For your adventure spirits we have arranged
this ultimate adventure experience that involves paddling in a inflatable rubber
canoe on the Beagle Channel, a visit to Harberton Estancia, a motorboat tour to
the Penguin Island with access to the penguins' rookery, and a hiking experience
on the virgin Gable Island. If you are not fond of water activities like paddling,
please let us know so we can arrange to take you by vehicle instead of canoeing
to Harberton Estancia where you will join the rest of the group.
The largest
island on the Beagle Channel, Gable, features the full range of elements that
compose the classical Patagonian landscape. Provisional indigenous settlements
and an abandoned sheep shearing barn are the only human vestiges in this now uninhabited
patchwork of beech wood forests and rolling pastures set in the dramatic backdrop
of Andean peaks.
The tour begins early in the morning when
you are picked you up at your hotel. We follow highways “3” and “J” for an hour
and a half until we reach Bahía Brown (Brown Bay). Once there, we prepare
the duckies (modified inflatable kayaks). Duckies are very stable boats that
will ensure you enjoy a safe fun ride. Your guide will be a professional paddler
who will guide you and be there for your safety.
In this point you can
choose between doing the journey to Harberton Estancia in a vehicle or paddling
in the duckies.
Following the path of the Yamana canoe-men, the first
Indian colony that settled in this region, we’ll start paddling through a narrow
passage of a river, pretty close to the Beagle Channel, enjoying the beauty of
the changing vistas and the local fauna and flora. You’ll start warming up while
our guides teach you the basic paddling techniques.
When we arrive to
the Beagle Channel we leave the river and start heading to the Harberton Estancia
(ranch), the first settlement of the founders of Ushuaia. Indeed, the founders
of this region did the same paddling path that you are going to do. When you arrive
to this picturesque estancia you´ll be able to rest, enjoy the magnificent view
and dry yourself. It’s important for you to know that we will provide all the
waterproof gear you´ll need (boots, water proof rain jacket and trouser) so your
clothes won't be all wet from the paddling. At this estancia you will meet
the travelers that chose the vehicle ride.
A motorboat waits for us at
the dock. We board it and head to the Penguin’s Island. On this island you will
admire a colony of Magellan penguins. You will have the change to go down to the
island to have a close up view of the penguins' colonies.
We then head
to the mystic Gable Island, a natural, cultural and historic icon of the foundation
of this region. We disembark on its 15 miles (24 km) of pure magic. We unite at
our rural retreat, light up the rustic salamander and indulge in a Yamana-style
meal. Near the retreat there´s an old sheep shearing barn no longer in use
that you can visit. Once we’ve had some time to rest and digest we´ll begin
our cross-island trek, through pastures and haunting woods, towards the rugged
southern shore. Steep glacier-ravaged cliffs descending into the channel
greet us on the other side, showing us the fiercer face of Tierra del Fuego. We
stand on the edge with the wind blowing hard on our faces while down below, wind-swept
and immense, the Beagle Channel stretches itself in all its splendor. you´ll be
surrounded by the elemental wilderness and curling waves that mark the Ends of
the Earth.
Before long we´ll be returning inland and making our way into
the heart of the island to a lagoon harboring a beaver lodge. Beavers are considered
a plague in these regions because of the damage they do on local flora. In their
settlements you will be able to see chunks of wood and fallen trees which are
the result of the beaver’s work of constructing dams. Because beavers are excellent
swimmers, they need to flood their habitats in order to protect themselves from
preying species. The interesting fact is that beavers have no natural predators
in this region, so they keep constructing dams and flooding areas without pause
and without real necessity. They sleep during the day and work all through the
night, therefore if you are lucky we might just encounter one of these magnificent
little hydraulic engineers. The surrounding woods yield a unique, eerie beauty.
Light-green colored lichens hang long from the bark and branches of the tangled
up tree-tops, while the floor is thick with white orchids, violets, ferns and
wild strawberries.
After a three-hour hike, we´ll return to our retreat,
where we´ll stop for hot drinks and some snacks, and then prepare for our motorboat
ride back to the mainland. We´ll return to the city as the twilight descends over
the Beagle Channel.
Requirements for this tour: the paddling experience
is for people over 12 years of age, in moderately fit physical conditions.
Difficulty: moderate
Length:
full day
Guide: group English/Spanish
speaking guide
Transfer: group vehicle - approximate
maximum capacity: 16 people
Includes: breakfast + lunch with beverages
