We wake up while the ship is still a few hours away from South Georgia. Fortunately, the animals of South Georgia came to greet our boat. We see fur seals porpoising as we continued on our way. We eat breakfast on deck two while seal spotting out the window.
We depart by zodiac for our five-hour hike, braving steep rocky steps, snow-covered passages, and enjoying waterfalls. The hike begins at Fortuna Bay where we see many fur seals and one lone king penguin. We start our ascent and see caribou in the distance. There is one fur seal high up the mountain side enjoying the view, but he is alone as he is far from the water! We continue up our broken slate walkway coming to a hidden lake at the top of the mountain. The lichens are peppered with dew drops and are quite beautiful. The view of the mountains is spectacular. We walk through a snowy valley and trek past a waterfall. The creek turns into a marsh that we must walk through. Good thing we have our Muck boots. We see caribou again in the distance. The descent down to the valley is steep, and two people accidently slide almost 100 meters on their butts (unharmed).
As a special surprise, a group of gentoo penguins is waiting for us on a small ridge above the marshlands. The adults stay very busy either feeding their chicks or picking up nesting materials with their bills. Their effective use of their bills almost makes it feel like they are mocking us: ''Look at us. We don't need no stink'n opposable digits.''
We walk through more marshes in the valley before arriving at a deserted whaling station. However, it isn't really deserted because king penguins, fur seals, and pups have made it their home. It is a busy place, and we enjoy watching the animals interact.
That evening we have dinner on level two, while watching for more fur seals in the 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.