It may bill itself as the end of the world, and it may even feel like the end of the world, but once you have exhausted the city of Ushuaia there is more to explore in the countryside around it. Head east to the historic Estancia Harberton and you will find yourself in the midst of unspoilt beautiful countryside on the edge of the Beagle Channel.

Ushuaia

I think they did Jeremy Clarkson and crew a favor when they chased him out of Ushuaia : an untidy mix of old tin and new concrete that is rapidly encroaching on the forested mountains in an unattractive urban sprawl, albeit some of it quite colourful.

But the setting is sublime and somehow rises above it all. On a fine day, the ethereal mirrored blue of the water in the Beagle Channel has an otherworldly quality, the mountains on Navarino Island providing the perfect backdrop.

90% of the Antarctic cruise ships call in here, disgorging aimless wanderers in over insulated matching anoraks. They are spoilt for choice between the tacky tourist tat – penguin snowglobe anyone? Though I must admit that I quite like the penguin water jugs – or the duty free shops full of stuff that was overpriced to start with.

Darwin stopped by long enough in 1832 to be rude about the natives and for the Beagle Channel to get its name, but Ushuaia is really a story of the Bridges family, who arrived as missionaries and settlers in 1871.  Argentina was spurred to found the place officially in 1884 by the usual expedient of shipping people down that had no say in the matter: prisoners.

The new settlement had the effect of wiping two thirds of the native population out within three  months by the simplest means possible: measles. To protect his beleaguered flock, Bridges moved them and his family to Estancia Harberton in 1886, of which more later.

A three tier level of discrimination operates in the Museo Maritimo/Museo del Presidio complex, situated in the old prison in Ushuaia . The Tierra del Fuegians pay a minor amount or have free access on certain days. Argentinians pay AR$300, while foreigners pay AR$400, an exorbitant £20. I am sure they would like to charge the British ten times as much if they allowed them in at all – Falklands war hysteria is alive and kicking to the extent of labeling the English translation on the photos on the Malvinas memorial with an American flag.

Refusing to contribute to their usury, we skipped that one and had a look at the Museo del Fin del Mundo which was much more satisfying as it was free. In a 1912 bank, it had a little assortment of stuffed birdlife, native bits and pieces, and some shipwreck paraphernalia. The rather fine wooden figurehead of the Duchess of Albany, a British ship wrecked in 1893, is suspended from the ceiling – at one stage she was beheaded and used for target practice but the four bullet holes have been quite well patched.

Of course Ushuaia prides itself on being the southernmost city in the world and you don’t have to walk for very long along the sea front before encountering various signs to that effect with endless photo opportunities. The really cool thing is to visit the tourist office and get the ‘end of the world ‘ stamp in your passport: there are various options to choose from, but only a committed fanatic would ask for the ‘Las Malvinas son Argentinas’ one.

So we move to the Falkland Island question. As one drives around Argentina, one will frequently encounter road signs stating ‘Las Malvinas son Argentinas’ and every town will have its memorial. However, it is an even bigger issue in Ushuaia , what with it being the ‘capital’ of the islands and the ill fated Armada having headed out from there.

Whether defeat still rankles or it is something to do with living at the bottom of the world or not I don’t know, but people generally seem a lot more miserable. It all starts to get a bit tedious in the end and someone really needs to grab the country by its proverbial neck and give it a good shaking: You lost, get over it! Move on!

A Little History

So in a way, we were happy to follow in Thomas Bridges footsteps and decamp for Estancia Harberton.  Thomas was found under a Bristol bridge as a baby and was adopted by a missionary, so ending up in South America with a clean slate on which to write his family’s history.

On a visit to the mother country, he met Mary; within 5 weeks they were married and on a ship out. On arrival, she declared that she could never go back as she could never cope with such a journey again. However, she must have been made of pretty strong stuff as she survived the move to Harberton, ultimately had six children and did finally make it back to England to die in her bed in Kent at the ripe old age of 80.

The main house at Harberton is unusual for the era in that it is two storied; it was also a slightly unusual belated wedding present to the happy couple from the bride’s father. Shipped out from England, it enabled Thomas and Mary to recreate a corner of old England in their foreign land with even the charming lawned garden ariot with English plants and trees. Only the giant jawbone of a whale which serves as an unusual arch over the garden gate speaks of slightly more exotic climes.

Thomas gave up trying to convert his rapidly reducing flock of Indians in the end and concentrated on learning their language and compiling a dictionary. Apparently there is one old part-native woman left today in Puerto Williams but otherwise the Yamanas and Onas that he would have known are basically extinct. I find it ironic that while today we have the knowledge to communicate in their tongue, the Indians themselves have long ago been hunted into a footnote in the pages of history.

However, it is one of Thomas’s sons, Lucas, who is better known today as the author of Uttermost Part of the Earth. He grew up with the Indians and was able to speak their language fluently.   He tried to create a safe haven for them at Harberton, and, a couple of years before he died, he penned these memoirs of his life with them.

One of his sons, Tommy Goodall, is still in residence today, surrounded by 23 cats and several dogs, including a collie called Darwin. His late wife, Natalie, was an American biologist, and it was she who created the collection of marine animal skeletons that you can see today in the Museo Acatushun at the entrance to the property.

