Our first day comprised stops on 2 stunning private islands, West Point Island and Saunders Island.

West Point

The lee side of the island was green, with geese bringing up young and pottering about in the daisies.

However the look on Murray's face shows how cold the bitter wind was

The far side of the island had mixed colonies of Rockhopper penguins and black browed albatross.

The Albatross were all quiet and dignified, mainly sitting on eggs. Whereas the Rockhoppers were having fights, providing much penguin porn and generally behaving very argumentatively, with a small number incubating.

penguin fight

 penguin love

bad penguin hair day

This island, owned by Roddy and Lily Napier had one last surprise for us. Lily has sepnt 8 hours baking and laid out a magnificent morning tea

Saunders island was much less tranquil yielding our first king penguins and chicks and gentoo penguins, but ther stars of the show were the rockhoppers who landed in the roughest of seas to climb a rocky hill to their rookery.

gentoos chilling on the beach

whale bones

 leaping out

starting the long climb up

Our 4^th species of the first day, Magellanic penguins.

What a truly incredible day and next we sail to Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands.