Port Stephens

Port Stephens sits at the southwestern corner of West Falkland where the land ends in some of the highest cliffs in the islands, dropping into the South Atlantic with rockhopper penguins nesting on the ledges and sea birds working the updraughts. Calm Head and the Arch Islands are along this coast. The settlement is a working sheep farm and the walk out to the cliffs takes a couple of hours.

History

Port Stephens is an old sheep settlement and harbour on West Falkland: a census of 1888 counted 39 people living in four houses and eight shepherds' huts. In 1987 it hosted the annual Camp games, which each settlement takes its turn to hold, and for the occasion its population swelled from 27 to 200 (Wikipedia, Port Stephens, Falkland Islands).

What you'll find

• The cliffs - among the highest in the islands, dropping straight into the Atlantic.
• The rockhopper colony - penguins nesting on the ledges below the tops.
• The Arch Islands - the rock formations off this stretch of coast.
• The working farm - the sheep station the settlement is built around.

When to go

October to March is the breeding season and the practical window. Rockhoppers leave by April. Winter weather on this coast is severe.

Before you go

The walk to the cliffs takes a couple of hours over rough ground with no shelter. Accommodation is limited to the settlement. The wind on the cliff tops is genuinely dangerous near the edge.

Nearby

Fox Bay is northeast, and Weddell Island is west.

Key facts