Today was an all day trip to Volunteer Point, a little beach situated probably only twenty miles from Stanley as the crow flies. However, the only overland route has very little in the way of marked paths, it was mostly driving though fields and rocks at a very slow pace. This meant it took a two and half journey to arrive there. I had expected to be bored on the way but our driver was excellent. He had a great since of humor and told us a lot about life on the island. He lived in the Falklands during the conflict with Argentina - the Argentinians actually took over his house - so his first-hand stories were really interesting and enlightening. He made the drive go by incredibly quickly.
Volunteer Point is also must-do in the Falklands. There is a very large colony of King Penguins there year round. When we arrived there was also some brown juveniles. Many of the adults were experiencing their annual catastrophic molt and could not go into the water until all their new feathers grew in. There were some places were the ground was so covered in white it looked like snow.
There is a nice shelter the staff has built at the point which has education material, toilets, and a gas stove for taking breaks from the elements and eating the bagged lunches packed by your hotel. Another great day!
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.