By Will…We left our cozy and warm hostel in Peuto Varas in the early hours of a rather stormy and drizzly morning, had it not been for our mission to begin the famous southern highway another few hours kip would have been a much easily taken option. Fortunately our 4am start paid off because as we neared the tiny fishing hamlet of La Arena where the ferry departs for Puelche the orderly line of traffic we had been in all at once seemed to realise there may not be enough places on the ferry, presumably to make the ensuing rally more fun the last 5km of cliff side road was undergoing major and muddy earthworks. The V8 earned its keep and I kept our place in the queue slightly relieved to roll onto the first of what would be four ferries to get us to the bottom of the Carretera.
The thirty minute sailing was quickly over and after some entertainment watching a large camper do battle with the steep ramp our wheels were soon eating up the gravel again. This hour long stretch of road was probably some of the roughest we encountered on the trip so far, the large frequent potholes reducing our progress to 20km/hr at times. We arrived at the ferry terminal in Hornopiren to a busy scene of cars, campers, utes, motorbikes and cyclists. Rochelle went to organise us a ticket while I sorted a few things in the vehicle. The previous day in Puerto Varas we had investigated all the ferry crossings we would be making and were told by no less then two information centres that "no" a ticket was not needed before hand and we should just arrive early as the places were based on order of arrival. If only that was the case! Rochelle came back empty handed and we watched the fully booked ferry arrive and depart without us onboard. Luck was on our side though and there was another sailing at midday, after some nervous moments when a large bus arrived just before the ferry was due to depart we were given the nod and were the second to last vehicle on before the ramp came up. This was the longest crossing taking just over three hours so we got a prime position on the rooftop deck to take in the views of the surrounding fiords. While filming a time lapse of the crossing we meet all sorts of people, most notably Luis and Lacy from California they were driving a 1980's Toyota Landcruiser and had spent the last three years driving south. We grilled them for info and eager to see how experienced overlanders do it we made a plan to camp together for the night in Parque Pumalin later that day.
The thirty minute sailing was quickly over and after some entertainment watching a large camper do battle with the steep ramp our wheels were soon eating up the gravel again. This hour long stretch of road was probably some of the roughest we encountered on the trip so far, the large frequent potholes reducing our progress to 20km/hr at times. We arrived at the ferry terminal in Hornopiren to a busy scene of cars, campers, utes, motorbikes and cyclists. Rochelle went to organise us a ticket while I sorted a few things in the vehicle. The previous day in Puerto Varas we had investigated all the ferry crossings we would be making and were told by no less then two information centres that "no" a ticket was not needed before hand and we should just arrive early as the places were based on order of arrival. If only that was the case! Rochelle came back empty handed and we watched the fully booked ferry arrive and depart without us onboard. Luck was on our side though and there was another sailing at midday, after some nervous moments when a large bus arrived just before the ferry was due to depart we were given the nod and were the second to last vehicle on before the ramp came up. This was the longest crossing taking just over three hours so we got a prime position on the rooftop deck to take in the views of the surrounding fiords. While filming a time lapse of the crossing we meet all sorts of people, most notably Luis and Lacy from California they were driving a 1980's Toyota Landcruiser and had spent the last three years driving south. We grilled them for info and eager to see how experienced overlanders do it we made a plan to camp together for the night in Parque Pumalin later that day.
The third and last ferry crossing for the day took us from Fiordo Largo to Caleta Gonzalo, as these were only small ferrys taking around 10 cars there were several trips made before everyone was across. After waiting for Luis and Lacy to arrive on the last one we drove in convoy to a peaceful lake side camp, the rest of the night was spent hearing stories about their amazing adventures and gaining some good tips for ours.
The next morning saw us head off separately with our mission being to find and climb the still smoking Volcan Chaiten, finding it was not a problem as we soon came across the first of several burnt and ash filled valleys, these were an amazing sight being such a stark contrast to the lush green forest surrounds. The volcano had made headlines in 2008 when it unexpectedly and violently erupted causing huge damage to nearby Chaiten and forcing the population to evacuate. The government tried to close the town down, cutting off water and power services however the determined residents with the help of diesel generators managed to keep the town open forcing the government to reverse its decision. The owner of a shop where we brought some white gas showed me a line on the wall where the ash had sat when he returned, it was easily more than a meter. An hours climb towards the volcano from the road took us to a spectacular lookout point right on the edge of the caldera, the massive power of the explosion obvious by the smashed remains of what were once large trees. The day had turned into another scorcher an we had run out of water so we decided to call it quits at the look out and head for a swim in the cool creek by the car park.
