Our trip, being in March, the time of year whales are the most prolific, was marketed as a marine wildlife tour. From chatting with colleagues who have gone at other times of the year, there are still plenty of opportunities to see whales and seals. I’m not sure we necessarily saw any more, but we felt lucky with the sightings we had. Franny’s wish was to see Orcas, we told our chances were pretty slim during this time of year. But somehow we lucked out at saw a pod of 3 during our Drake Passage crossing. I think this was a good omen for the rest of our trip. We quickly lost track of the whale sightings, humpbacks, fins, singles, groups, mother/calf pairs. It didn’t matter, they were still always met with equal excitement.
This was a particularly amazing experience from a kayak. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt so insignificant and in awe. One afternoon a curious whale blocked the zodiacs from returning to the gangway for nearly 20 minutes because he playfully kept swimming the length of the ship. It was humbling to be so close to these incredible creatures.
We also saw a lot of seals, mostly fur seals, but the occasional Weddle, crabeater and even a few leopard seals. Fur seals are playful and curious in the water but territorial and not to be approached on land. We even had a landing canceled when the beach was littered with hundreds of fur seals. One afternoon in particular, while on a zodiac cruise we saw all 4 species within a matter of an hour. We were able to get surprisingly close to all of them in the zodiacs without disrupting them. The leopard seal even showed us his gnarly teeth that they are known for!
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.