Only 4 students opted to go to the orphanage today-Kelsey, Chiara, Sam and Nicole. The rest decided to go to the construction site. Still very HOT and HUMID today!
At the orphanage there was less cleaning and chores to do. Mainly we babysat and entertained the very cute younger kids (under 5).
Construction crew comments:
Sasha says: 'We worked so hard at the construction site that we were bathing in our own sweat!'
Jazzi says: 'I have never seen so many rocks in my life and we had to move them all!'
We left the orphanage by 2PM and immediately went to the ice cream store. Everyone was so HOT!
Once we arrived back at Pook's Hill Lodge, most of the students took off for the Red Cliff swimming hole to cool off.
Tonight several of us will head out for our 1st nighttime jungle hike to see all the creatures that scurry around at night. Should be a different experience.
Tomorrow should be about the same at the construction site and orphanage. We will stop at a local crafts market on the way to the orphanage to shop for souvenirs.
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.