Fact: there are 17 species of penguins in the world but, despite the common belief that all live in Antarctica, only six species permanently reside in Antarctic waters. Of those 6, only two can be classified as true Antarcticans. The large, colorful Emperor and small, playful Adelie live and breed on the continent itself. Three other species - Chinstrap, Macaroni and Gentoo - live exclusively along the peninsula while King penguins live in the northern Sub-Antarctic islands.
Penguin sightings in Antarctica are pretty much guaranteed and, in most cases, come in the form of Gentoo. My own experience also brought several stray Adelie and a lone Chinstrap who, try as he might, didn’t quite blend into a crowd of Gentoo.
Penguins were one of my favorite parts about my trip. When I wasn’t out kayaking, mountaineering, snowshoeing or hiking around, I would sit in the snow and watch them go about their lives. Extremely social as evident by their near constant squawking, penguins live in groups called rookeries and even form their own highway systems. In November, penguins often have one thing on their minds: nest building. In order to build a nest, penguins resort to thievery. While certainly not sneaky, their antics are hilarious to watch.
Other penguin favorites: the penguin waddle, the penguin slide, and the elusive headless penguin (bonus points for spotting them together)!
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.