After leaving Chaiten the Carretera is paved for some distance so we made quick progress on the luxurious tarmac. At this point I should mention hitchhikers, we must have hit hitchhiking high season because at every bus shelter, road intersection and little town there they were lurking by the road, I swear I could have taken a sixty seat coach down the Carretera and had it full on the first day! Our goal for the day was to make it to the rafting mecca of Futaleufu where we wanted to tryout some of the grade five white water on offer. Along the way we came across Brian and his girlfriend Stavit from Israel, they were traveling north with another couple and also wanted to get to Futaleufu, so with Stavit riding shotgun and Rochelle squeezed into the middle front seat of the Dodge (don't worry Wendy it has a seatbelt) we made room amongst the packs for Brian in the back and headed up the valley. After getting a few sights of the huge rapids on the way we investigated the rafting in town, only to find that it was about twice as expensive as we had been expecting, our minds were made up when Brian told us that we could do a 3 day grade 4-5 rafting tour in Peru for around the same cost. Futaleufu was like one big tourist operation guiding services were everywhere and the usually quiet plaza in previous towns was pumping with loud dance music and filled with young people. We camped with the Israeli couple and another couple they were friends with and had an awesome night with hilarious stories and great advice for the countries to come.
During the journey back to the Carretera Rochelle was driving and as she regularly does heard a 'funny noise' under the car, I knew what she heard was just a rock but to keep her happy I jumped out and had a look around. To my surprise half the front of the dodge was covered in bright green radiator fluid…. shit. After a quick assessment we diagnosed that the rough roads had taken their toll on the left side radiator mount, causing it to crack at the join to the radiator itself. "Not much to be done for the moment" a top up of water and we were on the move again, keeping a close eye on the temperature gauge. We made it no problem to the next town where we got gas and continued south, topping up the radiator as the temp gauge required it. Unfortunately with the day getting to its hottest point and us running out of water the truck was now edging towards the red line. We nursed it to the next river and parked up under the shade of a lone tree. After a couple of hours cooling and a fresh supply of water we were on the move again.
The next day after a nice river side camp and some semi successful bread making we decided we should check out one of the more recommended glaciers in the area, Ventisquero Colgante. Feeling a little poorer now due to the impending radiator repair we employed a slightly dodgy technique to enter the national park which involved I guess a form of people smuggling… Rochelle hid in the back with a blanket over her. After a few tense moments we were in and at a fifty percent discount, although the cost for a foreigner was still four times the price of a national. While in the park we met two Chilean brothers Javier and Francisco who were part way through a southern climbing trip. After a broken conversation through another guy who spoke both English and Spanish we hatched a plan to take them south and do some climbing together at Cerro Castillo. Little did we know but this was the beginning of one of our most memorable weeks of the trip despite us not speaking Spanish and them not speaking and English!
The next day after a nice river side camp and some semi successful bread making we decided we should check out one of the more recommended glaciers in the area, Ventisquero Colgante. Feeling a little poorer now due to the impending radiator repair we employed a slightly dodgy technique to enter the national park which involved I guess a form of people smuggling… Rochelle hid in the back with a blanket over her. After a few tense moments we were in and at a fifty percent discount, although the cost for a foreigner was still four times the price of a national. While in the park we met two Chilean brothers Javier and Francisco who were part way through a southern climbing trip. After a broken conversation through another guy who spoke both English and Spanish we hatched a plan to take them south and do some climbing together at Cerro Castillo. Little did we know but this was the beginning of one of our most memorable weeks of the trip despite us not speaking Spanish and them not speaking and English!
By Rochelle…The brothers were in tourist mode like us and enjoyed stopping along the way to take photos and look at things. They were happy to stop and walk in the recommended and free Enchanted Forest. We parked with the rest of the cars and were excited to see another Dodge the same as ours complete with jerry cans and a bed in the back, also we could see that they had Countdown cooler bags in the car, could it be we thought another NZ couple with the same truck as us??? Lets see if we can find out we thought as we set off into the forest. We had no idea what was in this forest as we had only been told that it was all mossy and green like a fairy tale or like NZ it turns out… but it also had a little glacier at the end and a lake filled with small ice burgs that we took pleasure in jumping around on with a few close calls that almost resulted in an icy swim. The water can't have been too cold though as down steam and on the trail we caught a foreign couple starkers having a wash, I saw it all but they didn't seam too bothered. On they way up to the glacier we also found the owners of the other Dodge a cool German couple called Thomas and Kathrin who explained their cooler bags with their recent trip to Australia. We exchanged numbers and agreed to meet up again as we were both interested in crossing into Argentina as far south as possible.
