Today we were in for another treat - a sightseeing flight from Carcass Island to Sea Lion Island. This flight of 45 minures is one of the longest of the whole tour. It included one stop along the way to let off and pick up other passengers and a crate of small puppies.
Approaching Sea Lion Island one wonders what there is to attract people to the island because from the air it appears only as a flat, grass covered island with no outstanding features. However it is home to 38 species of birds as well as seals, whales and dolphins which can frequently be seen from the shore. The island is a nature reserve and is rat and cat free and of course has no sheep.
The landing strip is only a few steps from the lodge entrance and the hostess, Jenny soon had us settled in our room, which was labelled as 'The Royal Suite'. Sea Lion Lodge is the only facility on our tour that is a purpose built lodge or small hotel., but it had the same warm hospitality and cosiness of the other farm manager's homes/B&B's.
We decided to spend the afternoon hiking around the southern end of the island, which is in plain sight from the lounge at the lodge. From the lounge can be seen a nearby gentoo penguin rookery and Magellanic penguins. There are many rock hopper penguins on the northern end of the island.
Just down the beach from the lodge there are many elephant seals with a few large males which tend to be a bit aggressive if you approach too closely. I think they are mostly jealous of your possible attentions to the nearby harems of females.
Dinner was tasty and well presented by the Chilean chef and servers.
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
1 day ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.