Regal Princess 1/29/06-question re Punta Arenas

[bb2810]

(This is a duplicate of a post from the South America port Board)

 

My wife and I shall be aboard the Regal Princess January 29th cruise from Valparaiso to Buenos Aires. We are eager to see penguins (easily). We understand the walk from the parking area to the penguin colony at Otway Bay near Punta Arenas is about a mile each way.

 

Just how difficult a mile is this? I ask in terms of grade, wind, etc..

 

Comment on Penquin trips in Port Stanley and Puerto Madryn would be welcome as well. Bluff Cove sounds like just the thing, but there is, we understand, uncertainty about landing in the Falklands. Other posters speak well of private tours picked up on the pier in Puerto Madryn and we wonder just how available these are.

 

Anyway, Punta Arenas sounds like a good opener if the trek is not overly difficult for a couple of 70 year olds in moderately decent shape but not comfortable with steep climbs or sharp, cold winds.

 

And, obviously, we'd love to hear from anyone who will be aboard the Regal Princess 1/29/06 with us.

 

Bruce O'Dea

Bradenton, FL

BB2810@aol.com

[coiran]

We are on the Feb 11 sailing. I found this site for tours in Stanley, Falkland Islands if you are interested - it looks better than anything Princess has to offer.

http://falklandtravel.com/toc.htm

 

Ron

[owlwoman]

We were at Otway last March, from the parking lot there is a boardwalk, all flat, that leads to the penguins, it did not seem like a mile. Very easy and extremely doable. When we were there, the teenagers were the only penguins left as all the adults were out feeding to get ready for the migration. You should have a better experience in January. We were able to get very close to the penguins, a lot of them were burrowed just beside the boardwalk, very cute.

[Cruise38]

I agree with owlwoman - a very easy tour and does not seem like a mile. You will get some great picures. I was there in January 2002 and there were 100's of penguins.

 

Barbara

[bb2810]

Thank you very much Owl Woman and Cruise 38. Your information is very helpful.

 

BB2810

[coiran]

I found a tour outfit in Punta Arenas that does offer an Otway Penguin colony tour of about 3 - 4 hours duration for $55 pp - follow this linl

http://www.turismonuevomundo.com/login?lang=eng

 

Ron

[AWOL]

We took that tour last year in January with our 18 month girl. She had no trouble getting around as like the others said, it is a well constructed board walkway. The penguins were very close to the walk way and they have some towers that you can climb to get an overview of the birds. There was a nest borrow under the back lower platform with a adult and young one under there. My little girl was looking at them through the cracks in the walkway when the end of her leash that was on her arm fell through the crack and the adult got it and the tug of war was on. Katerina won but it was touch and go there for awhile. After that on the way back to the car park, any time the walkway came off the ground a ways, she would have to get down and see it there were any penguins under there. It was a lot of fun