Haberton is the oldest estancia on Tierra del Fuego. It was founded by the Reverend Thomas Bridges and his wife Mary Ann Varder in 1886. Bridges was the adopted child of an Anglican missionary, whose family left for the Falkland Islands when he was just 13 years old. He arrived in the Tierra del Fuego, age 21, where he worked also as a missionary before being granted land by President Roca in recognition for his work with the archipelago’s indigenous peoples. Haberton is so named after the village in Devonshire where his wife was born.

The estancia is still a working ranch now run by Bridges’ great-grandson Tommy Goodall. There is a lovely old white-washed wooden farmhouse, among other buildings, overlooking the Beagle Channel in a sheltered spot picked out by the Yamana, some 85 km east of Ushuaia. Thomas Bridges compiled the Yamana–English Dictionary and inspired his son Lucas Bridges to write the fascinating classic The Uttermost Part of the Earth. The Bridges family was renowned for its close relationship with the native people, so much so that it became a sanctuary for both the Yamana and the Onas.

Estancia Haberton featured in Bruce Chatwin's anectodal travelogue In Patagonia. There are guided tours of the estancia in English and Spanish which tell you all about its history as well as about local fauna and flora. And you'll be able to see reconstructions of a typical Yamana abode. At the entrance to the estancia is the Museo Acatushun, a marine mammal museum run by Goodall’s biologist wife Natalie. It has the skeletal remains of innumerable whales, dolphins and other marine mammals found in the waters around the archipelago.

Overlooking the bay, the Manacatush tearoom, the only section of the house open to the public, serves lunch and afternoon tea. It is also possible to stay the night in the Shepherd’s House (two triple rooms with bath, kitchenette and porch) or the old Cook’s House (one double room, another with bunks, bathroom, kitchenette and sitting room). Alternatively, there are three campsites, all free, but you’ll need to register. Haberton is open from mid-Oct-mid-April daily 10am-7pm. Tel: +54 (0) 2901 422742. For more details visit its website at www.estanciahaberton.com.

Getting to Haberton
Haberton is accessible by both road and the Beagle Channel. Catamarans from Ushuaia stop over here for a couple of hours. Or there are a number of buses which depart daily from Ushuaia for the one-and-a-half hour journey. Better still you could rent a car and explore still farther afield. The road continues on after Haberton for another 40 km to Estancia Moat passing the infamous Picton Island.