Two mountain ranges, the Allardyce and Salvesen, outline the elegant and boisterous landscape of South Georgia. It is lengthy and narrow: 170km-long and varies from 2 to 40 kilometers wide. In austral summer, over 75% of the land is covered in fantastic glaciers, ice caps, and snowfields. South Georgia's history is shadowed by the 1.2 million seals that were slaughtered between 1786 and 1825. Fur seals, valued for their dense skins, were nearly driven to extinction. A hundred years later, the whaling industry took over the region until the mid-1960s. Today, the wildlife of South Georgia flourishes. The fur seals that were on the verge of being completely destroyed now populate the island at over three million. Best viewing of these sea mammals is on the northwest coast of the island. Landing, however, during the breeding season is sometimes difficult because of the vast numbers. But just witnessing the animals in such impressive numbers is an experience in itself. Whalers introduced reindeer to the island in 1911. About 2000 still exist in the area today.
A variety of seabirds also make South Georgia their home. Five million pairs of macaroni penguins nest along the coastline. The gravel beaches at St. Andrews Bay are ideal breeding places for the large King penguins. Comparable in size are the albatross that nest on the south and southeast shores. Two unique birds are also found in this region: the South Georgia pipit is Antarctica's only songbird, and the South Georgia pintail is the world's only meat-eating duck.
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.