natural selection
Swimming with sea lions, ogling ancient tortoises, spotting rare finches and flamingos…It’s just your average day in the Galápagos, as David McGonigal can attest.
Normally, one walks slowly on the footpath to avoid snails, pets and – if one is particularly fond of animals – ants. Today, I am concentrating on avoiding iguanas, masked boobies, albatross and lava lizards. Over my right shoulder, sea lions stick their heads up out of the surf to survey their next landing spots; penguins swim languidly past the shore eyeing off groups of tourists.
I’m in the Galápagos – a land that Charles Darwin, in The Voyage of the Beagle, describes as a place where “we seem to be brought somewhat near to that great fact – that mystery of mysteries – the first appearance of new beings on this earth.”
“There’s one! No, it’s gone,” my walking companion declares as we step gingerly along a track over a bed of lava. The elusive finch that Darwin wrote extensively about is not as easy to spot as the seals and penguins. “Probably just a sparrow,” mutters another person in our group, who had injured his ankle earlier in the week while seeking out a rare bird.
We are doing our best to walk in Darwin’s footsteps across what is arguably the most awe-inspiring animal kingdom in the world. It’s not an easy task. The Galápagos – 15 main islands, four smaller ones and 107 rocks and islets scattered across the equator in the Pacific, 973 kilometres off the coast of Ecuador – are dominated by rough paths across piles of lava and pit craters.
Darwin was just 26 years old when he arrived here in 1835 and spent around 19 days ashore visiting four of the Galápagos’ islands. More than 20 years passed before he published On the Origin of Species in 1859. We fast learn that it’s much easier to see the landscape that befell Darwin from the comfort of a cruise ship.
Anyone who takes a weeklong cruise around the islands covers much the same ground as Darwin did when he came here on the HMS Beagle. Our yacht, Isabela II, makes two landings each day, allowing us to visit 10 islands that span the entire archipelago, each offering a unique taste of natural selection.
Española, the southernmost islet, is popular for its abundance of wildlife: marine iguanas, hood mockingbirds and swallow-tailed gulls, among other fauna. On the island of Isabela, the largest landmass in the archipelago, you can see the only penguins that live in the northern hemisphere as well as flightless cormorants, brown pelicans and Sally Lightfoot crabs.
Isabela II carries 40 passengers, which makes it large by Galapagos standards, and is one of the most luxurious vessels to plough these waters. It was refurbished recently and now each of its cabins is spacious and comes with a private shower and toilet. Most importantly, the ship has three highly trained English-speaking naturalist guides aboard who know these islands inside out. Isabela II is also fast and equipped to travel by night, which means we get to visit islands that slower vessels on shorter voyages are not able to reach.
Around 90 percent of the Galápagos archipelago is designated national parkland; less than 30,000 people live across the islands. Still, tourists are on the increase and as a result, regulations have been put into effect to restrict the number of visitors touring the islands in coming years. Moreover, there are strict guide-to-visitor ratios and rules banning smoking and mobile phones on most excursions.
While many of the animals we encounter simply ignore us, the sea lions are rather more inquisitive. The highlight of my fortnight in the islands is snorkelling and diving with these delightful creatures. One swims right up to my facemask and deliberately blows bubbles in my face. On another occasion, I round a point – on land, this time – to see four young sea lions coming towards me. They are so excited to have company that they wriggle and squirm upside down through the sand like young puppies. I walk the length of the beach with some 10 sea lions tumbling and spinning behind me.
My sea lion-studded excursions aside, most Galápagos diving expeditions are not for the faint-hearted. The northern islands are almost tropical but are regularly cooled by the Humboldt Current, which swings near the southern islands bringing colder water, not to mention powerful currents. The fast flow also transports nutrients aplenty, attracting huge stingrays and hammerhead sharks.
While animals across the islands share the trait of nonchalance with regard to humans, that’s where the similarities end. I am fascinated by how different the same species of animal appears on different Galápagos islands, just metres apart. On some islands, the marine iguanas are black while on others, they are red. On one island we see blue-footed boobies nesting on the ground; on another, we see red-footed boobies nesting in trees. Every day is one of discovery – will we witness flamingos today or flightless cormorants drying their wings in the sun? Will we be stopped by iguanas and fur seals or be forced to slow our walk along a narrow trail to keep pace with a waved albatross waddling ahead?
While we see lots of birds and certainly plenty of other “wild” animals, the one that I am most excited to see, the tortoise, is only to be found in the Charles Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora, on the south coast of Santa Cruz Island. A Galápagos tortoise can weigh up to 250 kilograms and some sources report male tortoises exceeding 300 kilograms. There are less than 15,000 Galápagos tortoises remaining in the wild today, most inhabiting the highlands of Santa Cruz. Fortunately, the research station has a breeding program, which will, its staff hope, result in the reproduction of more of these gentle giants in coming years.
It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the wildlife you encounter on the Galápagos – so overwhelmed, in fact, that you forget the dramatic scenery: the imposing flooded crater-harbour of Tower (Bird) Island; the beautiful beaches and volcanic spire of Bartolomé Island; and the raw, black lava beds. It’s here, nestled amid windswept foliage, that I finally spot an elusive finch. •
Photography by David McGonigal.
getting there
There are no direct flights between Australia and Ecuador. The most direct route is with Qantas or LAN to Santiago, Chile, from where there are many connecting flights to the Galápagos Islands.
• Qantas: 131-313; qantas.com.au
• LAN: lan.com
getting around
BFirst Travel offers set and personalised tours around Ecuador including cruises around the Galápagos. 1300-763-338; bfirsttravel.com
Adventure World and Gap Adventures also run Galápagos excursions that take you around the islands. 1300-295-049; adventureworld.com.au, GapAdventures.com/Galapagos
when to go
While the Galápagos are pleasant to visit year-round – the Humboldt Current keeps the water cool continually – the islands are at their busiest from June through September and December to January.
further information
The South American Travel Centre offers a wealth of information on Galápagos tours and travel. 1800-655-051;
satc.com.au
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