I would highly recommend this little museum : the skeletons are displayed above a painting of the life size animal, so one can really get a feel for them. Look at the delicate streamlined skeleton of a penguin then compare with their chief predator, the chunky leopard seal with his solid skull and big teeth. There are various dolphins, purpoises and whales; one dolphin has never even been seen alive, its existence only known from its body washing up on shore.  

Outside there is an array of large whale bones on the grass; the little hut nearby on the edge of the bay is where the specimens are prepared and it is amusing to see the whale skeletons corraled in the pen, looking for all the world like crocodiles in the grass.

Visiting the Estancia

A short drive further on will bring you to Estancia Harberton, a spick and span scattering of white, red roofed buildings. There is a restaurant above the parking lot which was closed on our visit, but there is a little tea room within the main house which had coffee and cakes and a very creaky floor. There are books and photographs you can browse whilst enjoying the lakeside view and awaiting the next tour.

This was an eclectic mix: first of all, we climbed a nearby hill to see the family graveyard, safely ensconced behind a white picket fence in an area of native trees. Our guide pointed out the different trees and their uses; the ubiquitous ones are lenga and nire, a type of beech, which have tiny leaves compared to the European version.

We dropped back down to the waters edge to visit the old shearing shed which doubled as a saw mill; the family no longer farm, preferring to concentrate on the tourism side. Boat shed and boat were next then a wander in the English garden before returning along the house, past a very dated kitchen.

We actually thoroughly enjoyed the tour with its stories about the family and potted history of the place. The entrance price of AR$290 covered both museum and estancia tour and we felt it was well worth it. By the way, keep an eye out for the old loos located on the ends of the piers: they’re brilliant.

The estancia is beautifully located on the sheltered side of a little peninsula on the Beagle Channel amidst stunning scenery. There is simple cabin accommodation available and you could not wish for a better view or more peaceful spot.

Rio Cambaceres

Harberton also has three free camping areas available: just get permission at the entrance booth. We camped at both Rio Varela and Rio Cambaceres and the latter is easily the most beautiful of them all. Pick a space high on the east bank of the river, and enjoy the heavenly view of the Beagle Channel . In the evenings you can watch the boats heading out towards Antarctica.

Also from this one it is a short walk to an isolated hill above the beach from where there is the most fantastic view of the bay below and the entire coastline. It enabled us to plan a walk for the following day to an obvious open topped hill, which in its turn led to another ridge, then a hidden lake, before we circled back to finish this perfect walk along the beach.

Although the estancia is no longer farmed, there are some remnants left: groups of wild horses and cattle. The horses quite often come out on the flats in the evening to the graze; the cattle are shyer and one generally hears the mournful lowing of the bulls rather than seeing them.

East along the Beagle

Harberton is about 90 km from Ushuaia, firstly north along the main Ruta 3 then through a picturesque river valley until finally the Beagle is reached. The views are super so another day we decided to follow the remaining gravel road east from the Estancia, a distance of about 50 km, to where it eventually finishes at a nondescript naval shed.

The road wound along the low hills giving great views over little scattered islands and old sheep yards standing above unspoilt bays. When we reached the boundary with the next estancia, ‘Moat’, we got out of the car near an old corral and ended up walking along rhe beach to another fallen down yard, the old rails covered with lichen and old man’s beard.  Rocky headlands provided vantage points and we sat for a while and watched the birds battling upwind.

Stepping into the forest to investigate an old shed paid dividends: a striking pair of black and red Magellanic woodpeckers. They were fascinating to watch : they really do hammer their heads into the trees and utter a cry somewhat like a crows as they flit around. A nearby mound turned out to be a native midden, where Indians once discarded shells.

We picnicked under an old lighthouse , great fronds of kelp waving in the clear water below us. A pair of appropriately named kelp geese stood nearby: the male is pure white, the female brown, a very odd couple indeed. On the little beach below us, a fox dug amongst the seaweed at the high tide mark and seemed to find plenty to eat.

There are a few small huts near the end of the road, but otherwise it is largely unspoilt. The views of the Beagle made it a very worthwhile drive, we enjoyed gently meandering, watching the birds or a wild bull that fled as soon as he saw us. The joy is in the detail.

Puerto Almanza

The last of our exploring in this area involved the 10 km detour from the Harberton junction west along the Beagle to and beyond Puerto Almanza. This was a ramshackle but characterful fishing village with lots of shacks advertised the giant king crabs for sale and colorful boats bobbing on the water.

The road ended in another abandoned naval outpost and we backtracked to near an existing military base. Below, on the flats beside Rio Almanza and on the Channel we found a great wild campsite with good views over to Puerto Williams and the Dientes on Isla Navarino.

The really cool thing about this camp though was the anti aircraft gun nearby. There was an artillery piece on the hill above and several within the army compound. They seemed too good to be abandoned but abandoned they were. One had a plaque saying it had been reassembled in 1958, which is shortly after the military took over, so I guess it might have been a general rearmourment move. And of course, Chile is just across the water and there are four disputed islands in the area that are presently owned by Chile so relations are not always cordial.

Feeling we had covered this side of the Beagle pretty thoroughly, we turned back towards Ushuaia. Now we would head west from there, into the Tierra del Fuego National Park and to the end of the iconic Ruta 3.

 

Exchange Rate £1 = ARG 24