Santa Cruz was very lush and green, quite a contrast to the stark volcanic landscape of the past few days. The Prickly pears, (as tall as trees and with orangy red trunks) and the tropical flowers were a pleasant change.
Our first stop was the Twins, two collapsed, vegetated craters, sitting high in the misty sky. From here we went to a tortoise breeding/rearing facility where eggs are collected, reared for 7 years and then released into the wild.
Upwards and onwards to see "lonesome George" the last living tortoise of his species. It was sad to hear that attempts to breed George with a similar species of tortoise were unsuccessful, producing infertile eggs. His death will result in the extinction of another species from the planet.
We did see other species of tortoises that were doing much better. We met Diego, who on the other hand, is quite a "stud". He has sired over 2000 turtles. We were told that it takes almost 30 years for a tortoise to reach sexual maturity. It was only recently that some of his offspring have matured and successfully hatched young - the next generation.
We walked back to pier (all downhill) where the pangas were waiting to transport us back to the Flamingo. We managed to squeeze in a little souvenir shopping along the way. On the boat another fine meal was awaiting our arrival - I am glad that they didn't weigh us before and after the trip!
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.