After hours of bumping around in the komatiks, we arrived back in Pond Inlet, tired and ready for our denouement dinner – a bitter sweet moment. Mike had promised we’d find our magic in the Arctic and we had. My favourite surprise revelation came from Sandra, my Singaporean buddy. Tiny but intrepid, she’d struggled her whole life with a fear of water, but wanted to snorkel with whales and narwhals. After a year of terrifying swimming lessons, she’d worked her way from wading to actually swimming. When I remembered wrestling her into a dry suit and seeing her hop off into the icey water, her courage stunned me.
The funniest ‘best moment’ belonged to Sandra’s husband, Soo Young, a cautious orthopedic specialist who told us his ‘magic’ was…riding in the komatiks. As we were all nursing various degrees of stiffness from banging around in those komatiks, Soo Young’s comment was a laughter bombshell. Perfect timing – we needed something to keep us from crying as we finished our incredible adventure.
As a travel journalist, I’ve been to some of the world’s most exciting destinations but no trip has ever topped this one. No destination has challenged and changed me as this did and no other group has ever bonded like ours. Mike was right – we found our magic on the ice along with a lifelong passion for the Arctic. If that sounds like a dramatic statement, it is…because only words of that strength can describe a life-changing experience.
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.