The Griffin Geocache – GC2QJZ3

It was only a matter of time before I hid my own geocache. And, predictably, I hid one out here. I’ve chosen a location that is within striking distance of others, which was deliberate as I want it to be visited. If you want to know more, you will have to log on to geocaching.com!

Pleasant Peak – 20 Mar 11

I’ve admired Pleasant Peak from afar and often thought “I wanna go up there”. Sunday was an incredibly mild day, considering that it’s autumn, and I was out in just a short sleeved t-shirt, today was the day!

I didn’t find the walk too steep but shied away from scrambling up to the memorial on the highest crop of rock because I was out on my own and didn’t want to tempt fate. I found out later that that cross was in memory of two fire fighters that had died.

I returned back to the road, following the direction of the ridge looking for somewhere less high to climb up – I know, a bit girlie but I so desperately wanted to get up high. I saw a second cross and made a beeline for it. This turned out to be a memorial to two men from 205 Signal Squadron and two members of the Army Air Corps killed in 1982.

As is the custom, I signed the book at the memorial and cleaned the brass plaques on the cross, being careful not to catch my reflection when taking this picture!

Memorial Wood, Stanley – 20 Mar 11

I’d been told about Memorial Wood by someone who had been out here before and had recommended it for a walk. This was probably going to be my last visit to Stanley and as it was such a beautiful, crisp autumn morning now seemed as good a time as any. There is a tree planted for those from the task force and the three civilians that didn’t survive the conflict back in 1982. I found it very moving walking through the wood, reading the names of those remembered but was heartened by the work of the local cub scouts who have planted thousands of bulbs that come up each spring. It is a lovely setting overlooking Port Stanley and a very fitting memorial.

Boot Hill – 19 Mar 11

It has become a tradition to leave a boot on Boot Hill. If you intend to come back, you leave one boot and if you do not, you leave the pair. 

I’d had a stake made so that it would be easier to push in to the ground but, as you can see, I struggled a bit. Ever resourceful I found a rock to whack it in with!

The Buddhist prayer flags were tied to the laces for my mate ‘Sav’. He’d have been impressed by the rugged beauty.

A ride on the RIB – 15 Mar 11

The rigid inflatable boat is used for man overboard situations and for boarding parties. The guys need to be dressed in their dry suits and booted within 3 minutes in a man overboard situation. I had a little bit more time to put on the dry suit and boots, making sure I squeezed all the air out … didn’t want to look like an orca on the off chance that I went in!

Not being a fan of water I was being really brave in front of the navy guys who were taking us out… just how fast would this little boat go? Gingerly, I got on board and tried to look really casual when my picture was being taken, but what you can’t see is just how tight I was holding on, we really were close to the water! Now feeling very nervous.

The boat was moved very gently away from the mooring, now feeling even more nervous. Once on the open water she was opened up, now I was just plain old fashioned scared. Yep, scared enough to hold on with one hand to get his attention! I felt happier sitting on the inside of the boat rather than the side, probably because I had hold of his belt so if I went in, he would be coming with me!

I was given an opportunity to drive the boat. That was okay, but it wasn’t long before I spooked myself and thought I was going to flip her over because I had over steered! The wind had picked up a bit and there were some waves which meant that the RIB jumped the waves and came crashing down… a bit like stomach churning fairground ride but you get a drenching with salt water.

But it was good fun and despite my fear of open water I would do it again! 

Carcass Island – 13 Mar 11

Port Pattison

Carcass Island is off the northwest tip of West Falkland. It’s a very small island and is about 5miles long and just over a mile wide at the widest point. It was named after the HMS Carcass which patrolled the waters in early 1767, and the Port Pattison named after the Captain. Port Pattison is the island’s sheltered bay and sits in front of the settlement which, surprisingly for the Falklands, is surrounded by trees.

The island is free of cats and rats which has allowed the small birds to breed. I was surprised just how unafraid the little brown tussock birds were, and on a couple of occasions I didn’t notice them against the rocks, until they flew at me!

As our visit time was short, we were driven cross-country to the airstrip by Shedder Pond and from here we walked down to see the elephant seals on the shoreline and walked towards North West Point. The elephant seals were lying quite high up on the beach so there were times where we had to nip in to the tussock grass to bypass them. The trouble is you can still smell them, so you don’t know if you are going to stumble across one in the grass or whether it is the smell coming off the beach. Guess I am too much of a scaredy cat to be a wildlife reporter!

