We had been planning our safari with Sharon for over a year, and our expectations were very high – but the safari was better than we had even dreamed!

In the first two days, we saw more animals than we thought we would see the entire trip, and it just kept getting better. We saw leopards (and their cubs) sleeping in trees. We got to know at least a dozen cheetahs, thanks to our guide Pokea’s ability to spot cheetah ears in the tall grass from at least half a mile away! We hung out with dozens of lions, and even spent an hour watching two of them mate (and then mate again…and again…and again!). We fell in love with the zebras and wildebeest, especially after we witnessed two baby wildebeest and one baby zebra being born, and then up and walking within 15 minutes! We loved the hippos, and the elephants, and our favorites – the warthogs! Oh, and the hyenas, the jackals, the gazelles…we even saw seven black rhinos on our last day, in the Crater.

Our accommodations were wonderful. We spent the first two nights at the private luxury camp and spent our first night on safari listening to lions and hyenas walk outside our tent! The staff was so welcoming and pampered us beyond belief, including the delicious lunch boxes. Then we spent three nights at Lake Masek tented lodge, in a gorgeous private “tent” with hardwood floors, a cast iron tub, and mosquito netted beds. The last two nights were at the Crater Lodge – wow! This is probably the most amazing lodging we will ever stay at in our entire lives! It was luxurious and opulent without being over the top, and we even were greeted by the resident buffalo herd on our last night walking back from dinner.

Having a private safari made all the difference. We left when we wanted (as early as possible!), stayed out to eat lunch with the animals, and spent as much time watching things as we wanted. Other vehicles would sometimes stop by our spot for 5 minutes and then speed off – but we got to really enjoy getting to know the animals and didn’t have to follow anyone else’s agenda. We think our guide, Pokea, must be the best ADS guide – he was expert at spotting animals, answered every single questions we had about them (there were a lot!), and seemed to know exactly what we wanted to see or do at every moment. We never had to worry for a minute on safari that everything wasn’t completely taken care of, from the moment we were greeted at the airport to the moment Pokea dropped us off.

We would go on safari with ADS again without hesitation and only wish that we were still on safari!

Amber H. (Washington, D.C.) and Kirsten G. (San Francisco, CA)
Safari dates: March 5-12, 2013