This birding adventure started at 6:00 a.m. with our guide Golden. He drove us to the Mayflower Bocawina National Park about 15 minutes away from Hamanasi Hotel. Armed with our mosquito repellent and our cameras, we had breakfast, directly on site of Mayflower, which consisted of a warm egg burrito that was delicious along with apple juice. After a full stomach, we were ready to walk the trail and search for birds. Golden, our guide, was very excited to hear all the birds' songs and pointed the birds to us. We saw, right there in the jungle before our eyes, the shy Emerald Toucanet (a prized bird to see), pygmy Kingfisher (another prized bird), smokey-brown woodpecker, a brown headed parrot and admired a soaring solitary eagle, just to name of few of the 52 species we've encountered that morning. We also found a jaguar's print in the mud, but no sightseeing of the animal itself. Time flies when you have fun. . . so at 10:00 a.m. we were back at the Hamanasi with wide eyes and a smile on our face. We had such a great time birding that we kept looking around our Tree house to identify the birds living among the trees surrounding our ''vacation home''.
We changed into our bathing suits and jumped in a refreshing pool. Relaxed and swam a bit before lunch. The rest of the day was spent kayaking in the ocean, taking a nap in a hammock, swimming in the pool or just relaxing while reading a good book by the pool and sipping some Blue Hole and Tequila Sunrise drinks. . . while munching on homemade tortilla chips and salsa mmmm! Dinner time was approaching, so after showering, we were ready to enjoy another delicious dinner sitting at a table overlooking the pool and the ocean. This table was indeed our favorite spot at dinner time.
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.