Photo upload: End of the world

Here's some photos from making it to Ushuaia,  the southernmost city in the world, and the end of Route 3.

The one with H and I is at the Martial Glacier above Ushuaia.

Photo Upload: Estancia Haberton

Here's the pics from our overnight camping at Estancia Haberton. The history of the estancia is very interesting, and the place is beautiful in its position on the Beagle Channel. The area is also famous for the trees which grow completely to one side from the constant strong winds blowing at them.

Photo upload: Camped at a Beaver Pond

We camped at a beaver pond twice between Christmas and New Year. On the first occasion there was good snowfall overnight and in a photo here you can see the beaver lodge (the mound in the pond at the closest edge) topped with snow and a beautiful snowcovered landscape beyond.
I've also chosen photos of the dam and a couple of shots of beavers,  you can see we had good viewing, the beaver pictures were taken from the camper roof.

Photo upload: Christmas in Ushuaia

The 2013 overlanders Christmas at the Pista del Andino campground in Ushuaia was a lot of fun. We met so many overlanders from all over the world. It's great to trade stories, advice, and see all the different camper styles.

In the photos I'm in the red trousers and santa hat.

Photo upload: Eating King crab in Ushuaia

2 days before Christmas H and I spoilt ourselves with a lunch of King Crab (Centolla) and bubbly. H chose the biggest (I knew he would), and although I think Australian Mud crab is nicer, this was a very delicious meal.

Camped at a beaver pond

I have 3 favourite animals but I think one of them might have to give up its position for a beaver. These animals are wonderfully interesting. 

I had been wanting to observe some beavers and lucky for us the Alaskan overlanders told us of a spot they'd found, suitable for quiet camping and beaver watching. We stayed there on the  nights of the 26th and the 31st (December). 

Beavers are active in the evening, so if you want to see them being 'busy beavers' you need to be there late, and camping in a vehicle with windows looking out from the bed (like this one) is perfect. 

We spotted 4 beavers at this site. If you don't know much about beavers I recommend you do some reading on Wikipedia or similar, they are amazing. These beavers had made their pond by constructing a dam wall about 40metres long and about 2.5metres tall at the highest point. Their lodge (that's the correct term for a beavers house) was about 30m from the dam, in the pond. 

Canadian beavers were introduced to Tierra del Fuego for the industry of fur pelts, but animal rights activists killed the international fur trade industry and in 1960 the pairs were released into the wild. Without predators (in North America they have bears and wolves, but here nothing) the population has reached plague proportions and they are destroying waterways. 

I'd read that Canadian beavers can fell a tree up to 250mm in diameter in a single night. But at this pond there were beaver felled trees (the marks a different to an axe) up to 350mm. This may be accounted for in that Canadian beavers in Tierra del Fuego have become bigger than their ancestors.  

On our first night there we woke up in the morning to everything covered in snow. So I didn't get a white Christmas, but I got the white 2 mornings later. On that night the Alaskans also camped there. 

And then we spent New Year's Eve with the beavers. We could have spent it at the campsite in Ushuaia (the beavers are only about 15kms from town) with the other overlanders but I actually don't like seeing in the New Year. H agreed that the beavers company would be fine. So we had champagne and finger foods while watching the beavers. It was lovely. 

Between Christmas and New Year we visited an old estancia (ranch) 'Haberton' which has a fascinating story because the founder of it was sent out from Britain as a missionary to convert the natives but he preferred saving them to converting them and put his main life's work into that. Unfortunately the natives have been all but wiped out with just one old lady currently left. 

The estancia is 27000 hectares but with rising costs and after loosing 80% of its sheep stock in a terrible winter about 10 years ago they've given up sheep farming and now just rely on tourism. 

We then visited Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire, so called because the natives used to keep fires everywhere) National Park, the end of the Route 3 Highway. We hiked and had photos with the end of the road sign. 

Then on New Years Eve the weather was spectacular so we took the cable car and hiked up Martial Glacier for absolutely breathtaking views of Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel. 

And then we left Ushuaia for the Beaver pond, and from here there is only one way to go.... North!

