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