At about 7:30 this morning, the announcement came for breakfast. Though I had been asleep for 12 hours at that point, it was still felt like waking up from out of a coma. The previous night the chicks of room 341 took a meclizine social before dinner as we headed out to rough seas, and were down for the count. You might know this as the 'non-drowsy' Dramamine, but our experience proved otherwise. We were in and out of sleep until about 3:00 or 4:00 pm that afternoon, making it a 20-hour marathon of 'non-drowsy'drowsiness. In between we occasionally tried to get up for a meal or one of the lectures, and even have vague recollections of talks concerning pinnipeds and ice. But sleep was the theme. And yet another drug checked off the list - good thing we brought that pharmacy! I went drug-free the rest of the day while the other ladies re-doped and closed their eyes. I passed the evening with dinner, another one of Expedition Leader Dave's 'fireside chats' in the lounge about exploration in the South Orkney Islands (so there was no fire, but his talks just had that easy feel), and drinks with the staff. Never a dull day, even when doped up to the max.
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.