Falkland Islands Fly.Fishing

There is a popular saying about West Falkland:
In contrast to East Falkland, three “P’s” are missing: postman, police and priest.
I would add a fourth: people.

West Falkland is roughly two third the size of East Falkland and only about 120 people live in an area that covers nearly 4500 km².
It is therefore hardly surprising that in three days on extended tours we only encountered four (!) other cars. You could say: In contrast to that there is veritable traffic on a safari in African bush. As a result, when there is one of those rare sightings of other people you greet and wave at each other frenetically.

Connections between the few settlements are very good to drive; because on this isle, too, the government has made great efforts since the ´80s and literally stomped very good gravel roads out of the Camp’s soil.
You don't even need a driver's license to be on the road track, not only because West Falkland lacks the second of the aforementioned "P’s“, but because the whole of it is treated as private property.

On West Falkland, people most agreeably follow their (and our) favorite hobby in rivers or easily accessible bays.
Every fisherman from the Falkland Islands regards West Falkland as „the place to be“. So many days are spent with child and cone in the „Leisure World of West Falkland“. Afterwards everybody is eager to present selfies with their grand catch of the day. Naturally we wanted to be part of it and could not wait to get to know this isle and its rivers.
In retrospect, we could only confirm what we heard and agree to this:

"The West is the Best.“

There are two ways to get to West Falkland:

Either with a twin-engine Britten-Norman, which has been very reliably used for landings on unpaved runways since the start of its introduction in the 1960s.
It is operated by the Falkland Islands Government Air Service - i.e. FIGAS - with a fleet of five aircrafts. The pilots’ ability to master strong winds in these machines is truly impressive.
The flight schedules are irregular and are published including the names of the passengers on the local radio station in the evenings.

Or you can take the ferry connection from New Haven on East Falkland directly to Port Howard. The travel time is about 90 minutes.
Its schedule is also irregular depending on demand and weather conditions.
The "Concordia" is basically a supply ship for the transportation of heavy loads between all ports of the Falkland Islands.
So be prepared that your luggage including all your valuable rods and reels could be stowed in a locker between huge dusty military trucks and 200 sheep that are transported to the abattoir.
A very amusing experience!

The advantage of using the ferry is that there is no luggage limit like you are faced with on the plane.
You can park the car at the ferry terminal and visit a small gentoo penguin colony in New Haven beforehand.

With any luck, you could encounter large whales on your way to West Falkland, however you do not need any luck viewing the curious Commerson´s dolphin, which always accompany the ship.

Important to know:
If you plan to drive a rental car unfortunately it is still prohibited to bring your rental car from East Falkland to West Falkland. Therefore you should arrange a pickup in Port Howard with the owner of your vacation home or the lodge in which you are staying.