I am so happy I ignored my friends’ warnings and stuck with my scheduled safari in Tanzania this January. To address the elephant in the room (so to speak)…there is NO Ebola problem in Tanzania.

My companion for my third ADS safari was my sister-in-law who was looking forward to her first. Our trip with Africa Dream Safaris was perfect. From the moment we stepped off the plane to the hour we were delivered back to the airport we were pampered. We never once felt any need to worry about our surroundings, so always felt totally safe.

We stayed in two tented camps and one lodge. Each had its own unique charms and all were of the highest quality. Beds were comfy and the food was good. Bonus in the camps is that water is heated over a wood fire so smells wonderfully smoky as you shower. We would return again to any of them.

Our driver, Wilfred Foue, is very knowledgeable and cheerfully answered our hundreds of questions even if we had asked them the day before. We stumped him once on the last day, but as we ‘high fived’, we encouraged him to just make something up! His knack for spotting game was impressive.

We were up at dawn every day and stayed out on our game drives until dusk forced us back to our lodgings. Unlike many of the other tour operators, dawn drives are encouraged with ADS. Many folks we met had to wait until after breakfast to set out. There is a lot of action underway in these early hours and it is a shame to miss it. Also, there is nothing as breath taking as watching the mists clear and the dawn break on the Serengeti.

We saw all of the ‘Big Five’ several times and witnessed two cheetah kills. Over our boxed breakfasts in the jeep, we watched a lioness hunting for her meal one day and a cheetah hunting the next. On another day we spotted a baby leopard waiting for Mom to return with food. Many of our meals were spent this way…quietly waiting for the action to begin. When a Mom is hungry and looking to feed her cubs something is going to happen. It’s only a question of being as patient as the cat is.

At lunch one day, Wilfred spotted what he thought were two female lions lazing under a bush. As we got closer we noticed little heads begin to pop up as a litter of four newborns with their eyes still closed stumbled in and out looking for a meal.

Big animals are exciting of course, but the treat in January is this is the time when about 500,000 Wildebeests are giving birth in the South. On a chill morning after rain in the Ngorongoro Crater, we saw birthing all around us. It seemed like one moment there were no babies then all of a sudden we would see them popping up to their feet. These amazing babies begin to walk immediately and within minutes can run…wobbly sometimes, but moving well. Soon each herd seemed to have thirty or forty new members.

We had an amazing ten-day experience. I would not hesitate to tell anyone I know to go to Tanzania on safari with ADS. Plan it now and enjoy this gorgeous country. It is an unforgettable experience.

Feel free to visit my website to see some more photos from my safari.

Chris C.
Raleigh, North Carolina
Safari Dates: January 18, 2015 to January 28, 2015