Happycampers on Tour

[Happycamper]

The only way is up – April 2016

Our next deadline is to get on a ship out of Uruguay at the end of June, so three months to spend getting there, should be a bit more cruisy. Our first thought was to get a bit north to where the Autumn has not made such an impact.

First week we worked our way up the east coast to Penninsular Valdez. Highlights were overnight at national park Paliaike which is just south of the Argentina border and feels quite isolated but really not that far off the beaten track. There are no facilities at the camp area and you have to have your own toilet and water on board to be permitted entry. We had dropped in to see a colony of king penguins on the way to this place at a bay off the Magellan Strait. They are everyone’s idea of what a penguin is as they feature on advertising for many places, even some that have never seen king penguins. They are 1 metre tall and with orange about their heads and chests they are so photogenic. The chicks at this time are also looking good with their fluffy down.

A couple of days later and we were again diverting off track, this time to a petrified forest. On the way in we saw maras which are giant rabbits. Camping has been at municipal campgrounds which have been OK, but almost empty such is the season. When we got on to the Valdez Penninsular we had to go to an hostel as the camp was closed.


















Petrified tree trunk

 

[Happycamper]

Orcas

The hostel was fine and the same price we had payed for camping elsewhere. There were only three others there.

We toured the area over three days and saw some orcas, elephant seals, sea lions and some new birds and of course penguins. Willy and Barbara from France hitching along. The fourth person can sit in the cab on the platform we made for the fridge when we removed the rear seat. It is ok only for short trips as it is a bit high and you sit on a cushion. The seatbelt works though.












Poster of orca chasing sea lions on to the beach then surprising them by beaching themselves and taking one.

Orca, dorsal fin is 2 metres tall




Orca hunting

 

[Happycamper]

East then west 2nd week April 2016

Off we went to the east to see the parrots that live in the cliffs on the coast south of Viedma. This was a day and half away, and was quite amazing to see. The backpackers departed for more places north and we backtracked towards the west. Our plan was to go back to the mountains and see Bariloche and maybe even Chile before heading up Ruta 40.

The first day of this drive was uneventful and we had a good camp at Tunquellen, and the next day was 420 km with 150 km good dirt next to the new road under construction. We picked up a policeman hitch hiking to a start point of his annual remote area hike which was to take about a week. Arrived at Bariloche late afternoon and went to the tourist office first then a bed at Camping Petunia, in the hostel. This leaves the car available for a bit of local touring. This a step off point for the biggest ski field in Argentina with heaps of runs. We are a bit early for the season. We checked out a couple of viewpoints, one via a hike and the other a chairlift, it is very picturesque.

 

[Happycamper]

Short trip to Chile Mid April 2016

The way we wanted to go to Chile was via a lake and ferry ride that our friends had told us about and this commences to the north and the west of San Martin de Los Andes. A day and a half later and we were out of Argentina and having lunch in no man’s land, eating the last of our fruit and vegs before Chile. We were inspected but they could not find any contraband. We wanted to camp at Huilo Huilo but the camping area was closed so we resorted to a room in the cheapest part of the resort, sort of a tree house, in a room with camp beds and a heater. This proved to be a good move a weather was very wet and camping would have been miserable. We still had to walk 40 m on elevated walkways in the rain to the bathroom. There were issues with hot water, none in one shower, and electricity, failed mid shower at night, but we were well compensated for these!

Our next camp was in Agrocamp to the east of Pucon, very peaceful but chilly in a valley by a stream. It would be lovely here in summer, but we had the heater on and frost on the ground in April. Hiked to a waterfall and went to a hot spring next day then we crossed back to Argentina via a pass near Volcan Lanin.