Tag: Anniversary

Quote of the Week: Mary and Tom Luetkehans

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Posted on by Michael

Tom and I recently returned from our safari trip with ADS. This was a trip we had dreamed of for many years, and we decided that it would be a wonderful way to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. I guess the best way to sum up our adventure is…Wow! We were so delighted with the whole ADS team. We felt like they took great care of us every step of the way – starting long ago in our planning phase with our ADS Sales Consultant, to the ADS rep who met us at the Kilimanjaro airport, to our absolutely wonderful guide, who spent hours tirelessly driving us through the wilderness and spotting all kinds of animals with unbelievable skill. And as so many have already attested, the animals were completely amazing. We were in the western Serengeti during the wildebeest migration, and it was just magnificent. The lines of running wildebeest stretched to the horizons. Along with that, we saw zebras, giraffes, elephants, lions, cheetahs and so many, many more animals that we had only seen in books or zoos before. We felt so privileged to be able to watch these beautiful creatures interacting in their natural environment – and even interacting with us in a way. It was such an amazing sensation to be standing in our land cruiser while an elephant almost near enough to touch looked directly in our eyes.

Our lodgings were wonderful as well. Most of our tented lodges were out in the wilderness where we could hear the animal sounds as we fell asleep. The rooms were charming, the food was delicious, the views were outstanding and every member the staff and each place we stayed was so friendly and gracious. We took walking tours with guides at two of the lodges, and they were wonderful. It was so exciting to be able to take a walk in the long grass of the Serengeti! Actually, there was only one aspect of our trip that was not what we expected…we had planned this trip as a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, but now we can’t wait to go back again! We are already envisioning our next safari during the wet season when the wildebeest are giving birth, and when we are ready to go we will without doubt return to ADS. They made this trip everything we had hoped for and more. Asante sana!

Mary and Tom Luetkehans
May 2011

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Quote of the Week: Bobby and Tricia Mohon

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Posted on by Michael

First of all, without any knowledge of how to choose a Safari company, we made the right choice by choosing Africa Dream Safaris. They went out of their way to make sure our trip was the experience of a lifetime. They even helped us celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary by providing us with gifts, champagne and serenading us with song. It was so special.

I can’t say enough about our guide. He was wonderful, and always professional. After returning from a long day of game viewing, we would share stories of what we had seen with other hotel guests. They were usually jealous because our guide had taken us to see things that they had not seen. We experienced a cheetah on the hood of our car, male lions eating a fresh zebra carcass, a mother lion and her cubs, baby elephants, and so much more. We actually got to see black rhinos mating! I can’t imagine seeing any more wildlife than we did. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the different types of wildlife, and there was no time that we did not feel safe in his care – even when getting within 10-15 feet of some animals!

The hotel accommodations were wonderful. I especially loved the tented lodges. They had all the modern amenities, but with the feeling of being outdoors in a tent. One night we heard elephants and lions outside. It was amazing! We actually picked the perfect time of the year to travel on safari, early April. I was a little concerned because it was supposed to be the rainy season, but the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. We had rain one day for about an hour (it even hailed!) but that was all. We didn’t experience the crowds that we heard about at other times. We were alone on most of our excursions, which made the wildlife viewing more enjoyable.

Bobby made all the arrangements with our safari consultant beforehand. She helped him with planning every step of the way. I was also impressed by our follow-up interview. Africa Dream Safaris is very concerned that everyone has the best experience possible. Thank you for helping us with our trip of a lifetime!

Bobby and Tricia Mohon
Magnolia, Texas

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Quote of the Week: Rich and Cathie Guimond

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Posted on by Michael

We hope that you like these photos and can use them in your updates. We had a fabulous time during our safari and everything went extremely well. We loved all of our accommodations. We hope to return in a few years with more members of our family. However, it will be hard to top the animal encounters that we observed this time.

This adventure was a celebration of our wedding anniversary. We topped it off by purchasing a very nice Tanzanite and diamond ring for Catherine at the Cultural Heritage shop as we drove back into Arusha. She is thrilled with the ring.

While we were there we saw many people with large groups. Six to eight in a vehicle and two to four vehicle caravans. We were very happy that we were on our private safari with ADS instead of being packed into those vehicles. We know some people that were on a group safari with Thompson in January. There were a total of eighteen in their group. The price for them in the large group was almost the same as our cost for the private safari. Although they enjoyed their safari it was not the same private and tailored experience that we had. Asanta sana!

