Galapagps Safari
Contents
1. Two Weeks in Galapagos 2 Week Photo Safari with Chris Bray We hope this document will answer many of your questions about your upcoming photo safari to the Galapagos Islands If you still have further questions after reading this of course feel free to email us at safaris chrisbray net at any time Phone reception and Internet There are many Internet cafes near the hotels that we stay at and a lot of the restaurants bars and cafes that we dine at in the evening have free Wi Fi As far as mobile reception goes if you really need to be contactable via phone the best option is to set your mobile up for global roaming before you depart To do this all you need to do is call your mobile service provider and ask them to enable this before you leave your home country it can be expensive to make amp receive calls though Just keep in mind that not all mobile phone providers will have coverage in the Galapagos Islands for instance one of our previous safari attendees informed us that Optus don t have a global roaming arrangement with Ecuador In this case you might want to purchase a Travelsim www travelsim net au It might not be a bad idea to re record your voice mail message before you go too just so if anyone does try to contact you they know that your busy having fun in Galapagos To avoid substantial data roaming fees it s a good idea to turn data off on your phone when overseas Power There w2. A laptop with an external hard drive is good as with the laptop you have the big advantage that you can look at your photos each night see how they turned out and even learn from them but has the disadvantage of being heavy and delicate to bring and just one more thing to keep charged Another option is using a portable media storage device like a Wolverine PicPac II 320 GB Digital Camera Backup System that is basically a hard drive and a card reader built into one that just sucks off the photos from your card onto it s inbuilt hard drive without the need for a laptop These are cool however you can t see your photos very well and not at all on some of them and you will want to learn how they work before you leave Some people simply opt to bring enough spare memory cards that they don t even need to copy them onto anything you ll just have to get good and ruthless about deleting your less good photos every evening just by peering at them on the back of your camera which is hard As a ballpark figure you will need anywhere from 50GB to 100 GB of storage space for the two weeks assuming you re shooting in highest quality JPEG mode If you re shooting in RAW mode or additionally shooting large amounts of HD video then you might need more storage perhaps up to a whopping 500GB if you re totally crazy To avoid the risk of loosing your images if a memory card fails or something you should try to
3. and a raincoat too You might also want to bring something smart casual to wear for dinner on some nights when you re sick of living in your safari gear and have enough time to change but remember we re here to see things not be seen Remember less is more Think long and hard about what gear to take as you don t want to be lugging too much stuff around The transfer boats have limited storage capacity amp there are luggage limits on the domestic flights between Ecuador amp the Galapagos islands that we ll explain below And last but not least don t forget a hat Make sure it s a wide brimmed hat and ideally without too stiff a brim and certainly not a peaked baseball cap as these stiff brims get in the way when you try and hold your camera up to your face A draw cord on your hat is not a bad idea as it can get a bit windy on the boats Galapagos islands are right on the Equator and in November the average temperature is between 21 27degrees So you should bring some warmer clothes and wet weather gear but don t forget your summer shorts t shirt and swimmers Washing Don t worry you wont have to bring 14 shirts and 14 pairs of undies You can do washing or have it done at the various places we go to On the main island we spend the first week at there are several very good cheap Laundromats and likewise in the other villages Safety in Ecuador and Galapagos In general crime is not a problem at all in t
4. just in case but be prepared to be self sufficient regarding your camera gear All boat transfers island entry fees and guides are included in the price You MUST obtain your own travel insurance but again our travel agent can help you with this There are national park rules that we must abide by including not using flashes on nor edging closer than 2m to any wildlife however you may find that the animals choose to come right up to you and that s their decision There are many boat trips on this safari some several hours long but the weather is generally not bad and they are pleasant enough Perhaps bring seasickness medication if you suffer this affliction though The currency of Ecuador and Galapagos is the US dollar so that s easy If we do not reach minimum numbers then we reserve the right to cancel the trip and refund all the payments you make to us The safari payments are split into three convenient instalments A non refundable 1 000 deposit is required at time of booking to confirm your place the next payment also non refundable of approx 50 of what s owing will be requested around mid year and the final payment a couple of months before departure This final payment IS refundable if you pull out unless you cancel within 45 days prior to departure in which case the money will not be returned to you irrespective of if we manage to fill the spot later This is why you must have travel insurance because unex
