I’m the type to get seasick. I found this out on my honeymoon while kayaking 17 miles of the beautiful Napali Coast, most of which was spent leaning off to one side, ‘feeding the fish.' One would think I would have learned my lesson and signing up for a voyage that crossed the most intense waterway in the world, not once, but twice, would not make my list of must do’s, but you’d be wrong. Hello, Drake Passage. I had heard the gamut of stories and I looked at the Drake passage weather logs daily leading up to my trip. I knew the only thing I could do was go prepared. I had it all, patches, pills (chewable of course), pressure point wristbands, and all sorts of gingery edibles. Our onboard doc gave everyone on board a very thorough and candid briefing about how folks should expect the worst and prepare for such. The Drake is not the place you want to find out how your body reacts to seasickness.
For those not as paranoid, I mean prepared, as I, he had all the medications in the infirmary. We were told the Drake shouldn’t be too bad, but there was no risk-taking for me. I slapped that patch on and didn’t look back. What we experienced for the next two days wasn’t quite the Drake shake, but it certainly wasn’t the lake either. People were getting sick, I believe there was also a cold going around (wash your hands, people!) so meals were never at full capacity. But it did seem the majority of folks were up and well enough to attend Drake passage lectures. The patch made me incredibly sleepy, which meant lots of naps. Franny and my cabin was on the very top floor of the Akademik Ioffe. Which A. Made for lots of stair climbing and B. Made for a tippy trip.
On our return trip, the Drake was even better to us and this made for a perfect time to hang out with the new friends we had made during the voyage, and partake in fun activities like origami, a yoga class, and even touring the engine room.
Once we disembarked in Ushuaia, it took at least a day to get our land-legs back, we felt wobbly as we made our way up and down the streets of Ushuaia one last time. I’m not sure the next time I’ll be on a ship for 10 days straight, but even after just two days straight I can confirm that cabin fever is real!
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
3 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
4 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.