That evening the brothers recommended a stop on a huge curved bridge where they showed us an old rock climbing route and Will spotted some huge Trout swimming up the rapids. The brothers played with the idea that we should abseil over the bridge to the rocks below about 30m. Why not thought Will and I, so much to the delight of the gathering onlookers we abseiled twice each over the bridge. Possibly this was a test from the brothers to see if we had what it took to go climbing with them…and we must have passed. That night we camped next to a river claiming the good spot just before another car turned up.
Our leaking radiator was still a big problem and we stopped in the larger town of Coyhaique to see about getting it fixed of course it also happened to be a Sunday so the guy couldn't do it until the following day! Stuff it, we decided to get some food supplies for the climb and head south towards Cerro Castillo. Though only after seeing the Germans again by chance and hatching a border crossing plan for later. The brothers Javier and Francisco had out done themselves and proved how nice Chileans are by buying a Mutton leg for our camp near the foot of the mountain which worked out really nice as it was also my birthday. So despite the thousands and thousands of large biting horse flies that had swarmed us until dusk we ate like kings and our communication skills improved with every drink.
That morning we packed our climbing packs as fast as possible while the flies attacked and thought we would finally be going climbing. No rush from the brothers though as we all stopped to photograph a loan wild deer near the road. Finally at the start of the track the brothers went to talk to the information centre while I contemplated where to go for a pee… I saw a good spot on the other side of a hedge and away I went though on my return I wasn't watching my head and scratched it rather hard on a branch. I touched the scratch and felt blood, lots of blood was now dripping down my face as I walked back into the information centre looking for Will. Everybody saw me and rushed to my aid, it was only a small cut but boy did it bleed and I needed a wash so the lady kindly lead me to the bathroom which I should have just asked for in the first place!! Will cleaned me up in no time but talk about drama. Finally we parked the car put on our packs and begun one of the more hellish assents of our lives. It was hot like never before, the biting flies were intense roughly forty per person and the trail was far from clear. I was sweating either way but my jacket at least provide some relief from the flies. Finally we made it to a nice river camp and as the sun set the flies left. The next day we walked only a short way, that with an earlier start we could have walked the day before. But it meant plenty of time to polish our rope work with the brothers help and set up a zip line across the river with a quick practice for the real thing at 3am in the dark.
That evening the brothers recommended a stop on a huge curved bridge where they showed us an old rock climbing route and Will spotted some huge Trout swimming up the rapids. The brothers played with the idea that we should abseil over the bridge to the rocks below about 30m. Why not thought Will and I, so much to the delight of the gathering onlookers we abseiled twice each over the bridge. Possibly this was a test from the brothers to see if we had what it took to go climbing with them…and we must have passed. That night we camped next to a river claiming the good spot just before another car turned up.
Our leaking radiator was still a big problem and we stopped in the larger town of Coyhaique to see about getting it fixed of course it also happened to be a Sunday so the guy couldn't do it until the following day! Stuff it, we decided to get some food supplies for the climb and head south towards Cerro Castillo. Though only after seeing the Germans again by chance and hatching a border crossing plan for later. The brothers Javier and Francisco had out done themselves and proved how nice Chileans are by buying a Mutton leg for our camp near the foot of the mountain which worked out really nice as it was also my birthday. So despite the thousands and thousands of large biting horse flies that had swarmed us until dusk we ate like kings and our communication skills improved with every drink.
That morning we packed our climbing packs as fast as possible while the flies attacked and thought we would finally be going climbing. No rush from the brothers though as we all stopped to photograph a loan wild deer near the road. Finally at the start of the track the brothers went to talk to the information centre while I contemplated where to go for a pee… I saw a good spot on the other side of a hedge and away I went though on my return I wasn't watching my head and scratched it rather hard on a branch. I touched the scratch and felt blood, lots of blood was now dripping down my face as I walked back into the information centre looking for Will. Everybody saw me and rushed to my aid, it was only a small cut but boy did it bleed and I needed a wash so the lady kindly lead me to the bathroom which I should have just asked for in the first place!! Will cleaned me up in no time but talk about drama. Finally we parked the car put on our packs and begun one of the more hellish assents of our lives. It was hot like never before, the biting flies were intense roughly forty per person and the trail was far from clear. I was sweating either way but my jacket at least provide some relief from the flies. Finally we made it to a nice river camp and as the sun set the flies left. The next day we walked only a short way, that with an earlier start we could have walked the day before. But it meant plenty of time to polish our rope work with the brothers help and set up a zip line across the river with a quick practice for the real thing at 3am in the dark.