5. non camera gear clothes etc in a soft bag such as a duffle bag or backpack with wheels might make it easier please don t bring a suitcase as they are awkward to stash away You need to be comfortable carrying your own luggage on and off boats to our accommodation so pack light Luggage Restrictions The airline that we fly to the Galapagos Islands and back have a 23kg check in baggage limit that they are strict on With carry on luggage you are allowed two bags one weighing up to 10kg and a secondary smaller bag like a women s purse or laptop bag that is not included in the 10kg weight limit Last year when we travelled to Galapagos they didn t weigh our carry on bags but be prepared to put various lenses in your pockets and camera s around our necks if they do start weighing them Flights to Ecuador Please contact Jacqui Smith lt jacqui itstravel com au gt She has been working with us for a few years now and knows the in s and out s of flying to Ecuador she can also help you with flights travel insurance and any other side trips that you might want to do while in South America The Safari starts in Guayaquil and we recommend that you fly in at least a day before it starts it might even be worth considering flying in two days before it starts to give you self some time do to some sight seeing in Guayaquil it s really a great city to walk around with lots to see and do for a day But that s u
6. with an Australian warranty Or about 1 300 from non Australian online retailer But this lens will give you superbly sharp and zoomed in big full frame shots and its image stabilisation its great Remember the longer the lens the more important it is to have image stabilisation The other seriously long telephoto lens which is a little cheaper than Canon s 100 400mm is the Sigma 150 500mm 1 5 6 3 DG OS HSM RRP 1 099 Now this lens is great for those who can t afford the Canon telephoto lens it goes to a whopping 500mm which is fantastic but unfortunately it s not as fast not as small an f the OS optical stabilization does not work as well as on the Canon lens and the images don t tend to be quite as sharp But yet you get what you pay for and this is certainly still a superb lens and great value for money Tele extenders Tele extenders are affordable little spacer lenses that go between your camera and your telephoto lens to cao make the lens longer to extend the focal length of your a longest lens You can get various sizes but commonly you can CAnon get a 1 4x extender or a 2x extender that will multiply the focal EXTENDER EF 1 4 ll length of the attached lens by 1 4x and 2x respectively So a 2x w tele extender on a 100 400mm lens turns it into a 200 800mm epic lens However there is a catch 1 You may loose a little image clarity 2 You won t be able to scroll down to
7. always keep two copies of your photographs For example use a laptop and two identical external hard drives and each evening download my photos onto the first one drive then copy them additionally to the second one before deleting formatting the memory card just in case Underwater Compact Camera We get the opportunity to do a lot of snorkelling and you ll really enjoy the ability to get some shots of all the sea life turtles etc so this might be a good idea Something like a Canon D10 is great or even a GoPro camera for getting some great underwater HD footage Dust amp Camera Gear Changing lens out on safari can be a challenge there can be a ot of dust and it will always try to get inside your camera and land on your image sensor resulting in little black spots on your photos Perhaps invest in a Rocket blower hand held air puffer to carefully blow any such dust off your sensor but of course you only attempt this in a nice clean room About the Galapagos Islands From Wikipedia The Galapagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean 972 km 525 nmi west of continental Ecuador of which they are a part Wildlife is its most notable feature The Galapagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province a national park and a biological marine reserve The principal language on the islands is Spanish The islands have a p
