Posts From August 2011

On Safari with my Grandchildren

I have been remiss in not writing you earlier. Rita and I have been fortunate to have been able to travel to many wonderful places. The one place I wanted to visit again after a trip 6 years ago was Tanzania, and I imagined the possibility that I might make the trip with grandchildren. We were sufficiently fortunate to arrive at a time when both we and are grandchildren were at ages when such trip was possible, and after consulting the Internet, happily found ADS, highlighted by the best, most informative, Africa web site. I consider that the spectacular success of our trip was primarily the result of your advice, guidance and expertise.

Having been on “safari” before, I understood how much the right person could enhance ones experience. Our guide, as you had advised me, was spectacular with the children and indefatigable, in searching for all the beasties he could find us. He maneuvered himself into several drives, which would have been much less stressful to him, were he not so intent on assuring that we saw everything we possibly could, and he did it all with great care and with great calm and expertise. He also was remarkable in his ability to find animals in spite of their many generations evolving adaptive coloration. I can not imagine a guide performing in a more professional manner. Although Bilila was somewhat out of place in the midst of the Serengeti, my 10 and 12 year olds were delighted with the pool, and my teenager with the luxury. Thanks for arranging our stop there. We had expected some problems because of the children’s vegetarian diet, but in fact none arose, and the meals at Buffalo Springs were of world class quality.

You will recall that we had many conversations and exchanged a number of Emails prior to our trip. In every conversation we had, you were warm, helpful, professional and correct. I attribute the spectacular of success of our trip to your help, but I would be remiss if I did not comment on the courtesy and help provided by the in country staff. On one occasion, I accidentally called Monica at 5:30 AM, and she was as pleasant as if I had called at noon. Mattathias, who accompanied us on our day in Arusha, was helpful and flexible.

So thank you again for your guidance and advice. I have been spreading the word about ADS in general and you in particular to all the people I know who might be interested  in a Tanzanian foray.

Thank you on behalf of Sam, Bella, Jed and Rita as well as myself.

Morton A Alterman
August 2011

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Like traveling with “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom”

It’s impossible to know where to begin to thank you and ADS for all you did for us before and during our wonderful adventure.  The number of African moments that took our breath away are too numerable to count (although the 14,000 pictures Dale took might be some indication – ha!).  All of our dreams really did come true and we left feeling full and satisfied.  The country is magnificent and ever-changing, the animals are majestic and entertaining, the weather is perfect  and our guide/teacher was admirably focused on ensuring our adventure was an experience of a lifetime.

I know you had a hand in choosing our guide based on our interest in photography and what a gift he was.  Not only was he tolerant of our enthusiasm for photos but he joined in our joy of capturing great moments and lent his expertise to ideas for great shots and they were abundant!.  In addition, his knowledge of the animals and their habits was like traveling with “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom”.

He provided constant commentary, could spot wildlife from ridiculous distances and then could predict what we should watch for as we moved in closer…perhaps they were going to stalk some prey, look for water or even mate.  It was truly remarkable.  Needless to say we saw the big 5 repeatedly and then some!  He was open to all of our wishes for early game drives and met us each morning with a clean vehicle, breakfasts, lunches and beverages.  What a wonderful ambassador for Tanzania!  I am including just a couple of Dale’s more unique photos as proof of what a great photo team we all were!

And finally the accommodations were outstanding.  We loved the uniqueness of each location and their inspiring evening views.  Our meals were excellent, the entertainment was fun and our farewell was both appreciated and quite unexpected.

Again, thank you for guiding us through this adventure and for the service that is clearly a benchmark for ADS. We’ll be back someday with grandchildren!

Our sincerest thanks,

Debby and Dale Hewitt
San Antonio, Texas
August 2011

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This was our First Trip to Africa

We had the most memorable trip of our entire lives. Never have we seen so many beautiful landscapes as in Tanzania. The people were wonderful. The food was much better than we ever expected. The tented camps and lodges were magnificent, including Mt. Meru Hotel in Arusha.

The magic began when we landed in Kilimanjaro and were met by representatives from Africa Dream Safaris.  Peter and Monica took care of everything at the airport, whisked us away to the car with our luggage and we were off to the Mt. Meru Hotel for a wonderful night’s rest.

The next day Charles took us on a very informative tour of Arusha and he taught us so much about life in Africa. He was magnificent. Charles took us to the school and we had brought school supplies for the children and teachers. That was one of the highlights of our trip.

On the third day, we met our guide. He is the best guide in all of the world and he is such a wonderful person. We loved having him as our guide. We looked forward to each day’s start and dreaded the days coming to an end. Our eyes almost hurt we saw so much beauty, all created by our Heavenly Father.

We were awe struck on our first day of safari. We actually saw all of the big five on our first day!!! We will always remember the campfire at sunset, the beauty in the land and the animals, and our fabulouse visit to F.A.M.E. which we were so pleased to hear is supported by ADS. (Dr. Frank and his staff were wonderful. We will be adding them to our list of giving.)

We couldn’t ask for anything more.  Never have we been cared for in such a wonderful manner as the way in which ADS took care of all the details….from the time we arrived to the day we left. This was our first trip to Africa, but it definitely will not be our last. Francis was telling us about a trip to western Tanzania in February when there is a lot of calving taking place. We will definitely stay in touch when we begin plans for our next visit.  Thank you for all of your time, patience, and guidance.

Sincerely,

Stan and Dianne Rivers
Sharpsburg, Georgia
August 2011

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Quote of the Week: Alejandra Mugica & Family

For two years I prepared my dream trip to Africa, I wrote dozens of e-mails,
searched for hundreds of web pages, forums and reviews looking for the
perfect trip. Little did I know that the perfect trip was waiting for me in
Tanzania and all I had to do us unlock the company to help me discover it.
ADS was it. From the first e-mail, the first questions and the first doubts
I had, ADS was professional, and thorough with the information and answers.
Not one mail of dozens was left unanswered or half answered. Going to
Africa, I needed reassurance and support. ADS provided with everything I
needed to know to be safe, comfortable and mostly, excited about my trip.

Our first impression about our guide was immediately of man with experience,
knowledge and kindness. Little did we know all our wonderful guide had in
store for us. From the very first day his willingness to get us what we went
to look for rewarded us with a crossing, and a lion and lioness devouring a
wildebeest! From then on everyday brought us something new, different,
wonderful. We were lucky to have a guide that with the utmost respect for
wildlife was willing to show us Africa through his eyes. Herds of elephants,
cheetahs, lions, wildebeest crossings, baboons, leopards, hippos,
gazelles.and more.

At the end teary eyes for leaving this precious world behind, not just me but my family as well. I have heard that going to Africa changes you, it does. So many experiences, so many wonderful people, the children, the villages, and for me, the animals. The look on the animals eyes, the calmness, confidence and pride you can see when they look at you. It is something that only the gift of freedom can give. They decide what to do, they can leave, they can stay, they can fight. In this perfect world they stay, so we can learn from them and admire their beauty. So we can be in awe and be ready to start dreaming towards the next safari.

Thank you ADS for your professionalism, your thoroughness with details and
picking the very best guide for me and my family. We could not have asked
for a better experience!!

Sincerely yours,

Alejandra Mugica and Family
August 2011

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