By 4am we had already had a quick breakfast, zipped lined across the river and walked to the snow line. Turned out we had gotten up a little early as the sun had still not come up which we needed before our first ever traverse of a glaciated ice field so we had a short siesta. As the real climbing began we roped up and scaled some pretty serious ice before ascending the glacier with its maze of huge crevasses. Next we reached knee deep snow and it was a hard slog to the top for Javier and Will at the front but finally we made it. Ecstatic we ate our huge lunch of crackers, salami, juice and chocolate while the brothers nibbled their two muesli bars. After taking in the view we descended quickly through the soft and mildly avalanching snow. Back at camp we decided that the next day we would back track to Coyhaique to get the radiator fixed and give the brothers a ride back to the bus station.
Back in Coyhaique we said our said good byes to Javier and Francisco then dropped the Dodge off to get the radiator fixed. After lunch and spending too long at the cafe with free wifi we returned to the still unfinished Dodge. Not long after they proclaimed it fixed we turned on the car only to see several small leaks they had missed with the solder. Again we waited while they soldered them up and $200 later we were on our way. Only now as I write this over two months and many more problems later can we confirm what a waste of money this was as they can't have taken out the whole radiator like they said they had and thus did a very average repair job that was leaking again less than 300km later! That night we arrived in the dark to a known campground where we had our first luxurious hot shower after a week of cold river swims. The next day was filled with the post trek domestic duties of washing gear and cleaning out the car, rice and soy sauce spills included after the chaos of having four people in our already full car. Finally at 6pm we had reloaded the car and hit the road only to camp again two hours later next to another river. Of course I was driving and left the lights on so in the morning we had to flag down several drivers until we found one with jumper leads willing to drive down and jump us. The Dodge didn't appear to like this very much and as soon as we put it into drive it kept stalling. The jump starting must affect the computer and it wouldn't idle so after a bit of high rev driving from Will we were back on the road and the Dodge eventually came right. Meanwhile I decided maybe we did have enough money to buy our own jumper leads after all.
That day we made it to Cochiane where we noticed the engines temperature was up again and we could see puffs of steam from under the bonnet, so much for our expensive repair! Not to worry Cochiane had this amazing shop full of everything you could ever want: food, veggies, ice cream, shoes, material, clothing, guns (yes even handguns), chainsaws and best off all car accessories. We brought every possible thing we could think off to fix the leak including two types of stop leak and an epoxy resin to put over the crack. However Will refused to use any of this until he had had the chance to clean the area and apply them properly so with another water top up we headed out of town on the dusty road.
Ahead of our schedule to meet the Germans in Villa O'Higgins we side tracked to the street-less sea side town of Caleta Tortel where we discovered we had a flat tyre thanks to the sharp gravelled access road. Will changed it in a jiffy and we meandered around the board walks of the peaceful town. We couldn't decided if it was a gorgeous place or weather the sewerage going directly into the sea below the board walks kind of ruined it. As evening came we camped beside the impressive Rio Baker and next morning I woke to a warm solar shower and freshly made banana pancakes, thanks Will! We also noticed that another tyre was a bit flat so we pumped it up and drove to the final and free ferry crossing on the Carretera.
Back in Coyhaique we said our said good byes to Javier and Francisco then dropped the Dodge off to get the radiator fixed. After lunch and spending too long at the cafe with free wifi we returned to the still unfinished Dodge. Not long after they proclaimed it fixed we turned on the car only to see several small leaks they had missed with the solder. Again we waited while they soldered them up and $200 later we were on our way. Only now as I write this over two months and many more problems later can we confirm what a waste of money this was as they can't have taken out the whole radiator like they said they had and thus did a very average repair job that was leaking again less than 300km later! That night we arrived in the dark to a known campground where we had our first luxurious hot shower after a week of cold river swims. The next day was filled with the post trek domestic duties of washing gear and cleaning out the car, rice and soy sauce spills included after the chaos of having four people in our already full car. Finally at 6pm we had reloaded the car and hit the road only to camp again two hours later next to another river. Of course I was driving and left the lights on so in the morning we had to flag down several drivers until we found one with jumper leads willing to drive down and jump us. The Dodge didn't appear to like this very much and as soon as we put it into drive it kept stalling. The jump starting must affect the computer and it wouldn't idle so after a bit of high rev driving from Will we were back on the road and the Dodge eventually came right. Meanwhile I decided maybe we did have enough money to buy our own jumper leads after all.
That day we made it to Cochiane where we noticed the engines temperature was up again and we could see puffs of steam from under the bonnet, so much for our expensive repair! Not to worry Cochiane had this amazing shop full of everything you could ever want: food, veggies, ice cream, shoes, material, clothing, guns (yes even handguns), chainsaws and best off all car accessories. We brought every possible thing we could think off to fix the leak including two types of stop leak and an epoxy resin to put over the crack. However Will refused to use any of this until he had had the chance to clean the area and apply them properly so with another water top up we headed out of town on the dusty road.