8. ay over e There is no malaria in the Galapagos Islands but if you re extending your holiday to explore the nearby Amazon etc then you may well need such medication check with your doctor Travel Insurance Chris Bray Photography will not be liable for any damage to your camera gear or equipment nor your personal health or wellbeing You MUST take out your own travellers insurance for these two weeks and email Jess your insurance policy once it has been confirmed Remember our travel agent Jacqui is very willing and able to help secure you the best deal here Suggest things to bring e Clothes see detailed clothing section below e Raincoat just in case e Sturdy comfortable closed in walking shoes and a pair of sandals or thongs e Head torch torch e Sunscreen e Sunglasses polarized will be best e Lip moisturiser with Sunscreen i e Blistex e Travel alarm clock or iPhone e Personal medication if applicable e Camera backpack daypack something big enough to carry all your camera gear in and a rain jacket etc e Tripod optional good to bring it you wanted to do some light painting on the beach e Happy snap camera if you don t have one and are looking at purchasing one get an underwater one like a Canon D10 for snorkelling or a GoPro camera for great underwater filming If you are bringing a GoPro with you and it is an older model either Hero 1 or Hero 2 it is seriously worth i
9. he Galapagos islands there is little to be concerned about Pre and post trip you ll need to take care when travelling in the main cities of Ecuador especially in busy places like markets Watch your camera very carefully and always have it strapped around you Don t take chances we have had a small compact camera stolen from a zipped jacket pocket Checked in baggage Apparently the general rule should be that as much as possible bring all your important stuff with you as carry on luggage this includes camera chargers etc anything that would ruin your safari completely if it was stolen or if your main baggage was delayed etc Unlikely of course but it provides peace of mind if you carry your genuine essentials with you Money The currency in Galapagos is US dollar Most places will take credit card and there will be several ATM s on the first island that we spend a week at but none on the second island so stock up before leaving island 1 Its best to carry some cash on you for purchases like food drinks and trinkets Don t for get to let your bank know that you will be overseas for two weeks if your bank is unaware that your in Ecuador they might suspend your credit card the first time you try to use it making it very hard to get any money out at all Bags Considering as we ll be traveling around with our bags in boats from time to time between the different islands etc it s always best to bring your
10. here is nothing wrong with getting a good second hand lens from e bay assuming its in good condition If you have other creative lenses like macro lenses or fisheye lenses bring them along as well it s always fun to have a play with different angles Wide angle Lenses for Canon Cameras Canon EF S 10 22mm 1 3 5 4 5 RRP 899 Great very wide lens for sub frame cameras that s basically any camera except the 1D series or the 6D 5D mk III or III Canon 17 40mm 1 4 L USM RRP 939 Canon 16 35mm 1 2 8 L USM RRP 1 929 My favourite Standard Lenses You wont be using a standard lens that much so to be honest whatever came with your camera will probably be fine But if you are in the market for an upgrade you really can t go past the Canon 24 105mm USM IS L 1 4 My favourite all rounder workhorse lens Telephoto Lenses Most of what we will be shooting will require a good long telephoto lens the ideal focal length you would want to totally maximise your experience in Kenya is 400mm However that s not to say that you wont get awesome shots on most subjects even with a 300mm if that s all you have I d hesitate against using anything shorter than 300mm though as your longest lens The ideal wildlife lens that we recommend is Canon 100 400mm EF 1 4 5 5 6 IS USM L RRP DCW 1 989 You will be able to pick one of these beauties up for about 1 000 on e bay at the moment but they might not come
11. ide and all boat trips and inter island taxis etc will be just us If you need your mobile phone to work be sure to enable global roaming before you go there s great coverage but be warned of global roaming fees especially for data Perhaps treat it as a much needed break from your hectic lives at home You ll be able to access the internet from most of the hotels if you wish and there s wireless internet in just about every restaurant No meals are provided except for the lunches when on a boat cruise so all other meals and beverages must be purchased at your own expense This frees you up to spend as much or as little as you wish on dinners etc at each venue However the average cost of a wonderful meal even including a whole crayfish is between 10 and 20 and a beer less than 3 Accommodation arrangements vary for each location however it is all twin share So if you re booking on your own then expect to share a room with someone else and if you re booking as a couple then we can organise a double bed rather than two singles just let us know For solo travellers we can t guarantee that we ll always be able to have you sharing with someone of the same sex it depends on the gender split but we do our best You can request a single supplement a room to yourself just email Jess and she ll let you know the extra costs Keep in mind though that a you re only usually in your rooms to sleep as we fill your waking hours with plen