Overlander Christmas in Ushuaia

What a marvellous Christmas! I've only got one complaint: it's super cold but it didn't snow enough to give me a white Christmas. Of course, all the motorcycle and bicycle overlanders, camped in their tents, are happy that it didn't snow. 

Last night, Christmas eve, the overlanders all gathered in the communal building here at the 'La Pista del Andino' campsite. Everyone brought their own food and the owner/manager here had a fire in the parrilla and kindly appointed himself as chef of everyone's BBQ food. (And we passed around a hat for tips to thank him). 

There's probably about 25 overlanding mobile homes here, about 20 motorcycles and I've absolutely no idea about how many bicycles are here (not so many, I just didn't go looking for them). I know that there are others at the municiple campsite (but no common building to keep warm and dry), probably some motorhomes on the waterfront, and possibly some at the other campsite. 

The majority of overlanders are from Germany, next is France, and we also have overlanders from Holland, Denmark,  Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Great Britian, Poland, and even Australia and New Zealand!! H is the only Belgian, but I'm not the only Aussie. 

It was an inspiring evening of meeting all these adventurers, well worth being here for. 

The end of the world: Ushuaia!

We did it! We made it to Ushuaia.

This city has successfully marketed itself as 'fin del mundo', which means 'end of the world'. Of course, we know that the world doesn't have an end (unless you belong to the flat earth society), and you could make attempts to go further (Chile has land across the Beagle Channel and a town there), but this is where the road ends:- for us and countless other overlanders. 

This is the place to be for Christmas if you are an overlander, lots of us are here and it makes for a kind of reunion of travellers met along the way. There seems to be a group forming at one of the campgrounds, but we don't want to be there until Christmas. At any rate there are other places near here to visit. 

Between now and Christmas there is plenty of time and we are camped in the garden of some locals we met at Peninsula Valdes. The vehicle needs some work and so H has disassembled the front of the vehicle to remove some patches of rust. Mobile homes need maintenance and it is wonderful to have friends here with space and some tools. 

Once the vehicle work is done we will do some travelling in the region: there's plenty to see. A popular excursion from here is a cruise to Antarctica and there are last minute deals, but it's not something that H or I are too concerned with doing. Instead we want to go to the National Park, and visit an estancia (ranch). 

H having a coffee and admiring his work. 

The overlanding overlander community

At the moment we are travelling South to Ushuaia for Christmas. Lots of overlanders put this into their plan, it's the better time of the year to be going so far South, and it provides a chance to reunite with many of the other overlanders met on the journey. 

So, who do we meet? 

We don't meet a lot of other travellers, in fact aside from our week on Peninsula Valdes, we haven't met hardly any at all. 

Although families do travel in this style, I haven't met any yet. Mostly, the overlanders have been couples, and they've been French, German, Dutch, or Austrian. I haven't met anybody from Australia or NZ yet, nor from the USA; English has always been everybody else's second or third language. 

Mostly H and I are younger than the other overlanders, and many are travelling with big trucks (and big fuel bills). 

Many have shipped directly to Uruguay. 

I will attempt to make a list in order of meeting them:

C=couple; S=single. 

4=4wd, like landcruiser, patrol, defender, hilux, etc. 

6=larger vehicle, truck: MAN, Isuzu, Volvo, Mercedes lorry. 

P=travelled North and South America, Otherwise they've shipped into Uruguay. 

Rough age guesses given too. 

In Mallague:

C4, Dutch/French. 60's. 

C4, German. 30's. P

On road, Angostura:

C6, German. 30's. P

Peninsula Valdes:

C6, German. 50's. P

C6, Dutch. 50's. 

C6, Dutch. 60's. 

C4, Austrian. 50's/60's. P

S4, Austrian. 60's. P

C+1, 4, Dutch. Late 20's/early 30's

C6, German. 70's. 

Gaiman:

C4, French, 60's. 

Note there were more large vehicles on Peninsula Valdes, I think this is because you can sit and see plenty without driving... The smaller vehicles keep moving more readily.