Shedder Pond

The shoreline is very rocky and the sun caught the sea making it look like silver paper. Beautiful.

But wait, how rude of me! I didn’t tell you about the cakes that were laid on for us by Lorraine. Plates of homemade cakes and cookies, the best being the scones with jam and cream on them that were bite sized – I didn’t show you up Mum, I used a plate! (even if was to stand my coffee cup on).

Meeting with Radio Ham – 12 Mar 11

Dad had sent me a letter with a request. He had made contact with a radio ham on the Falkland Islands and wondered whether I could find the operator and confirm the contact. I’d planned a trip in to Stanley so, being as I was accompanied by a couple of guys from work, thought it would be safe to try to find the house. I soon found the street and, although not all the houses had their numbers clearly visible, the large antennae kind of gave the game away! Feeling brave I knocked the door and when the lady answered I burbled the story of Dad, the QSL confirmation and how I was ‘just passing’. Oh my goodness, the lady invited me and my two chums in for a chat. One of the guys is an electrician and was quite taken with all the wiggly amp kit in the shack. Lost on me, but I was taken with the view of Port Stanley from their living room window! And, you know me, I love a good natter.

John Smith Lecture – 9 Mar 11

John Smith is a local historian and had been invited to MPA to give a series of lectures. Of the five he was doing, this evening’s lecture was the one that whetted my appetite the most. He was going to talk about the Invasion in 1982. The lectures came highly recommended so I made sure I had an early dinner and made my way down to ‘get a good seat’!!

During the time of the invasion John had kept a diary and he gave us snippets of the days from the initial invasion to the task force arriving and the liberation. This included some recordings from the local radio station. He had some pieces of shrapnel which, on examination, really are very ugly jagged heavy bits of metal. John had also taken a number of black and white photographs which he left out for us to peruse during the break. Seeing the black and white photos it is hard to believe that all this took place some 29 years ago, it was only the haircuts and moustaches of the troops that helped me date the photos, Stanley has changed very little.

A very enjoyable lecture, he really is a very easy speaker to listen to. And there was no hard sell to buy a copy of his book!

Battlefield Tour, Mt Tumbledown – 9 March 2011

I’d deliberately saved this battlefield tour as the one to do last as it has the longest walk, about 6 miles round trip. The terrain was very different to that of Mt Longdon. We were to walk in the footsteps of 2 Scots Guards as they made their assault on Mt Tumbledown through 13^th/14^th June 1982. We set off from a lay-by on the Stanley Road and walked to what would have been their assembly point. Unusually, there was a very thick mist which made our orientation very difficult, but very atmospheric! After a short distance we came across a dump of ammo boxes and mortar shell cases. It really is incredible to think this stuff has lain here untouched for nearly 30 years!

Despite the mist my lungs and legs were telling me we were beginning to climb. Then out of the mist appeared the craggy rocks of Goat Ridge. Keeping the Ridge on our left we continued to the starting line. Once over the fence we walked across country to Mt Tumbledown, the mist was beginning to clear, but the top of Mt Tumbledown was still hidden from view. As if by magic, the mist started to lift and across the valley to our left Mt Longdon came in to view, the landscape scarred from artillery fire. This scarring was pointed out to me; I just assumed it was bald patches where the peat was exposed.

And then a steady, steep climb up the side of Mt Tumbledown. The view back the way we had come was stunning. We now had blue skies and I was surprised at just how steep the terrain had been, it looked very different in the mist. My lungs and legs had been right! We continued to climb and were rewarded with some stunning views of Wireless Ridge over to our left and Stanley ahead of us and in the distance.

We saw the remnants of an Argentine bunker still containing a water bottle, blanket and the soles of plimsolls. Plimsolls were issued to the conscripts to prevent them deserting.

The tour culminated with the memorials, the first just below the summit and the smaller of the two. It was my privilege to volunteer to clean the brass plaques and strangely cathartic.  The second memorial on the summit involved a bit of a scramble to reach it and, as you know there is no mountain goat in me, I caused a bit of a queue! So with blue skies we began our descent, I’d eaten all my food and was beginning to peel layers off and slap on sun cream. If it is appropriate to say I have favourite battlefield tour, then this would be mine and largely due to the scenery. And the Scots Guards? Gentlemen, here’s tae you.

