service Darwin Professional
tour character itinerary services contact
Professional
Dates 2009: Oct 10 – Oct 24 2009
day 1
Today we meet you at the airport of Trelew.
The transfer to Puerto Piramides takes about 2 hours. T
he Paradise Hotel
is the best in Puerto Piramides. The small and cozy rooms have a bath-
room with hot water. There is also a restaurant where we will have our
breakfast. Already from our Hotel we can see the whales breaching in the
Golfo Nuevo!

day 2 – day 9
During this days we will depart 7 times to observe whales. The crew
will look for social animals. We will see the animals from a close distance
and the entire behavior such as breaching, copula, and mother/calf
interaction, lobtailing, thermo regulation and much more.
Beside the whales we will look for Dusky Dolphins. They are attracted
by schools of Anchovy (small fishes) that visit the Golfo to lay the eggs.
While feeding the dolphins are accompanied by sea gulls, seals and
penguins. It is a very special encounter to be in such a bait ball.

day 10
Today we are leaving the kingdom of the whales to travel about 750 km
south.
Our transfer to Puerto Deseado will take about 9 hours. There we
will stay in a hotel close to the sea just beside the river. This is our
base for expeditions to observe the enormous wildlife along Ria Deseado.
This was for a long time a well kept treasure as it is far away from
tourism locations. Highlight is our boat trip to the Penguin island,
25 km off shore. There is a breading place for the most northern
colony of Rockhopper penguins as well as Magellanic Penguins.
This place is birdwatcher heaven. We have spotted already 136 species
along the river. The most exciting bird might be the endangered Grey
Cormorant, nesting in the cliffs of Ria Deseado.

day 11
Today we move in the wake of Charles Darwin who stopped in the river
with his Beagle. We will see marine birds; sea lions and we stop at a
breading island with penguins and many other species

day 12
A day trip to Penguin Island takes us to the world of the Rockhopper
Penguin. On our way in the river mouth we will see Commerson's
Dolphins, Skua and Albatross. New and very special in this trip is the night
at Penguin Island. We will slep in tents in the heart of nature. There is
an excellent chance to shoot penguins in best light situations.
This Island is located 20 km off the coast. Only animals do live here.
This is the home of the rockhopper penguin whereby In 2004 a total of
500 pairs came to breed on this island. Magelannic penguins are nesting
here as well.
Our camp is very close to the penguins and only a few meters from there
Skua and gulls nests.

day 13
Today we cross over to cormoran island. Here we find 12.000 nests of
Imperial comorants. On each squre meter there are 5 nests and at all
more than 25.000 animals.
But also Rock Shags are nesting here.
In the afternoon we return to Puerto Deseado.

day 14
Today we have a small safari by car along the river to observe birds.
Maybe we are lucky to meet some Flamingos. The rest of the day is
without programm and additional boat excursions are optional.

day 15
Transfer to the Airport.




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Photos: © Frank Wirth
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