Rich and Cathie Guimond
March 2011

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Trip of a Lifetime

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Posted on by Michael

We’ve been back now for about three days from our safari and still can’t stop talking about it or waking up thinking about everything we saw.   Words simply can’t describe how amazing it was.   When people say a safari is a “trip of a lifetime,” I now know what they mean.  We saw animals and sights that I thought I would only ever see on Planet Earth or National Geographic.  Yet, there we were – parked within a few feet of lionesses noisily growling and feeding together – or next to baby elephants playfully charging each other.

Two things amazed me most on the safari – the volume of animals we saw and the close proximity we got to them.  On a ten-day safari we must have seen 20 cheetah, 50 or 60 lions, herds of 50 or more elephants, 5 leopards, several rhino, and countless giraffe, ostrich, zebras, warthogs, and wildebeest.  We also saw babies of everything, which we could have watched for hours.  One morning, we sat and watched two cheetah cubs jumping and playing for at least 30 minutes.  They would stalk one another through the bushes, leaping at each other and rolling in the dirt.  Once in a while the mom would get in on the action and run at them playfully.  We got very close to almost all of the animals. Looking into the deep, amber colored eyes of a lioness lounging next to our jeep was something I won’t forget.  Nor will I forget being within about 50 yards of a herd of 46 elephants who turned and all stared at us when we pulled up, circling around their babies – before relaxing and going back to eating and playing while we intently watched.

We chose to stay at tented camps, all of which were fantastic.  We loved to be able to hear the animals at night.   Our favorite accommodation by far was the private camping.  We pulled up to the campsite in Ndutu – beautiful green grass and acacia trees and two tents – set up just for us.  Having dinner and sitting under the campfire with drinks afterwards looking up at the stars while hyenas whooped and lions grunted in the distance was almost surreal.  Rama, the camp manager, was perfect in anticipating our every need and we had a great time talking with him each day.  We also very much enjoyed the Kusini and Ngorongoro Lemala Camps.  At Kusini one night while sitting at the campfire sipping wine and stargazing with the camp managers, we could hear two large prides of lions within a kilometer of each side of the camp roaring.  At Lemala, a hungry elephant hung out behind our tent all night eating from the nearby trees.  Absolutely incredible!

Finally – and most importantly – I wanted to comment on our guide.  His experience, expertise, and warm personality absolutely made our trip the amazing experience it was.  He had almost 20 years of experience in guiding and it certainly showed.  He knew in-depth information on every animal and bird we saw and made the drive and viewing more interesting and exciting because of it.  He also didn’t just drive and try and spot animals as it seemed like drivers from some other companies were doing – he was constantly working with other drivers to see what was out there each day and find the best areas and animals for us to view.  As a result, we got to see everything we wanted, and much more.

Thank you to Dawn and Africa Dream Safaris for an incredible trip that we will never forget. We hope to see you again soon – Dave and I are already thinking about a return trip in a few years for our anniversary!

Moira and David Funcheon
Chicago, Illinois
February 2011

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Our 20th Wedding Anniversary

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Posted on by Michael

We wanted to take a minute after we returned from our safari to thank you and the entire ADS Staff for their part in our safari experience. It is hard to know what expectations to have on a trip like this. We have travelled to various parts of the world but had no real idea of what to expect on our trip to Tanzania. We had planned this trip to celebrate our 20th Wedding Anniversary and believed it would be an “once-in-a-lifetime” type trip. As the trip got closer and closer, our expectations and excitement continued to grow.

I am glad to report that from the moment we stepped off the plane in Kilimanjaro and met Salma from ADS, every expectation we had was surpassed by the ADS Staff and our experiences. On Day 1, we flew to Seronera and met our guide. He was easy going, knowledgeable and by the end of the afternoon, we felt like we’d known him for years. Within 10 minutes of leaving the airport strip, we were in the middle of a herd of 15+ elephants and 15+ hippos. We were stunned by how close we were to the animals and their care-free, natural behavior even though we were just feet away.

Later that evening, after we finished our day (having seen much more after the elephants and hippos) and were having dinner at the Mbuzi Mawe Tent Camp, we talked about all the testimonial emails from previous clients of ADS and how they all seemed to make sense now. While the trip was expensive, with one day completed, we both agreed it was already worth it. We had six more days of our safari and each one was just as good as Day 1 (if not better). It is still hard to believe that you can get VIP treatment while on safari!

Included are two of the many photos that we took:

1. CHEETAHS WITH KILL; while we were in the Ndutu area, we came across 4 cheetahs. We watch and followed them as they stalked, hunted and finally killed a wildebeest. After the kill, we were within feet of them as they took turns eating and resting.

