What a day. We hadn’t even begun our true adventure yet, and both Dad and I agreed it had been one of the best days of our lives.

After bussing from Ushuaia airport through the Tierra del Fuego National Park, we boarded a catamaran for a lunch cruise through the Beagle Channel. Lunch was, frustratingly, several courses long. I was itching to get outside and photograph, having seen birds swoop past the windows. I wanted to be out in the environment, not looking at it through the glass!

The rest of the afternoon was a glare of sunlight, still water and wildlife everywhere. Shags erupted from the water and flapped heavily away, Chilean Skua and Kelp Gulls drifted curiously overhead, and Black-browed Albatross (what we call mollymawks in New Zealand) soared in the distance, just close enough to taunt us.

We nosed up to a colony of South American Sea Lions, the males massive and blunt, the females slender and sleek. Dolphin Gulls skittered around, their red beaks and feet bright against the calm blue water. Endless belts of kelp swayed with the currents, wrinkled greeny leaves pressing against the glassy surface of the water. It was clear enough to see all the way to the bottom near the small islets of rock, splashed with flaming lichen or encrusted with shags and their leavings.