12. ill be electricity to recharge your cameras laptops etc each day The mains power plug is the US Canadian style so you ll be needing an adaptor The general a routine will be that once we get back from a day s photographing you will want to a download your new photographs and put s your laptop and camera on to charge before WA 5 3 dinner To make this a quicker process we suggest bringing a power board that has a surge protector so you can charge all of your electronics at the same time Surge Protectors are a very good idea when traveling overseas While we ve not had any bad experiences in Galapagos or Ecuador a blackout would not be surprising and so using a surge protector when charging things like a laptop will help prevent any electricity spikes damaging your electronics Emergency Jess and will carry a local mobile phone which will work from just about anywhere and we are both wilderness trained first aiders and will carry an extensive first aid kit Language Spanish is the national language of Ecuador and thus on the Galapagos Islands as well Most people on Galapagos Island will speak at least a little English and most importantly our guides will speak English Even still you may enjoy bringing a small pocket phrase book to learn some local words Here s some common words and phrases to get you started Thank you Gracias Yes Si No No Hello Hola Please Por favor Medical inf
13. is e A Tetanus injection is also worth getting they last about 10 years so check when you last had a booster shot and in Australia the Tetanus shot is free and also contains a Dyptheria immuniser in the single injection Yay less needles Diphtheria amp pertussis vaccines can be added to the tetanus vaccine Because many adults no longer have immunity from childhood vaccination travellers to less developed countries are advised to have a tetanus diphtheria amp pertussis booster e Yellow Fever injection while doctors do not seem to believe that this is needed for travelling in Galapagos Australian Customs Quarantine do require proof that you ve been vaccinated before they welcome you home You get a little yellow certificate that fits in your passport when you get this injection which you must bring with you If you do not bring it or if you are not immunised Customs will still let you home but you will be delayed while they explain to you how to report in should you develop symptoms The injection lasts 10 years costs about 55 and needs to be injected 2 3 weeks before you leave The Y F vaccine also seems to have the added bonus that it helps protect against melanoma skin cancers later in life score e And just for the plane flights etc it might not be a bad idea to have the latest influenza vaccine injection too itd be devastating if you were too sick to enjoy the experience just because you caught the flu on the w
14. ll take about an hour to get to the waterfall and orchid walk where you will be guided through this spectacular forest full of macro things to photograph after that it s about another hour to the cloud forest where you ll be amazed at the verity and number of humming birds zipping around daring you to try and photograph them Lunch not included will be at the Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve Lodge in the middle of it all and after you ll have the option to spend the afternoon getting that perfect shot of the humming birds or go for a guided walk through the forest and possibly spot a toucan and other amazing birds and animals You ll return from the day trip around 6pm and the evening is yours to either rest before the long flight back home go out and enjoy some local Ecuadorian cuisine or enjoy a meal at the hotel restaurant Don t want to do the additional day trip No worries you are free to fly back home or onward to some other holiday that day as the itinerary indicates we ll of course still provide you with the airport transfers etc Additional points for the Cloud forest day trip An additional 5US entry fee for the waterfall orchid walk The amazing lunch was about 25 US at the Bellavisa Lodge Wear a good pair of walking shoes the forest can be very damp slippery wet and muddy but the walks are not hard or steep Bring a raincoat You ll want to bring your macro lens if you have one for the flowers fer
