We spent the last few days of our honeymoon relaxing on Harbour Island, the “Nantucket” of the Bahamas. It was quant, cute, and expensive, just like Nantucket. We arrived by a small flight from Nassau and then took a water taxi across the little straight between North Eleuthera and arrived at the Valentine’s dock, our home for the next few days. We got an upgrade to a two-story condo room with a full kitchen. The entire condo was about as big as the Liberty Clipper where we had just spent the week. We did know what to do with all this space! Dunmore Town is on Harbour Island, which is about 3.5 miles long and 1.5 miles wide at it’s widest point. It is filled with vacation rentals, small hotels and cottages. There are a few cars on the islands, but most people prefer to get around on foot or by golf cart. We chose on foot, as nothing on the island was more than about a mile away. We walked from one end to the next, eating like a local as much as we could. I’ve never eaten so much fried, delicious food or drank so many rum punches!
The island truly was beautiful. I could understand why the rich and famous choose to vacation or buy vacation homes here! The pink sand beach on the east-side of the island was beautiful, although not abandoned like the beaches we saw while sailing. and the marinas and beaches right in town were accessible and a great place to watch the sunset each night. One morning, while wandering around after breakfast, we stopped by the main dock and watched a man clean a huge pile of conch. It looked so effortless - not sure I would ever be able to get the hang of that!
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
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.