Back on land today, to the aptly named Penguin Island. I grudgingly bypassed the day's hike for the promise of an extra dose of chinstrap penguins, and was justly rewarded. A large breeding colony provided us with chinstraps at every stage of maturity, from fluffball chicks to lanky teenagers and perhaps new definitions of 'adorable'. There was so much action in this colony that watching and photographing it never got old.
But this is not the international incident I speak of, as the penguins and I were very well behaved, despite our cultural differences. The incident came at King George's Island, home of bases representing Uruguay, Russian, China, and Chile. We stopped here to meet the medevac helicopter that was scheduled to pick up 3 ailing passengers, and planned to make a short landing on the island, much to the delight of the Russian crew, who looked forward to visiting the old Russian church in the center of town. Poised in our orange wetskins and ready to unload, we waited and waited. Expedition Leader Dave reportedly spent a good deal of time negotiating the medevac contract on the beach before the copter would agree to fly anyone to Chile. And I witnessed one particularly hostile exchange between our captain and that of the Chilean naval vessel that complained we were too close to it. Our captain was nice enough to curse him out in English, and not Russian, so we could all appreciate it. Although in retrospect, perhaps that's why we were not allowed to land. I stand by him regardless. Giving up on the excursion after all the time spent dealing with other issues, we changed out of our wetskins and were greeted by what I like to call Appeasement Happy Hour on the deck: muffins and booze. We were an easily bought crowd, and our spirits never quite dampened. Despite the drama of the day, the staff was always professional and Expedition Leader Dave gave us a full debrief of the day's events after dinner down in the large presentation room downstairs to try to dispel any rumors and be as open as possible. Taking the opportunity of all being gathered in one place, many of the passengers stayed and socialized and a few of us stayed up way too late dancing. Today did not bring the excursion we had hoped for, but it was a day of adventure nonetheless.
The response from Adventure Life to my first inquiry was prompt and promising. I worked with Jamie Broeckel, Trip Planner, via text, email, and phone calls- always extremely responsive and thorough with information and explaining the process to arrange a private tour for me to Malaysia Borneo. Within about week, the booking was complete and I made decisions because of Jamie's great customer service , friendly manner, and overall competence on behalf of the company's travel expertise. Now I have an itinerary, additional Trip Planner Assistants, several links for vital information for traveling to Maylasia, etc. Still many details for Sept. trip, but now the heavy lifting is done and I can enjoy the rest of the anticipation and research!! Thanks Jamie- you are amazing!!!!
Susan Campo
2 days ago
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
3 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.