The four boys, Sam and myself were up for the 6am birding hike. The rest, slept in.
Breakfast at 8am.
After breakfast all 13 of us went on a 2 hour jungle hike and then spent an hour cooling off at the Rock Pool swimming hole in the Roaring River. Most of us (including me) swung out over the river on a rope and either fell in or jumped into the river. It was great to COOL off! VERY hot and humid here!
After lunch we hiked to 2 other nearby swimming holes along the Roaring River. One of the sites had a RED clay cliff and all the students smeared themselves with the clay to get an 'instant' tan! Sam, Griffin and Lincoln were the most enthralled with their instant 'tans'. See the blog pics for today to see their great 'tans'.
FOOD is terrific! The staff is taking very good care of us.
The boys entertained us in the evening with some great music using the lodge's guitar and xylophone. Unfortunately, the staff just informed us that tomorrow more guests will be arriving. That means we will have to be quieter so the new guests can enjoy the jungle noises.
Sasha and I have made great use of our new underwater cameras at the swimming holes. Check out the blog photos!
Ryan saw a spider today and did not freak out Linda. . . Ha! Ha! IT WAS ALREADY DEAD!
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.