15. ns and insects a telephoto lens for the humming birds a wide angle for the waterfalls views and scenery and possibly a tripod if you want to photograph the waterfalls Chris and likely not be attending this day trip but will be happy to give you advice tips and pointers at how to best photograph the humming birds before you leave Arriving in Ecuador Remember to change the date and time on your camera iPhone etc Other things to note The exact order of the itinerary above may be shuffled around and tweaked due to weather island control etc but you can rest assured that we ll be working flat out to get you to all the best places for the best photos possible The accommodation we ve selected in Galapagos is not luxury it s perfectly functional and clean every hotel room has a private ensuite there s hot water electricity comfy beds air conditioning and some even have wireless internet but it s not the Ritz or the Hilton ok However we wont be spending much time in our rooms any way just to sleep Galapagos is an expensive place and we have carefully selected our itinerary mainly to get you to the best photographic locations with the best guides at the best times and not splurge on extravagant accommodation options instead If you re concerned about this let us know and we can organise superior accommodation for you at a significant added cost We will form our own private group we will have our own gu
16. nvesting in their specific underwater dive housing it has a flat glass port rather than curved which results in much sharper images underwater Hero3 s come with this flat port as standard e Snap lock bags for rainproofing camera gear e Spare camera batteries Even though you will be able to re charge your battery each night it s not a bad idea to carry a spare in case there is a blackout and you can t recharge or more likely if you take so many photos some days that you ll run out of your main battery mid safari e Plenty of memory cards to store your awesome pictures on perhaps even a portable hard drive and laptop to back them up onto Another option are portable media storage devices that download from your card to its inbuilt hard drive automatically for you however we do not recommend these devices as we have seen too many fail You will enjoy having a laptop with you as it enables you to see and learn from your photos as you go See Memory Cards amp Storage section e Your camera s user manual just in case even Jess and really can t work something out on your camera e Camera sensor cleaning equipment such as an air blower optional at your own risk can help and will have one of my own e And last but not least don t forget your camera and lenses ideally with UV lens protectors on the front of each filters polarizing filters might be great to have Flashes are not allowed
17. opulation of around 23 000 The islands are geologically young and famed for their vast number of endemic species which were studied by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle His observations and collections contributed to the inception of Darwin s theory of evolution by natural selection The first crude navigation chart of the islands was done by the buccaneer Ambrose Cowley in 1684 He named the individual islands after some of his fellow pirates or after the English noblemen who helped the privateer s cause More recently the Ecuadorian government gave most of the islands Spanish names While the Spanish names are official many users especially ecological researchers continue to use the older English names particularly as those were the names used when Charles Darwin visited Other questions If you ve any burning questions or uncertainties please just let us know Cheerio Chris amp Jess www ChrisBray net safaris ChrisBray net Mobile 61 0 402 839 929
18. ormation Closer to departure we will email you a medical information form that we will ask you to fill in and email back to us It s not that Jess and care what medication you take but if you are involved in an accident and end up in hospital for some reason we need this information on hand to give to the doctors So please fill the medical form honestly and openly with this in mind Sea Sickness There are a few boat trips involved with this safari some up to around two hours long and in small boats so if you know you get sea sick easily then remember to pack some anti sea sickness tablets ginger pressure bands or whatever it is that you find works for you By the way when go sailing use 15mg Stugeron tablets which buy online from Canada seems to be the only stuff that works for me and Jess uses transdermscop scopolamine 1 5 patches the benefit of these being you don t loose the medication if you do become sick Don t stress out though as the seas are generally quite calm Immunizations There are several nasties that you will want to be immunised against in Galapagos Obviously Jess and are not doctors and so it s best to consult your doctor and work out what immunizations are best for you however after doing some research and discussing with our doctor below is a starting point e Hepatitis A injection last s a life time definitely worth getting Many of you may already have th
