Estancia Harberton

Historic Harberton dates from 1886, when missionary pioneer Thomas Bridges resigned from Ushuaia [1]’s Anglican mission to settle at his new estancia at Downeast, later renamed for the Devonshire home of his wife, Mary Ann Varder. Thomas Bridges, of course, authored the famous English-Yámana dictionary, and their son Lucas continued the literary tradition with The Uttermost Part of the Earth, his memoir of a boyhood and life among the indigenous Yámana and Ona (Selknam).

Harberton continues to be a family enterprise—its present manager and part-owner, Tommy Goodall, is Thomas Bridges’s great-grandson. While the wool industry has declined in recent years (though Harberton has about 1,000 cattle), the estancia has opened its doors to organized English- and Spanish-language tours of its grounds and outbuildings; these include the family cemetery, flower gardens, woolshed, woodshop, boathouse, and a native botanical garden whose Yámana-style lean-tos are far more realistic than their Disneyfied counterparts along Ushuaia [1]’s tourist train. Photographs in the woolshed illustrate the process of cutting firewood by axes and transporting it by raft and oxcart, and the tasks of gathering and shearing sheep.

In addition, American biologist Rae Natalie Prosser (Tommy Goodall’s wife) has created the Museo Acatushún de Aves y Mamíferos Marinos Australes (www.acatushun.com [2], US$2 pp), a bone museum stressing marine mammals but also seabirds and a few shorebirds; it’s open 10 a.m.–7 p.m. daily mid-October–mid-April. It’s also possible to visit Magellanic penguin rookeries, plus a small colony of gentoo penguins at Isla Martillo (Yecapasela) with Piratur for US$18 per person; the gentoos make this a more intriguing trip for those who’ve seen Magellanics elsewhere.

Estancia Harberton (tel. 02901/422742 in Ushuaia, ngoodall [at] tierradelfuego [dot] org [dot] ar) is 85 kilometers east of Ushuaia [1] via paved Ruta Nacional 3 and gravel Ruta Complementaria J. Mid-October–mid-April, it’s open for guided tours (US$4 pp) 10 a.m.–7 p.m. daily except Christmas, New Year’s, and Easter. Because of Harberton’s isolation there is no telephone and email communications can be slow, as they require a trip to Ushuaia.

With written permission, camping is permitted at unimproved sites; the estancia has also remodeled the former cookhouse (two rooms with 4–5 beds each and shared bath) and shepherds’ house (two rooms of three beds with private bath), which are available for US$60–80 double, depending on the room.

Harberton’s Casa de Té Mánacatush provides full board (US$30 pp) and also serves a tasty afternoon tea (US$4.50 pp) for nonguests.

In summer, several companies provide transportation to and from Ushuaia [1] (US$20–30 pp), but services change frequently. From Ushuaia’s Muelle Turístico, Piratur (tel. 02901/15-604646) offers a US$50 package with overland transportation and a visit to the penguin colony.

Catamaran tours from Ushuaia are more expensive and spend less time at Harberton, but do include the farm-tour fee.