Whale Watching – Saturday 5 March 2011

Not being a very keen sailor I was somewhat apprehensive about spending 3 hours at sea whale watching. But then on the other hand – how exciting!! The boat held 8 passengers and left from the jetty in Stanley. It was a scorching hot day so the breeze at sea was most welcome. We set out through The Narrows in to Port William passing a couple of Korean fishing boats. Over to our starboard (right-hand side) was Cape Pembroke lighthouse, which was nice to see from the water (I’ve visited the lighthouse previously whilst geocaching). Soon we were in the Berkley Sound looking for whales. 

Then we saw their blows and started squealing with excitement! I know that sounds cheesy, but it really was a sight to behold! Of course all the digital cameras were taking pics, and it’s amazing how many shots we got of the sea, the waves and the horizon!! Very few of us actually caught the blows. I got a couple of shots of fins; turns out we were watching Sei whales which grow to 12m – 16m in length. After a little while we headed on to see a rockhopper penguin colony.  Whilst sailing towards the colony the boat was being chased by Imperial shags, several at a time – it was bit like the ducks that Hilda Ogden used to have on her wall in Coronation Street! 

We also spotted a number of Southern Sea Lions on a sandy beach, flanked by tussac grass. We were in a prime spot to watch the males fighting over territory on the beach. Seeing the large males with their manes of fur, it is clear how they got their name. 

And then we played with the peale dolphins. At first they were happy to jump out of the water at the front of the boat but then the skipper backed the boat up and they played with us, jumping, swooping and splashing on their backs. 

They soaked us, and our cameras! And I am pretty sure they knew exactly what they were doing. As we made our way back we sailed along the side of Gypsy Cove. The fencing along the beach could be seen from the water, the beach was heavily mined to prevent the British landing here in ’82.

I can’t tell you what an impression this day have left on me; it was like watching my very own wildlife programme – but live and with a front row seat!

Sunset - Friday 4th March 11

I wanted you to see the colours of the sunset. The picture doesn't quite demonstrate the colour of the sky. but it was like a blood orange. It wasn't late, i think i took this just after 20:00 hrs and knew that if i didn't take a photo i would regret it. The season is changing from late summer to early autumn and this last week there has been a real nip in the air in the mornings. the nights are darker for longer, it starts to get light around 06:00 hrs, which is good because i've been waking about 04:00 hrs for the last 13 weeks and not being able to go back to sleep because of the light coming in behind the curtains!

Stone Runs - Rock Rivers

These truly are an impressive feature in the landscape. The picture doesn’t do the feature justice, but they are an accumulation of hard quartzite boulders. Charles Darwin referred to ‘streams of stones’ when he brought HMS Beagle here. Formed thousands of years ago in the last ice age, the rocks have been shattered by the temperature constantly freezing and defrosting. The rocks are arranged biggest on the top with layers of smaller stones lying beneath. The boulders on the top are silver-grey, the ones beneath are protected from the elements are an orangey/peachy colour. The smallest stone runs are about a metre wide, the largest up to four kilometres long and several hundred metres wide.

Sunday 27 Feb 11 – Volunteer Point

Volunteer Point is a peninsula to the north of East Falkland. It was named after the ship Volunteer which called at the Islands in 1815.
Volunteer Beach is a 2 mile long white sandy beach. There are Gentoo, Magellenic and King Penguins breeding here. The King Penguin colony is the largest in the Falkland Islands. Back in 1870 the King Penguin had almost been exterminated, killed for their oil and feathers. 
Today there are more than a thousand breeding adults at the colony and over 500 chicks are raised each year.

Monday 21 Feb 11 – The Comrade’s Choir

The Comrade’s Choir is a male voice choir with members hailing from Wales and Yorkshire. My boss asked me if I would meet the choir and then escort them to the little chapel where they would be performing. I watched the little coach coming along the brow of the Stanley Road wondering what I had let myself in for. I watched with interest as these old boys piled off the coach and was intrigued how they would sound; you can’t judge a book by its cover. Having handed the Choir over to the Salvation Army to ‘babysit’ until I returned from dinner – I nipped off to find a pair of gentlemen’s black trousers in a 34” waist for the Compare. Full of tricks me! Trousers found I headed back to the chapel. OMG it was like hearing angels singing, their voices were being carried up the corridors. Goose bumps! I tried to creep in un-noticed – not easy for a gingah! WOW – what a treat to hear these gentlemen sing and how unusual a setting!