some unidentified dolphins (black and white pattern, most likely Peale’s Dolphin) and baleen whales.

Penguins and Dolphins of the Falkland Islands
Having arrived in the Falkland Islands, we got on shore to see birds, Gentoo Penguins, etc.  When we were approaching Port Stanley, a Peale’s Dolphin swiftly came for a bow ride and left.  We got on land for a short local tour to view the funny-looking Rockhopper Penguins which we did not have a chance to see earlier due to bad weather.  We were glad that we decided to join this tour once we got on land as the tour was full very soon, and some passengers had missed this penguin species.  It was very entertaining to watch them hopping on the rock to get back to where they nest.  We could got very close to the penguins.  After getting back to the ship, some Commerson’s Dolphins came close to the ship and hang around for quite some time.

King Penguin Kingdom@South Georgia
South Georgia is the home to an estimated 450,000 pairs of King Penguin, which is around half of world’s population.  We landed at St. Andrews Bay, Grytviken, Salisbury Plain, Gold Harbour and Prion Island.  King Penguins are all over the place, together with some Southern Elephant Seals and Antarctic Fur Seals.  No doubt this is a wildlife photographer’s paradise.  Wandering Albatross nests and Giant Petrel nests are found on Prion Island.  We also viewed the Macaroni Penguins from zodiacs as landing was not possible at Elsehul.  Here are some of my favourite photos:

Elephant Island, Antarctica - Orcas and Dwarf Minke Whale
We encountered a pair of mother-and-calf Orcas and a few Dwarf Minke Whales near Elephant Island.

Antarctica - Gentoo Penguins, Adelie Penguins, Chinstrap Penguins
When we landed on various sites at the tip of the Antarctic, we encountered three species of penguins.

Adelie Penguins

Gentoo Penguin and Adelie Penguin

Gennto Penguin and Chistrap Penguin

Drake Passage - Unidentified Beaked Whale and sea birds
I was on the outer deck by myself when I spotted a beaked whale.  Due to the odd angle, it was not quite possible to tell which species it is.  Of course, we also saw some sea birds during the Drake Passage crossing.

Other sightseeing spots
When I was planning the trip, I found that this part of Argentina has a strong association with dinosaurs.  There is a dinosaur museum called Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio in Trelew (https://mef.org.ar/).  On the way from Trelew to Puerto Madyrn, there is a also a 20-metre long and 14-metre long dinosaur.

Expedition to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the Antarctic:
Oceanwide Expedition
https://oceanwide-expeditions.com/antarctica/cruises/hds21-26-falkland-islands-south-georgia-antarctic-peninsula

Flights:
HK-> Doha -> Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires -> Trelew
Ushuaia -> Buenos Aires-> Doha -> HK