Wifeys trip to the Falkland islands

[Ogri the trog]

In addition to the minefields there is still a lot of munitions and detritus on the battlefields in the hills around Stanley don't touch it or collect souvenirs its considered bad form.

... and crash sites where personal friends lost their lives!

Pete, Dave & Karl - Rest in peace my friends.

Ogri the trog

 

[ged]

... Just a few thoughts sorry if they appear egg sucking.

Don't apologize. To someone who has never been there, that was a very useful and thought-provoking post. Thank you.

 

[Retired Member southey]

and spot on the money too scoman, Wifey said, there is a little store at Darwin but nothing to comprehensive, the food that you'll see in any of the shops will be months out of date, she bought a pack of choice digestives that were four months out, still good though, she worked with a lot of the locals and there a very happy bunch(if a little island crazy) if you were to rock up to a settlement and knock on a door you'll at least get a cuppa at best a meal and somewhere to sleep, what scoman said is spot on, alot of the minefields are marked but as has been said the weather is v changeable and harsh with it so missing or damaged markers are a real possibility alot of the beaches are protected sites for either nest sites or because of the danger from mines washed up during the storms,

She was there over the winter period, the winds are not as strong as in the summer months but they were still advised to park there cars into wind as a couple were blown of the road when stopped to look at the scenery, the snow cover varies as the wind clears it pretty quickly in exposed areas, she had temp from 5oC to minus 10 without windchill,

the main town of Stanley has grown and now has a few cafés and a couple of large ish grocers, but you'll be shocked at the amount of empty property's down there, they have same problems as any island of the young leaving and not returning so the population drops,the comms for the whole island is provided by cable and wireless and is patchy at best, the cost of using a UK based sim is v high, land line calls are about £1,50 pm and texts are 35p but you can but C&W call cards down there if you can find a phone when out of town,

I don't know who you are traveling with but you can get a flight out of Brize as a civvie for around £2000 return, there is another airline that goes via chilly for around a £1000 i think,

Were still unpacking so as soon as i find the memcard with her pics on ill get them up to give you a better idea of the ground, it really does look great, she is really taken with the place to the extent of mentioning there are jobs for civvie dental peeps, so it must be pretty cool,

If you have any more questions please feel free to ask, she is pretty knacked from new job stuff but i will annoy her till she answers,

Hope this helps chap,

Southey,

 

[LennyMac]

Thanks for everyones' suggestions (and Southey, I am sorry to have hijacked your thread!).

I shall be contacting the police upon arrival and giving them an expected itinerary. I am advised that I can pick up a map that has landowner details on it and so will also be making contact with relevant people on the islands, meaning that it might not be such a suprise if someone gets an unexpected knock at their door.

I won't actually have time to go to the battlefields or beaches as I anticipate walking for 11.5 days in a 14 day window, including my arrival and departure days.

I plan to stock up with my entire load of food in Stanley (travelling relatively light and spartan) and my only concern is water.

Thanks for the tip about the C&W call cards. Would it be possible to get a C&W mobile SIM card perhaps?

Thanks again to everyone.

 

[Retired Member southey]

Yes, ill ask but Wifey did say some of the guys had local sims, she all so has a mine map, when we get our scanner up and running ill put it up to as its not restricted in any way, with regards to travlling make sure any insurance you have covers you for delay\cancellations the weather can turn v quick and hold for a long time there were two airbridge flight the ended up nearly a week late due to weather,I ve got the memcard so ill put the pics up in a bit,

 

[Retired Member southey]

Heres some shots from Mt Harriet just to give you an idea of the terrain, very open!

Dolpine in the wave

Dont worry about highjacking a thread chap, you have questions, some one might have the answer, no probs,

 

[ScarletPimpernel]

Those pics of the penguins brought back some memories of doing aeromeds from FI. I still have my Deputy Dawg hat somewhere.

What images cannot convey, of course, is the fishy stink of the penguin colony. Quite revolting.

 

[Miyagi]

Great photos there Southey.

Melonfish, I've still got my Dangerous Brian hat.

 

[gsfgaz]

Brilliant photos , thanks for sharing