Jan 7th Monday
Port Lockroy (UK) and Jougla Pt to Neko Harbor
They split our landing again, one group to Jougla Island that had Gentoos and Cormorants nesting, along with a whale skeleton (made up of several different whales). Glen went to Port Lockroy to sketch with the rest of us went to the island first. There were a few seals resting on the sand but this island was wall to wall penguins. Port Lockroy is a UK Heritage Trust site. They are trying to assess the damage done to penguins when visitors are near them so half the island is off limits to people and the other half has so many penguins it’s very hard to keep to the reguired distance of 5 meters.
After we left Port Lockroy the winds picked up, the winds got up to 80 knots which is 92 mph or 142 kph. As we heading into Neko Harbor we saw a sail boat we all were worried it was going to capsize (left area before we heard anything.) When we reached the end of the harbor the crew announced they would go explore to see if we could land. They decide that we could go to shore but only those who didn’t mind a rough landing and getting wet should go. Chris and Pam decided to try it out. While we were in line for boarding the zodiac they said it would be another 5 or 10 minutes since an iceberg had just calved. They told the crew on shore to get to higher ground and they closed the launch door in order to avoid swamping the launch area. The winds were still pretty strong so we only took the small camera. We boarded the zodiac quickly and unload from both sides. We walked up a hill to get a view. Several times Pam thought the winds were going to blow her off the hill. Once we reached the top Pam sat down to minimize the surface area. At times we had to lean into the wind in order to stand up right. We headed back to the zodiac, when we reached the bottom Mauricio thought we should move over to a better landing spot. They had us line up in two rows in order to board form each side quickly. The zodiac had to take 2 crew members with it so they could make it back to the beach safely after unloading the passengers at the ship. After dinner Mike told us about his whaling experience with tagging and identifying humpbacks and orcas while on a yatch.
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.