| Darwin & Goose Green
 Darwin and Goose Green are situated less than a mile apart on the
narrow neck of land that joins the southern Lafonia section of East
Falkland to the northern Wickham Heights region.
Darwin, a 35-minute drive from the Mount Pleasant airport, is a wonderful place to begin a Falkland Islands adventure. The modern, six-room Darwin House Lodge and Holiday Cottages offer comfortable accommodations, gourmet dining and a glimpse of life in "camp." Explore corrals dating back to the days when gauchos tended cattle in the area. A walk over the gorse covered heath offers a chance to spot ruddy-headed and upland geese, oystercatchers and, of course, sheep.
Darwin
Darwin Lodge owners Bonnie and Ken Greenland welcome you with homemade cakes and tea. Dinner's in the oven and the enticing aroma fills the lodge. Also on the greeting committee is a 10-day-old lamb the Greenlands have rescued. She's happy to share the garden with Polly, the year old ewe they bottle-fed last year. On chilly nights she sleeps in a box in the conservatory.
Click on photos for larger view.
Darwin House Lodge from FIGAS Island Hopper |
View of Choisel Sound from Darwin Lodge rooms |
Orphaned lamb waiting for its morning bottle |
Goose Green
From the lodge it's an easy walk down the gorse-lined road to Goose Green. This settlement is typical of the communities that dot the islands and are home to the workers and managers of the huge sheep farms that drive the local economy, in this case the 300,000 acre Goose Green farm. A peaceful village today, Goose Green was the site of the first land battle of the Falkland Islands' war with Argentina in 1982 and there are several reminders nearby. The Community Hall, where 114 local residents were imprisioned for almost two months by the Argentines, as well as the Argentine Cemetery where fallen occupying soldiers were buried are easily visited.
Bodie Creek, a 15-minute Land Rover drive from Goose Green, is the site of the now-unused Bodie Suspension Bridge. Built from a kit imported from England in 1824-25 to shorten the distance sheep needed to be driven from southern Lafonia to the shearing sheds in Goose Green, it is still an incredible sight.
Click on photos for larger view.
Historic Goose Green Community Hall |
Goose Green Quay |
Goose Green settlement |
Bodie Creek suspension bridge |
Corral south of Goose Green |
Curious sheep |
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Port Howard, on West Falkland Island, is one of the last remaining large farming settlements in the Falklands. Port Howard farm covers 200,000 acres and supports 47,000 pure bred Corriedale sheep. The Port Howard Lodge is a convenient and comfortable place to begin a vacation in the islands. The Falkland Islands Government Air Service (FIGAS) will schedule a flight to transport guests arriving at the Mount Pleasant airport to one of the two airstrips at Port Howard. Managers Gwen and Jim Hunter welcome guests with tea and an introduction to Port Howard. Noted for its excellent trout fishing, there is golf nearby and plenty to explore within the settlement. The sheep shearing sheds and jetty are an easy walk from the lodge. Those wishing to venture farther afield can engage a Land Rover and driver for the half-day trip to view penguins at Fox Bay or the full day across the island to Hill Cove and Turkey Rocks with a chance to view the only British miniature horses in the Falklands. 
West Point Island is a destination accessible only to those lucky enough to cruise the Falkland Islands on one of the several ships that have added this unique stop to their itinerary. The island's spectacular cliffs are home to huge colonies of black-browed albatrosses. Rockhopper penguins also breed among the rocks and Commerson's dolphins favor the waters surrounding the island.
