Shore Excursion

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This was published 10 years ago

Shore Excursion

Nesting: Punta Tombo penguin reserve can be home to up to 2 million penguins at a time.

Nesting: Punta Tombo penguin reserve can be home to up to 2 million penguins at a time.

Veteran cruisers Ron and Beryl Delaney make friends on their 48th cruise.

WHAT Visiting Argentina's Punta Tombo penguin reserve.

WHERE Punta Tombo is on the central coastline of Argentina, about 170 kilometres south of the port city of Puerto Madryn.

Cruise fans: Ron and Beryl Delaney.

Cruise fans: Ron and Beryl Delaney.

THE SHIP Ron cruised with his wife Beryl on Celebrity Infinity, as part of a South American tour-cruise package put together by cruise specialists Ecruising (ecruising.com.au). The Delaneys' cruise started in Buenos Aires, Argentina and took them around Cape Horn to Santiago, in Chile.

THE EXPERIENCE

"Punta Tombo is an important reserve for Magellanic penguins - they say there can be up to two million there at any given time.

"There were a lot less than that when we visited but we did see large numbers and we managed to see them right up close.

"The reserve is very tightly controlled and you are not allowed to leave the pathways or approach the penguins but they came right up to us and had a nibble at our shoes. I don't think they expected to get anything from us, it must have just been curiosity.

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"The Magellanic penguins are not as big as the Emperor penguins of Antarctica but they're a lot bigger than the fairy penguins we are used to in Australia.

"They arrive in the Punta Tombo area in September each year and stay until mid-March, when they migrate north to the Brazilian coast.

"The males arrive in Punta Tombo first and refurbish the nests from the previous year, then they are followed by the females and the breeding season begins.

"I would definitely recommend to anyone planning a South American cruise that they put Punta Tombo on their list."

VALUE FOR MONEY

The Delaneys visited Punta Tombo with the Shore Excursions Group (shoreexcursionsgroup.com), which charges from about $185 a person for the excursion from Puerto Madryn. "We thought it was excellent value," says Ron. "We were in a small group and arrived at Punta Tombo well ahead of the crowds, so by the time it started to get busy we'd already had a good look around."

As told to Jane E. Fraser

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