2. LION WITH KILL; again in the Ndutu area, we came across a female lion with her 3 cubs. We watch and followed as she hunted down a baby wildebeest and took it back to her cubs.

Again, thank you for a great experience. We will recommend you to all who will ask!!

Sincerely,

Bill and Sarah Vieth
Evansville, Indiana
February 2011

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Quote of the Week: Dennis and Joanne Airoldi

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Posted on by Michael

Our Africa Dream Safari experience far exceeded our expectations and we had very high expectations. From the first meeting at the airport with the VIP service through the last good-bye on the way home we felt very comfortable that Africa Dream Safaris had everything planned. While a safari could have been a stressful experience, since we were far from home and in such a different environment, Africa Dream Safaris made our safari a relaxing enjoyable experience.

Our guide was amazing at spotting animals and he gave us tips on how to spot animals ourselves. Since most animals have a unique silhouette, when we were looking for a certain type of animal our guide would tell what shape to look for. More importantly, our guide had the knowledge that allowed him ot place us in the right place at the right time. I had hoped to be able to see a lion or cheetah kill during our safari. On our first day we saw a lion pride stalk and kill a mother Cape buffalo. When we returned in the morning 15 spotted hyenas surrounded the kill, a few male lions and jackals picked at the scraps. We also watched cheetahs stalk zebras, gazelle and wildebeest. This was very interesting since they failed to get in position to attack the zebras and missed on their first attack on the wildebeest. They were successful with the gazelle and the second wildebeest. It was good to see that the predators don’t always win. Over the course of our safari we saw 5 lion kills, 2 cheetah kills, 1 leopard kill and 2 vulture kills. I was glad that we were able to watch both lions and cheetahs in the complete process of the predator and prey confrontation. It was very interesting and we were able to get very close and get some amazing pictures and video.

My wife is an avid bird watcher and our guide seemed to know every bird we saw. While bird watching was not our primary goal we saw numerous unique bird species while looking for larger animals. During one 3-day period my wife saw over 60 different birds. The variety of bird life in Tanzania is truly amazing.

During our safari my wife and I celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary. The staff at the private luxury camp was able to bake a cake for us over a campfire. The staff at this camp did an exceptional job. Our guide brought us to a Maasai Boma (village) where some of his friends lived. My wife and I will never forget the experience on being in a Maasai hut with a Maasai warrior on our anniversary. The people were amazing and spent time with us discussing their way of life. In many aspects it was like going back in time, their knowledge of the world was very limited. They asked us where we lived and had no knowledge of America. In order to try an determine how far we had traveled they asked us how long it would take to walk to America. It was a very special anniversary.

We have been on numerous vacations and normally towards the end of a vacation you start to look forward to getting home. On safari we wished we could stay much longer. When asked if we would do it again our immediate response was that we would go back tomorrow. Every day on safari was special and different; you never knew what was waiting just around the corner.

Dennis and Joanne Airoldi
February 2010

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Quote of the Week: Angela and Bob Forwood

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Posted on by Michael

We had a GREAT time on our safari. I cannot think of a single thing that could have been better. [Our guide] was a fantastic guide and consummate professional. He was very flexible with the schedule and went out of his way to ensure we saw as much as we could. His knowledge of the animal, birds, and plants is just amazing. He is a walking encyclopedia! Thank you so much for the work you put into making our vacation and anniversary very special.

Angela and Bob Forwood
December 2008

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Quote of the Week: Kaaryn and David C.

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Thank you so much for making our honeymoon such a special trip. We will never forget it. [ADS] was great to work with […] the quick responses to all of our questions and knowledge about the lodges and parks were so valuable in helping us pick an itinerary and lodging that suited our needs. Enough cannot be said about the staff in Tanzania. After 20 hours of travel, it was great to have [ADS] at the airport to greet us. [ADS] quickly got us through customs and to our lodge. Our driver-guide was great company to spend a week with. His knowledge about Tanzania’s history, customs, parks, animals, birds and the migration was incredible. He seemed to never miss any game on our drives and encouraged us to get up early to have the best chance of seeing the most game.

As the other safari companies were turning around to stay within their mileage limits and the main roads, we were heading further away from the camps and crowds. It was great to get away from the crowds and truly feel like we had the park to ourselves […] Highlights of our trip: Seeing tens of thousands of wildebeests and zebras during the migration. Three huge male lions on a kopje. Pride of lions feeding on 3 wildebeests that were recently killed. Being able to see 5 black rhino’s at the same time on the crater floor.

Hopefully we’ll be back soon and certainly will book with ADS. Asante Sana!

Kaaryn and David C.
May 2008

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