Page 18 - Kyalami Estates Issue 1 February 2024

Kyalami Estates Corporate Brand Bible Design 26
3.0 Folder (Inner)
TRAVEL

Ushuaia does not have a deepwater the impressive harbour viewed from Punta The next morning we had to say our
goodbyes to our fellow passengers and
crew and disembark from the ship. We had
however booked a few days in Rio and so
took a taxi to our hotel on Copacabana.
With two other passengers from the ship
we took a taxi to the botanical gardens.
The 140 hectare park lies at the foot of
the Corcovado mountain, far below the
outstretched right arm of the giant statue
of Christ the Redeemer. The gardens have
over 6000 species of tropical and sub-
tropical plants and trees as well as 140
bird species including toucans, tanagers,
flycatchers and woodcreepers.
The next day was new year’s eve and the
beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema
were crowded with people enjoying the
sunshine and reserving their places on the
beach for the evening fireworks display.
Moon over the From the top of our hotel we had excellent
Punte del Este views of the beach and the firework barges
moored just offshore. A kilometre inland
jetty and again we were ferried ashore Ballena, the upmarket residential districts from the beach was one of the infamous
in the life boats. Caroline Still, one of the of Beverley Hills and San Rafael, and the favelas or shanty towns that stretched
wildlife lecturers on board, asked Sue and museum of modern art. most of the way up a very steep hillside. On
I if we would like to join her on a birding Azamara has a tradition towards the end of our tour of Rio we had noticed a number
expedition with a local guide, Frederico. of favelas which were always built on very
This we agreed to and once ashore, a cruise of holding a White Night party. This steep ground in both commercial and
is held on the open deck and passengers
Frederico drove us to the local rubbish residential areas of the city.
dump where we sighted the three types dress primarily in white. The buffet is On the stroke of midnight, the fireworks
superb and the resident band plays long
of Caracara, Crested, Striated and White- heralded in the new year; hundreds of
throated. We then hiked up a steep hillside into the night. thousands of people on Copacabana
where we hoped to find the Magellanic Our final destination was Rio de Janeiro celebrated for many hours and even until
Horned Owl. Frederico found it for us and in Brazil. Brown Boobys and Magnificent after dawn on the new day.
we were able to photograph it. We decided Frigatebirds were plentiful in the harbour
not to go to the Tierra del Fuego National area and as we left the ship for a city Cruising on a luxury ship is an ideal way
Park as there were several cruise ships in tour, we could immediately feel the hot to visit far flung lands while enjoying
Ushuaia, so Frederico took us to a forest and rather humid conditions. The first excellent cuisine, accommodation and
with similar vegetation. Here we sighted stop on our tour was the architecturally entertainment, and meeting interesting
the very large Magellanic Woodpecker, unique Cathedral of Saint Sebastian which people from all over the world.
White-crested Elaenia, Thorn-tailed was inspired by the Mayan
Rayadito, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Chilean pyramids of Mexico and Anthony and Sue
Swallow, Elegant Crested Tinamou and completed in 1979. Shaped Cavanagh with television
Southern Lapwing. in a conical manner, there wildlife presenter Nigel
are rectangular stained- Marven, centre
The ship then sailed east along the Beagle glass walls that extend from
channel and into the Atlantic Ocean where the top to the bottom, while
our next port of call was Puerto Madryn natural ventilation maintains
on the Patagonian coast of Argentina. This a consistent temperature for
town was founded in the 1800s by settlers the 20,000 congregation.
from Wales and the Welsh language and
customs are kept alive in the town. Here We then joined the long
we took a tour to the Valdez peninsula queue at the cable car
where there was a colony of elephant seals station for our ride up to the
and Megallanic penguins. A flock of the halfway station on Sugar
flightless Rhea, similar to the ostrich, were Loaf Mountain. After about
seen on route, as well as the guanaco - a 40 minutes we boarded the
type of antelope, and a hairy armadillo. cable car along with about
60 other tourists and took
Punte del Este in Uruguay is often called the 90 second ride up to
the ‘Monaco’ of South America, and the the next level. A number of
dozens of expensive luxury yachts and restaurants catered for the
modern high-rise buildings overlooking the many tourists but after taking
harbour area gave rise to this comparison. a few photos our group joined
We took a tour of the city which included the queue for the second
the sculpture of La Mano (the hand) at La cable car to the top of Sugar
Barra beach showing five fingers emerging Loaf. Once at the top of the
from the sand. This “drowning” hand is a 396m granite monolith, one
warning to swimmers that the waters off enjoys panoramic views of the
La Barra are rough. Other sites included harbour and the city.

16 Kyalami Estates • CONNECT • Issue 1 • 2024