From Ushuaia we took a boat tour to estancia Haberton and from there a smaller boat to Martillo island. Estancia Haberton is located 80km south of Ushuaia. It used to be a sheep farming estancia but is now dedicated entirely to eco-tourism and to the protection of the 20 islands that it owns, as well as to the protection of the large colony of penguins that reside on Martillo island. We left Ushuaia mid-afternoon for the two and a half hour trip. Along the way we stopped a few times. One stop allowed us to watch seals and sea lions. Once at the estancia our group was divided into two smaller groups of twenty. The two groups took turns to go to Martillo island, in order to reduce the impact on the penguins. Martillo island is famous because you get to walk right among the penguins. We were lucky that day because a couple of king penguins was mixing with the local colony of long-tail gentoo penguins and Magellanic penguins.
A few kilometres of gravel road west of the city of Ushuaia leads you into Tierra Del Fuego National Park. Its blend of forest, ocean coastline, and of course remoteness are the attractions. We stayed a night in one of the primitive campgrounds and did some hiking. It reminded us of the coast of British Columbia in Canada but with a feeling of more remoteness. Somehow something tells you this the end of the world, if that makes sense on a round planet!
Sin Rumbo 