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You are here > Inspire Me > Top 5 Ideas > Top 5 Places to find Rockhoppers
Top 5 Places to find Rockhoppers
- For a real rockhopper adventure, long-stay visitors may be lucky enough to arrange a trip to Kidney Island. Kidney Island is located off the coast of East Falkland and reached by a half-hour boat trip from Stanley. The tiny island is only 32 hectares (80 acres) in size and mainly covered by dense, mature tussac grass, in places 3 metres (10 feet) tall. Visitors land on the boulder beach in the south-east of the island and then walk very carefully, through the tussac grass, to the northern shores where penguins cling noisily to the steep cliffs. Trips must be undertaken with an experienced guide as a permit is needed to visit the island.
- The Murrell Farm, close to Stanley, offers day trips to cruise visitors to their rockhopper colony of around 450 breeding pairs. The trip includes an off-road driving experience, cakes served with hot drinks and the opportunity to browse local souvenirs. Longer-stay visitors to the Islands can also contact the farm to arrange an excursion.
- Some cruise itineraries include West Point Island where rockhopper penguins can be seen at the rocky promontory of the “Devil’s Nose”. This spectacular coastline is also home to black-browed albatross and is an easy walk from the main settlement. West Point Island can often be included as part of an island-hopping schedule for visitors on longer stays.
- Port Stephens, West Falkland is the gateway to stunning scenery and a colony of rockhopper penguins. Often overlooked but well worth a visit, this beautiful part of the Islands boasts unusual rock formations dubbed locally as “Indian Village” due to their wigwam shape.
- Along the southern side of the Long Gulch on Bleaker Island seven sub-colonies of rockhopper penguins breed, climbing up very steep cliffs with ease, bounding together with both feet and using their bill for support in difficult places.