19. p to you and how much time you have allowed before and after the safari If you do fly in a day earlier the accommodation for that night and airport transfers are not included in the safari so please email safaris chrisbray net and we can arrange your airport transfer and a hotel room for you at the Uni Park Hotel where we stay and recommend that you also stay at an additional cost The safari finishes in Quito Ecuador s capital Last year 2012 after the safari Officially finished we organized an additional day trip to the cloud forest in the foothills of the Andes to photograph humming birds waterfalls orchids insects ferns and marvel at the spectacular views in the forest It was a spectacular day and our whole group really loved it saying that we should include it as part of the Galapagos Itinerary well we can t find any days to take out from our Galapagos itinerary so we thought we would offer it as an optional extra day after the tour The Cloud Forest Day Trip on the day that we d normally drop you off at the airport in the morning along with one night s extra twin share accommodation for that night with breakfast and airport transfers the next morning in Quito will cost 250 AU per person If you want to participate in the day trip min numbers do apply breakfast will be included and a mini bus with an English Speaking driver will pick you up at 8am from the hotel lobby for the Cloud Forest Day Tour It
20. pected things can happen and you don t want to be left out of pocket Entry into the Galapagos Islands prohibits the importation of fresh fruit plants or seeds so keep this in mind when packing CAMERA GEAR Where to begin What Lenses to bring In an ideal world you d want want a good wide angle zoom lens for landscape shots a standard ish zoom lens wide ish to zZoomed in ish for the every day kind of shots and a fairly serious telephoto lens probably also a zoom for all the wildlife shots However you DO NOT NEED TO GO AND SPEND A FORTUNE ON LENSES to get amazing photos Even something like a twin lens kit wide to normal and normal to telephoto will cover your bases because we do get quite close to a lot of the animals however some animals are small especially birds and some are harder to get close to so a good long telephoto lens up to say 300mm or ideally even 400mm will make the difference between a good photo and an amazing photo sometimes So if you are thinking of buying one special lens for this trip make it a telephoto zoom lens and if you re tossing up between spending some s upgrading the body of your camera or buying a telephoto lens instead buy the telephoto lens have written down a few suggested lenses below the specs and the RRP please note the RRP is from Digital Camera Warehouse and prices do vary between different stores so shop around Also keep in mind that t
21. s is only an f 5 6 lens then even if you just use a 1 4x tele you still wont be able to AF not that manual focus is impossible to use it just slows you down a lot Camera Body Again it s more important to have a good telephoto lens than a brand new camera body however if you are looking to upgrade your camera body here are some simple guides If you don t own a camera yet and are only looking at an entry level camera then the Canon 650D or 60D are great and record HD video too as do the others we will now look at Looking at the mid range enthusiast level cameras which the majority of safari travellers will be using currently I d say the best ones to look at in increasing order of price and awesomeness are the Canon EOS 60D then the 7D Up from there you get into full frame cameras including the 6D and the 5D mk III both amazing cameras but realise that with a full frame camera your lenses don t seem as zoomed in Sub frame cameras make your lenses seem about 1 6x more zoomed in which can be great for wildlife so don t fall for the trap of thinking that a full frame is always going to be better for you Think long and hard between a 5D mk Il anda 7D I d jus go the 7D for various reasons the fact it s not full frame is actually a good thing for wildlife shooting as we just said the 7D also has an in built flash can take up to 8 pics sec in burst mode for when the sea eagle swoops and snatches up
