The unsealed RCj is one of the two most interesting
branch roads on the island, offering spectacular views of the
Beagle Channel and the chance to visit Patagonia's most historic
estancia, Harberton. The turn-off for the RCj is 40km south of
Ushuaia on the RN3. Twenty-five kilometres from the turn-off, you
emerge from the forested route by a delightful lagoon fringed by
the skeletons of Nothofagus beeches, and can look right
across the Beagle Channel to the Chilean naval town of Puerto
Williams. A few hundred metres beyond here, the road splits: take
the left-hand fork heading eastwards across rolling open country
and past a famous clump of banner trees , swept back in
exaggerated quiffs by the unremitting wind.
Ten kilometres beyond the turn-off and 85km east of Ushuaia, is
Estancia Harberton itself, an ordered assortment of
whitewashed buildings on the shores of a sheltered bay (10am-4pm;
tel 02901/422742, fax 422743). Though Harberton is assuredly
scenic, it's the historical resonance of the place that fleshes out
any visit: this farmstead - or more particularly the family that
settled here - played a role out of all proportion to its size in
the region's history. Apart from being a place where scientists and
shipwrecked sailors would be assured assistance, Harberton
developed into a place of voluntary refuge for groups of Yámana,
Selk'nam and Mannekenk - somewhere where even the warlike Selk'nam
would refrain from hostilities. It was built by the Reverend Thomas
Bridges, the man who authored one of the two seminal Fuegian texts,
the Yámana-English dictionary, and was the inspiration for Lucas
Bridges' classic text, Uttermost Part of the Earth .
Today, the estancia is owned by Tommy Goodall, a great-grandson
of Thomas Bridges, and his wife, Natalie, a renowned biologist who
is currently trying to raise funds for a Marine Mammal Museum.
Entrance to Harberton is by guided tour only (45min-1hr
30min; mid-Oct to mid-April 10am-7pm; last tour 5.30pm; $7). You
will be shown the copse on the hill, where you learn about the
properties of the island's plantlife, as well as see authentic
reconstructions of indigenous Yámana dwellings, the family
cemetery, and the old shearing shed. The Mánacatush
tearoom is the only part of the main estancia building open
to the public: here you can enjoy afternoon tea ($9), with large
helpings of cake and delicious home-made jams, or - if you book two
days in advance - a generous three-course lunch ($20). If at all
possible, spend a night at one of the estancia's three
campsites : all are free, but you must first register at the
tearoom and obtain a permit. Choose between Río Varela , the
closest site, 4km to the east, Río Cambaceres , 6km further
east, and the beautiful Río Lasifashaj , 7km west of the
estancia. All sites have abundant fresh water, but no other
facilities.
Beyond Harberton, the RCj runs for forty spectacular kilometres
to Estancia Moat , past the famous islands that guard the
eastern mouth of the Beagle Channel: Picton, Nueva and
Lennox . These rather barren-looking, uninhabited islands,
have a controversial past, since both Chile and Argentina long
claimed sovereignty over them. Simmering tension threatened to boil
over between 1977 and 1979, when manoeuvresby the military regimes
of both powers brought the two to the brink of war. Arbitration was
left in the hands of the United Kingdom's Queen Elizabeth II,
harking back to the days at the beginning of the century when the
British Crown mediated a settlement along the countries' Andean
frontier. This time, the Crown ruled in favour of Chile. Argentina
refused to accept the judgement, but was eventually forced to cede
sovereignty after a ruling by the Vatican in 1984. The track ends
at a naval outpost. Beyond, the Península Mitre stretches to the
far tip of Tierra del Fuego at Cabo San Diego.