Ahead of our schedule to meet the Germans in Villa O'Higgins we side tracked to the street-less sea side town of Caleta Tortel where we discovered we had a flat tyre thanks to the sharp gravelled access road. Will changed it in a jiffy and we meandered around the board walks of the peaceful town. We couldn't decided if it was a gorgeous place or weather the sewerage going directly into the sea below the board walks kind of ruined it. As evening came we camped beside the impressive Rio Baker and next morning I woke to a warm solar shower and freshly made banana pancakes, thanks Will! We also noticed that another tyre was a bit flat so we pumped it up and drove to the final and free ferry crossing on the Carretera.
Finally that afternoon we made it to Villa O'Higgins where we meet up with the German couple Kathrin and Thomas and discovered that our border crossing crew had increased. Now including an Australian family of four in a Nissan Pathfinder and a Dutch family of three in a Troopie Toyota. We told them about our flat tyre and the campground owner directed us to the local Gomeria, unfortunately he also had a separate day job and couldn't fix it until 9pm so we spent an enjoyable night swapping stories with our new friends and drinking wine. By now the rumours about the border river crossing were rife with everything from it was "no problem" to "impossible" keeping us intrigued. As luck would have it the next morning we awoke to another flat tyre on the other side so at 7am we took it to the Gomeria but again he said he couldn't do it until 9pm. Feeling bad that we would be holding up the others we broke the news only to find out that everyone else needed fuel and the only fuel pump in town wasn't pumping. The gas station owner told the others to come back at 8am the next morning so with our plans on hold we all escaped the sun in the refugio and enjoyed some down time cooking in an oven and organising some of our thousands of photos.
After refitting the patched tyre that evening we left the campsite and the others, camping onroute to the border. At first light we drove until the road came to an abrupt stop at the large Rio Mayer. Here our enquires about making the border crossing were met with a friendly but firm "No authorisation" reply from the local Carabineros. The road lead into the braided Rio Mayer but according to the Carabineros it was the deep and swiftly flowing Rio Carrera further upstream that was completely impassible all but for the coldest winter months of the year when the flow was at its lowest. After all the speculation of the last few days we figured this might happen so we hightailed it north to the next closest crossing at Paso Roballos. After driving all day on the typically narrow and rough Chilean roads we again had a riverside camp to ourselves just before the border. The next day entering Argentina was a fast and hassle free five minute border crossing. Making a beeline for the Atlantic coast the effects of crossing to the eastern side of the Andes was immediately obvious, while still gravel the road improved dramatically and the lush dense forest of Patagonian Chile gave way to barren and dry plains. Straight away we missed the constant rivers and lakes of Chile now being faced with camping in an endless windy desert and a road just far enough away from the ocean that you couldn't see it. Over the next few days we put in some huge miles and after re-entering Chile for a quick but rough ferry trip across the straights of Magallanes it was back into Argentina, down the Ruta 3 and after 55 days and 5,553km we had finally made it to the end of the world and the official start of our trip USHUAIA!!!
Rochelle & Will
After refitting the patched tyre that evening we left the campsite and the others, camping onroute to the border. At first light we drove until the road came to an abrupt stop at the large Rio Mayer. Here our enquires about making the border crossing were met with a friendly but firm "No authorisation" reply from the local Carabineros. The road lead into the braided Rio Mayer but according to the Carabineros it was the deep and swiftly flowing Rio Carrera further upstream that was completely impassible all but for the coldest winter months of the year when the flow was at its lowest. After all the speculation of the last few days we figured this might happen so we hightailed it north to the next closest crossing at Paso Roballos. After driving all day on the typically narrow and rough Chilean roads we again had a riverside camp to ourselves just before the border. The next day entering Argentina was a fast and hassle free five minute border crossing. Making a beeline for the Atlantic coast the effects of crossing to the eastern side of the Andes was immediately obvious, while still gravel the road improved dramatically and the lush dense forest of Patagonian Chile gave way to barren and dry plains. Straight away we missed the constant rivers and lakes of Chile now being faced with camping in an endless windy desert and a road just far enough away from the ocean that you couldn't see it. Over the next few days we put in some huge miles and after re-entering Chile for a quick but rough ferry trip across the straights of Magallanes it was back into Argentina, down the Ruta 3 and after 55 days and 5,553km we had finally made it to the end of the world and the official start of our trip USHUAIA!!!
Rochelle & Will