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PostHeaderIcon We paddled around Tierra del Fuego!!

We made it all the way around Tierra del Fuego!! It’s very exciting to be back in Ushuaia after paddling about 800 miles around this wild and beautiful part of the world. Some statistics:

Leg 1: Punta Arenas – Punta Maria (near Rio Grande): 8 days paddling in 2011

Leg 2: Punta Maria – Ushuaia:  13 days (paddling every day) in 2012

Leg 3: Punta Arenas – Ushuaia: 17 days (paddling every day) in 2012

Total paddling days was 38. Longest paddling day was about 42 nautical miles exiting the Magallenes Canal last year. Shortest day was on the Brecknock peninsula where we battled a mere 1.5 miles into the wind to find a more sheltered campsite.

We expected the strong winds to be our biggest challenge around Tierra del Fuego but this year’s weather was very strange and we had quite a lot of fairly calm days. We had our share of battling into headwinds but it wasn’t an every day occurrence as we had expected when heading towards the west. This also meant that we didn’t get to whoop and yee-hah our way back to Ushuaia when we started heading east. We would have welcomed a strong blast on our backs to give us a helpful push in the right direction, but more often than not the few yachts we saw had their motors on, and we could even seen our reflections on several occasions!

The challenges were different to what we expected. It was often hard to find a campsite in amongst the impenetrable steep cliffs or walls of bushes that rose from the top of beaches. The day of our strongest winds, we paddled about 8 miles into the wind before finding a place that we could put a tent that wasn’t blasted by the wind, on a slope, in the intertidal zone, or on sharp rocks. Due to the many islands and channels here, we could sometimes stay out of the main blasts but had to brave the full force of the wind around headlands and crossing bays.

The cold was an unexpected challenge. Last year on the East coast the sun shone quite a lot, even when the wind howled almost constantly. I wore a thin set of thermals under my drysuit and don’t remember being cold. I wondered how there could be glaciers down to sea level here but now I know! The stretch besides the high Darwin mountains can be REALLY cold! The thermometer on my watch often said 5 degrees while we were paddling, and one day read 3 degrees. It didn’t rain, it hailed on us every time a squall passed (which was frequently). I wore 2 thermal tops and was still cold when I stopped paddling for more than 5 minutes.

About 50 miles west of Ushuaia is perhaps the most spectacular stretch of coastline. We enjoyed a rare blue sky day as we paddled alongside blue glaciers that pour into the sea, or hang precipitously hundreds of metres above the water, impossibly perched on vertical rock faces. We took a 16 mile detour up the spectacular Seno Pia, at the end of which we were promised ‘one of the most spectacular views in Tierra del Fuego’. The paddle to get there was exciting as 5 miles in we were surrounded by small bits of ice which gradually got thicker and thicker until we had to nudge them aside to make our way forwards. The reward at the end was 3 glaciers – 2 of which reach the sea. Loud heart-stopping cracks stopped us in whatever we were doing every 20 minutes or so as an unseen part of the glacier fell off and crashed down.

Overall paddling around Tierra del Fuego has been a wonderful experience. The stunning scenery, plentiful  marine life, wild remoteness & the friendly and kind people we have met combine to make it a very special place to paddle and visit. I think Barry and I are the first people to kayak the entire coastline of Tierra del Fuego, although the first continuous circumnavigation is still unclaimed! Having said that, let’s not forget that over 100 years ago, men, women & children were navigating these channels is bark canoes wearing nothing more than an animal skin which barely covered them – so we are not so tough!

Big thanks to  Karel Visel for sending us daily weather forecasts to our Iridium satellite phone. Thanks to Sarah Outen and Iridium for use of the satellite phone. Thanks to my mum for updating the blog every day. Our trip map was made possible by our SPOT tracker and Trackleaders.com, who make great interactive maps for trips and events.

Thanks to Hilleberg for our great Tarra tent, which is built to withstand the strong winds down there & is really comfy and roomy.
I wouldn’t have been without my Kokatat drysuit & paddling clothing, and Barry loves his Reed  drysuit and kit. The Valley nordkapps are fast, comfy kayaks and helped us make good time on the water. Thanks to Lyon Equipment for the great ortlieb dry bags, the ultra-warm Exped down matt & waterproof Petzl torch. We both love our paddles made by Mitchell Blades  so thanks to Lance for those.
The silk sleeping bag liner was one of the best accessories from Sea 2  Summit and really helped keep the chill out on the colder nights.
Our Icebreaker thermals kept the chill and the smell at bay – both while paddling and off the water.
 
Our Keen  shoes were really comfy and neither of us got wet feet in our waterproof Keen land shoes so big thumbs up to Keen aswell.

There wasn’t enough surf to wear my Shred Ready  Shaggy helmet but I was glad to have it incase. It’s time will come I am sure!
We were sustained every day by yummy and healthy Nakd and Trek bars, made by Natural Balance Foods. All the bars are 100% natural fruit and nut, and Trek bars have high protein content.
This trip would have been incredibly difficult to organise and make happen without very generous help from local paddlers. We are deeply grateful for all the assistance we’ve had from Monica & Marcelo in Argentina, & from Kiko & Vero in Chile. They’ve hosted us in their houses for weeks, driven us from place to place, been our contact with the authorities, laughed with us & become great friends. Muchas gracias amigos.

9 Responses to “We paddled around Tierra del Fuego!!”

  • Islandwatcher says:

    Wow ! Beautiful scenery and great photos ! Well done !
    Please add my vote to the ‘Protect Barry’s Beard’ campaign…
    Looking forward to seeing you again…soon?
    Steve

  • Philip Clegg says:

    Very well done guys. Great effort.

  • Sigurd Schultz says:

    Wow indeed. Respect and big smiles from Lofoten. Please ad my vote too….

  • steveg says:

    Fantastic, well done – it looked like an amazing place. Great photos and it’s been great to follow the blog posts 🙂 I’m also throwing my vote into the “Protect Barry’s Beard” campaign – I am sadly one of those afflicted individuals who try as I might, can’t grow a beard. I just end up with a scruffy “Shaggy from Scooby-Doo” affair, much to everyone else’s amusement…

  • Manuela Bono says:

    I’m very happy for your beautiful enterprise. I look forward to buying the DVD on this great adventure!

  • ollie jay says:

    Fantastic news guys, great pics! For me the best part of these great trips is the people you meet along the way and its so important to be able to take a bit of time to enjoy the area and people. Glad you made it to the calving glaciers – they are so humbling. Its worth thinking about how old the ice is and the what sort of journey the ice has made to get back to the sea – It could be up to 30,000 years I guess? I would love to get back to South America.
    Take care and see you soon I hope,

    Ollie J

  • luisella says:

    Well done Justine and Barry! Beautiful photos and fine writes! Thanks to share your trip! Have a wonderful come back to sweet home!

  • Olga says:

    Yes, beautiful pictures…I visited Patagonia two weeks ago and hope that sometimes in next 20 years I come back with my seekayak :).

  • KenTappen says:

    Congratulations Barry and Justine! Another amazing trip. Your photos are terrific. TDF is certainly a wild and beautiful place. You really know how to make the most out of your expeditions, making new friends, collecting experiences and enjoying the scenic beauty and wildlife. Now you can relax for awhile 🙂

    All the best,
    Ken Tappen

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