Comodoro Rivadavia and around

The largest city in the province of Chubut was established primarily as a sheep-exporting port, and early settlers included Boer immigrants fleeing British rule in southern Africa. Its compact centre is at the foot of Cerro Chenque, 212 m high, a dusty bluff overlooking the town unattractively adorned with radar masts, with its own shanty town. The city began to flourish suddenly when oil was discovered here in 1907, bringing in many international companies. However, since the petrol industry was privatized by President Menem in the 1990s, there's been consequent unemployment and now the town has a slightly sad, rather unkempt feel. You're most likely to end up here if you need to change buses, and there's little to make you want to stay.

There's a good beach at the resort of Rada Tilly, 12 km south, where you can walk along the beach at low tide to see sea lions. Expreso Rada Tillyruns buses every 30 minutes, they're packed in summer. You could use Comodoro Ravadavia as a base for exploring a second petrified forest, the Bosque Petrificado Héctor Szlápelis , but the little town of Sarmiento, some 140 km west, is far more pleasant. See www.colonia sarmiento.gov.ar, for more details (in English).

Camarones

Camarones is a quiet fishing port on Bahía Camarones, between Comodoro and Trelew, whose main industry is harvesting seaweed. This is prime sheep-rearing land, and Camarones wool is world-renowned for its quality. Aside from the salmon festival in early February, the only real attraction is a penguin colony, which you can walk to from the town.

There's another well-known penguin colony with lots more species of marine life, 35 km southeast at Reserva Natural Cabo Dos Bahíasithere are buses to the reserve from Trelew . This is a small reserve at the southern end of the bay, reached by a dirt road. It protects a large penguin colony of some 12,000 couples, which you can see close up, but also sea lions and whales. The reserve is open all year and you can see seals and sea lions any time, but there are whales from March to November, and killer whales might be spotted from October to April.