Our flight from Saunders Island to Carcass Island was another delightful sightseeing experience. It is amazing how much land area there is in the Falklands! Looking at a map of South America or the South Atlantic the Falklands show up only as a small dot, but in reality the islands cover vast areas of mostly uninhabited land.
We were met at the grass landing strip, which is about five miles from the settlement, by our host Rob McGill and then set out in his Land Rover for his home, which would be ours as well for the next three days.
The landscape on Carcass Island is more grassy with rolling hills and some higher rocky outcroppings and less diddledee deserts than on Saunders Island.
It was nearly lunch time when we got to the home and after a brief rest we were treated to one of the nicest meals of the trip - but then all the meals at Carcass were some of the best. Rob employes three kitchen staff from Chile. They are under the direction of the wonderful 'Chef Hot Stuff', or so his chef's hat proclaimed. His attention to detail amazed us and a good illustration of this occurred that night after dinner when he came into the dining room to ask us what we would like for breakfast When some of us asked for oatmeal his response was: 'Do you want it cooked with milk or water?' The next night when I was a little bolder I asked for pancakes and he asked if I wanted them American or Chilean. I had no idea what he meant, but learned that American style are thicker than Chilean which are more like crepes.
That afternoon after lunch Helen and I walked across the beach to Dyke Bay retracing the steps I had taken when there in November, 1998. We saw the dapper little grass wrens and some gentoo penguins doddling on the beach on their way from the water to their nesting site. It is interesting to watch them both coming from and going to the sea as they stand around as if in deep contemplation of whether or not to continue on their way.
There is a large area of fenced in tussac grass in this area. It has to be fenced in to keep the sheep from eating it and efforts are being made to re-introduce it. Originally the Falklands had huge areas of tussac grass but sheep farming all but destroyed it. Those hungry sheep! Walking through the clumps of it is quite a challenge in places because it is higher than you head and can be matted together and very difficult to get through.
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.