Gallivanting in the Galápagos!

The Galápagos Islands are on many a traveller's wish list. They were on Hanlie and Vivian Gericke's too, even though the price of visiting made their eyes water. Was it worth it? Read on...

Hanlie rises through the sapphire water with a huge green turtle by her side. They break the surface together and gulp for air, looking straight into each other’s eyes…

But hang on, let’s backtrack a bit. As we made our way north through Ecuador in our Land Rover (see issue #193 – Ed.) we resolved to do the sensible thing and put our finances first. The Galápagos might be an Ecuadorian territory, but it’s a famously pricey destination. Then one evening wemet some other South African overlanders – Luis and Kareen Broodryk – in a campsite below the Cotopaxi volcano.

“You can’t come all the way here and not visit the Galápagos!”they said. (Check out the Broodryks’ journey on YouTube: @FearlessOnFourWheels – Ed.) So, we threw caution to the wind. Two days later, we were on a plane from Quito to Santa Cruz, the main island of the Galápagos archipelago, about a thousand kilometres off the west coast of Ecuador.

Without time for research, we had hastily booked two nights’ accommodation at Peregrina B&B ( laperegrinagalapagos.​com.ec). We arrived with our backpacks, not really knowing how the next 10 days would unfold.We were at the mercy of tourist brochures and information from locals and other visitors. Fortunately, most people on the island speak English.

The Galápagos is often described as one of the most diverse and environmentally fascinating destinations on earth. For good reason. Each island has endemic animal and plant species that are not even found on the other nearby islands.