22. such small f s anymore as tele extenders reduce the maximum effective aperture of the lens and 3 You may LOOSE THE ABILITY TO AUTOFOCUS your lens You ve got to be very careful with tele extenders and Auto Focus AF My understanding is For AF to work the max effective aperture of the lens amp extender combined must be at least f 5 6 or a slightly more tolerant f 8 for pro 1D series cameras The 2x tele extender reduces the max effective aperture by 2 stops F scale increasing by 1 stop at a time goes like this f 1 4 f 2 f 2 8 f 4 f 5 6 f 8 So for the 2x tele to work on a normal camera the lens you re attaching it to would need to be a f 2 8 lens or faster ie bloody fast amp expensive but the 1 4x tele extender only reduces the f stop by 1 stop so you could get AF with a lens f 4 or faster as it will become an f 5 6 or faster SO usually recommend people if they want a tele extender to go for the 1 4x tele else many of your lenses won t AF anymore unless you have a damn expensive fast lens which can be a big pain You DON T NEED a tele extender for the Kenya trip but it is a good tool to pull out to give you that little bit more reach sometimes Keep in mind that you can always borrow camera equipment from hire places in Australia so if you re not interested in purchasing your own perhaps look into how much it would cost to hire Remember though that if your longest telephoto len
23. the fish from the lake compared to 3 9 pics sec of the 5D mk II etc The 5D mk III though blows the 7D out of the water Pe After the 7D 6D 5D s well if you want to step into the professional range of cameras then you re looking at the Canon 1D mk IV or a 1D X If you are looking at up grading your canon body feel free to shoot us an email at safaris chrisbray net and we can help you out Remember that Jess and don t make a cut out of what you end up purchasing or have stock were tying to sell off unlike the guys at some camera stores Bringing Multiple Cameras If you happen to have two cameras don t worry if you don t it s kinda a bit excessive some people find it great to bring them both with a long lens attached to one and a wide lens attached to the other this means that you don t have to change lenses so much it s faster and also provides redundancy backup should your camera fail Unlikely and we ll bring a few spare Canon 600D s with us just in case any of your cameras do die If you have a little compact point and shoot camera for your pocket that might come in handy too Again if you only have one camera that s totally fine Memory Cards amp File Storage While you should certainly be practicing restraint and only taking photos that are worth taking you ll still need LOTS of memory cards and it might also be a great idea to bring some kind of data backup system
24. ty to do and b the couple of times we have had clients get rooms for themselves they end up regretting it when they see the amazing friendships that form between other roomies Level of fitness moderate You do need to be able to get in and out of boats and wander around for a morning or afternoon with your camera bag on your back This is a remote island we re going to there may be occasional power outages etc but it s all part of the experience though and I m sure you ll survive As with some Asian countries some of the hotels ask that you don t put toilet paper down the loo but in the bathroom bins instead just for ecological reasons please don t be offended While the price DOES include the flight from Guayaquil airport in Ecuador to Galapagos and the flight from Galapagos back to Quito airport in Ecuador the price does NOT include flights from your home town to Ecuador nor your return flight back home However flights from Sydney to Ecuador cost around 2 600 return We have our own travel agent who is more than happy to help answer all your questions and help you find and book the best flights travel insurance etc If you have your own good quality snorkelling gear and can fit it in your luggage then do however if not fear not as you can hire mask snorkel and fins from the two islands at which we stay for only about 5 a day We do not loan out our own camera equipment for this trip We will bring a spare camera or two
25. when photographing the wildlife so there isn t much point in bringing a serious external flash unless you have the space Don t forget a little happy snap compact camera too if you have one e Swimmers mask snorkel flippers amp wetsuit spring suit if you can fit them in else you can hire them there but no guarantee on perfect sizing The humboldt Current sweeps deep cold water around these islands which brings a lot of the wildlife but also means you ll be chilly after 30min of swimming Clothing You will need some comfortable lightweight Safari clothes to allow for ease of mobility to get down low for interesting shots to climb in and out of boats etc Pockets are useful for things like lens caps lens cloths etc Long sleeves and full length pants will help keep the sun off and are a great idea You ll find that your main clothes will be a MOSILIFE couple of lightweight loose pairs of full length safari pants or shorts and similarly loose breathable tops It would be ideal if these clothes were naturally mA AARC earthy pastel colours we don t want to frighten the animals We recommend and wear Craghoppers they make great outdoor tops and pants with inbuilt permanent mosquito repellent and are lightweight durable confortable and even fashionable in a variety of different colours You can purchase Craghoppers from Anaconda and other outdoor stores Don t forget to bring a warm fleece
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