Approximately twenty hours after we had left the End of The World, Ushuaia, Argentina, we disembarked from our bus in Trelew, Argentina. March 3rd my journal read, “On the bus, on the bus. This has been the most restful bus trip ever and I don’t want to get off. We have enough food to keep riding this bus for days. But, we have to get off now and go to the largest penguin colony outside Antarctica.”
We stepped off, grabbed our bags, wandered around the town of Trelew, found the only hostel in town and each scored a bed. In what took probably ten times as long with my broken Spanish, we secured a car rental for the next day. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, *be kind to each other*. This generous woman at the visitor center spent so much time with me, brought up google translator on the computer, made multiple phone calls to this lady who rents cars, (and honestly I was nervous about potential ‘what if’ horror stories of getting ripped off when renting a car), and because my Spanish was so bad the lady renting the car rushed over in person to slowly, very slowly go over everything with me in person. Each of these strangers went way above the normal standard of service. Their actions didn’t say to me, ‘Hey this is South America, you don’t speak Spanish, get out.’ Their actions said, ‘Hey, your a guest here, we’re going to help you and want you to have a good time in our country.’
And, because I felt confident in the transaction, we rented the car for the day to drive ourselves to Punta Tombo. One hundred and ten kilometers south of Trelew, this peninsula is a wild life hot spot and was one of the best managed reserves we visited on our trip.
When we first arrived, we were greeted, paid the entrance fee, walked through an artistic and informative museum about penguins and marine life and then everyone was briefed on how to behave in the reserve.
In Spanish and English, a staff member nicely told everyone not to throw garbage, smoke, touch the penguins, eat food in the reserve or make loud noises.
There were staff people stationed all over the reserve and their presence made a world of difference to ensure people did not touch the penguins.
Because let’s be honest, everyone wishes they could touch these penguins!
We started seeing wildlife the second we walked into the reserve.
These little guys are cuis.
They can be skiddish, living under bushes eating leaves and grasses.
We caught this little guy being so cute rolling around in the dirt.
We started seeing hundreds of penguins.
They were doing so many different things, like this one basking in the sun.
Having a grooming session.
Sleeping in their burrows.
Having a lay down.
Or finding the best patches of shade.
These are the Magellanic Penguins and they have these piercing red eyes.
And a lot of pink/red around their eyes.
Wildlife kept walking by everywhere.
This is the Elegant Crested Tinamou.
This may be a swainson’s hawk, a snail kite or other; it’s difficult to tell some of these hawk species apart, especially to tell juvenile vs. adult or male vs. female. Either way, this bird of prey was enjoying some carrion (dead meat).
We kept walking along the roped paths to the end of the trail –
– to see hundreds Magellanic penguins.
We were beyond excited for how awesome this day was.
To be able to watch all these penguins waddling about.
Doing their thing hanging by the water.
The hill side where they built their burrow homes.
As we walked back, we saw a lot of penguins scratching themselves.
There’s a lot of grooming involved if you are a penguin.
Scratching – scratching.
They could really push their necks back.
Chris was trying to mimic the penguins, but I don’t think he quite got it down.
Unfortunately the reserve was going to close and we had to say good bye to the penguins.
As we were driving out of the reserve, Chris spotted this camouflaged creature in the bushes.
To have the luxuries of our own car and be able to stop and observe this pair!
These are called mara’s or Patagonia hares.
They are giant rabbits.
They have that flash of white across their hind ends.
Before we went to Punta Tombo, we had never even heard of mara’s. I thought they were so cool and now they are one of my new favorite animals.
Going to Punta Tombo was one of the highlights of our trip. This reserve was so well run and managed. It was uplifting and gave a boost of confidence that fees collected are helping to preserve a critical piece of wildlife habitat.
Even tho I think most people envision penguins living in the ice and cold, nope, they also live in harsh, arid environments too.
Hopefully with continued conservation, there’s reason to believe they will have their home in the sand for many years to come.
* * *
If you go:
At the time we visited, there was only one hostal in town: Hostal El Agora, Edwin Roberts 33, (02965), 426899. They only offer dorm rooms. We stayed in a spacious four person dorm for $130ARS each. There is no camping in Trewlew. There is camping in Gaimen, which is about twenty minutes away by bus.
Car tours, call Sophie, 154583309, the hostal will also call for you. You set up the day(s), place and time and she brings you the car. It should cost somewhere between $450-600ARS for the day.
Entrance Punta Tombo: $70 ARS per person.
Just if you were curious on the twenty-ish hour bus ride, it was $2722 ARS from Ushuaia for both of us, which is about $340 US.
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Punta Tombo must have been quite the experience! Penguins, maras and a host of other critters, nice. And I thought Chris did a pretty good penguin and he attracted a little playmate!
Oh Punta Tombo was awesome. We enjoyed it so much. If we had our own car we would have gone back multiple times. A really nice experience.
Man I want to touch a penguin too…. guess I’ll have to go to the zoo for that. I didn’t know they burrowed. And that there bunny is a beast. Should put a saddle on him and have a good old fashion penguin rodeo!!! Great shots.
Haha, indeed! You could ride that bunny. Those mara’s are the coolest ever! I just had no idea they even existed and they fascinate me. The penguins can be quite funny as they make a lot of little noises, so could be laying in there burrows just making all sorts of sounds.
It is so refreshing to see a reserve that is doing good and open to the public so that the animals and people may all enjoy it. Your photos are always wonderful and I love the short videos. Everything is very informative.
You nailed it Suzanne! From our perspective and experience, we could just sing the praises about this reserve. They really have done an outstanding job and the museum is so smartly designed. And it’s in the middle of no where. I hope so much that the strong leadership this management is recognized and continues indefinitely maintain this refuge for wildlife.
I never imagined penguins living anywhere than a in a cold snowy climate yet here they are in the middle of South America. You’ve also shown me some animals that I never heard of before this. I’m guessing there’s a reserve for them because they all taste like chicken!
I know what you mean, a lot of people, ourselves included, wouldn’t have thought of this reserve as a choice location for a penguin colony, yet I think that’s a bigger metaphor for why land conservation is so important. There are still spots we don’t know where animals migratory homes are. And for new animals, that was one of the funnest parts about this last trip, learning and seeing animals like the mara’s just blew me away. They just fascinated me.
Vagabondway, you’ve got soul! “Soul is the deep feeling that is expressed from the heart and the mind: from a musician, an artist, a dancer, a photographer or from a writer. When you open your heart, and pour out your spirit, and you feel something that makes a difference in your life. That is the meaning of soul.” Solomon Burke
Thanks! That is about one of the nicest comments a writer can get. Thanks so very much for taking the time to leave the comment!
What crazy little creatures. Are they dogs? Are the rabbits? Maybe you could call them dabbits? or Dunnies?what about Dogbuns?
Aren’t those mara’s just the coolest!? Maybe we could saddle em up. And their front legs are so skinny!