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A View of Tierra del Fuego

By Jorge Rodriguez, Cruceros Australis

It is not often that people have the opportunity to explore and observe untouched wilderness and the pristine waterways at the very edge of the world. The uninhabited corners of the earth can be counted on one hand, and those privileged few travellers lucky enough to visit, treasure memories never to be forgotten. The island of Tierra del Fuego on the extreme southern tip of South America is one such place.

For many centuries the archipelagos around Tierra del Fuego were home to Fuegian indigenous nomadic tribes that roamed the region in their incandescent travelling canoes. The stories of these natives are lengthy and diverse but we will not cover them here but focus on the current Tierra del Fuego and its fjords and channels. Currently the only way to visit these fjords is sailing on the Mare Australis departing from Punta Arenas in Chile or Ushuaia in Argentina.

The route to the Cape utilizes an exclusive passage called the Murray Channel, which makes a straight navigation from the Beagle Channel into the Wollaston Islands, the archipelago which Cape Horn belongs to. The Murray Channel was only opened for navigation by Chilean commercial vessels in 2001. This beautiful channel was also utilized by the nomadic indigenous groups of Tierra del Fuego when they ventured into the open seas to reach Cape Horn.

According to recent passenger surveys, Cape Horn is at the top of the list of all the   disembarkations made by our guests. Most passengers want to visit the southernmost island in the world and look south to the Drake Passage. When weather permits, and at the discretion of the captains, lucky passengers will not only disembark in Cape Horn but also sail around Cape Horn, a very desirable feat for world sailors.

Upon returning from Cape Horn an expedition call into Wulaia Bay is a must. Another indigenous site, Wulaia offers a second chance to admire the waterways south of the Beagle Channel. This marvellous bay offers passengers another opportunity to observe the wilderness and nature of a small island on the very southern edge of the earth. The expedition is a moderately easy hike to an observation point where cruisers can spend the end of the afternoon admiring the bay and the lonely Murray Channel from atop a 300 meter hill.

This route also combines a visit to Gunther Pluschow Glacier and a later stop at the largest Magellanic (Jack Ass) penguin colony in the region: Magdalena Island, where nearly 120,000 penguins migrate every year. Once the vessel leaves Magdalena, it is only a short navigation to reach Punta Arenas and the start of a journey between Punta Arenas and Ushuaia.

This 4-night journey allows the passengers to visit both the northern and southern shores of the Darwin Mountain Range, including a visit to Brookes Bay where a massive glacier (Brookes) can be admired from a distance while passengers enjoy a trek around the forest to observe the millenary glacial activity that has taken place over the years. The vessel then rounds the western corner of this uninhabited National Park Alberto D. Agostini. The park is named for a famous missionary and explorer who worked with the various indigenous groups that were quickly disappearing in the very early years of the 20^th century.

The southern shore of this national park is accessed via the more frequently used Beagle Channel where the Glacier Alley can be seen. Although there are over 50 trips made by large cruise lines along this channel, none of these ships are capable of entering the fjords much less disembarking in the national park sites that a smaller ship's special license permits. On the southern shore, visits to Gunther Pluschow, Pia and Garibaldi Glaciers are desirable.

This unique experience is one of the most interesting small cruise ship routes in the world and only Cruceros Australis offers the experience and new ships specially designed for their destination.