We wake early this morning to begin our journey back to the boat. I am exhausted and can't bare the thought of kayaking 13 miles today. Luckily it is only 7 and we are back at the boat in time for lunch. I thought the overnight trip was one of the best ways to see the wildlife of Alaska. We saw sea otters, eagles and seals. In fact, we had a seal follow us for most of the day today. He would sneak up behind us and then slap his tail on the water. I almost tipped our kayak one time which did not make the photographer very happy understandably with all his gear.
After lunch we head to the Tongass National Park. Here we meet some park rangers and they give us the history of the park. This is where I realize Alaska has the largest remaing temperate rainforest in the world. It is beautiful! Tons of moss and beautiful fern line the forest floor.
This afternoon we put on our headlamps and head into the El Capitan cave.
Every day and every new adventure, I am still in the awesomeness of the beautiful region. Tonight I watch the sun set on the open water.
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.