I left for Tanzania expecting to get to spend an amazing vacation on safari, but what I didn’t know was that I would come home with a completely new perspective. Tanzania opened my eyes and changed me in so many ways. The experience was unreal. I have never been exposed to so much natural beauty and culture as I did in the 2 weeks I spent with African Dream Safaris.

First off, our entire vacation was perfectly planned and stress free. Sharon, from the moment I stepped off the plane until our guides said goodbye to us at the airport on our last day, we didn’t have to worry about anything. Everyone we met on our trip was far beyond hospitable and happy to take care of us and answer all of our questions (I had a lot!). Our guide was the most wonderful, knowledgeable, friendly man and he became part of our “family”.

Every place we stayed at was more beautiful and breath-taking than the one before. We traveled during the slower season, so each place we stayed at was peaceful. From tents on the ridge of the Ngorogoro crater, beautiful white houses overlooking a coffee plantation, luxurious tents on top of a kopi, to a 5-star hotel overlooking a watering hole… I could watch animals drink from a watering hole outside of my bathroom window while I took a bath or wake up in the morning to elephants rustling around outside my tent.

I could never have dreamed of how many animals we saw on our safari. To put it into perspective, in the first 20 minutes of our first drive, I asked our guide to stop so I could look at herd of gazelles out on the horizon. Later that day we got to experience the 2 cheetahs stalk and kill a baby warthog. Witnessing nature in action like that is something I will never forget. By the end of our safari seeing a family of giraffes up next to our car was normal.

We saw every animal you could possibly imagine and then some. My personal favorites were the zebras. We saw thousands and thousands everywhere we went but they never stopped being fascinating and beautiful to me. One of our last drives we stumbled upon over 200 elephants, surrounding and walking around our truck. You could see them for miles! We also got to see black rhino in the Ngorogoro crater, which was a real treat.

Every day was another incredible adventure… One day we got to go on a peaceful hot air balloon safari and watch the sunrise. When we landed, we had a delicious and beautiful breakfast prepared for under a tree overlooking the mountains and herds of water buffalo. One day we spent time in a Masai village talking to and learning about their culture. I even got to learn how to do traditional Masai dances.

Overall, I will look back on this trip as an experience that has completely changed my worldview. It was the most surreal, beautiful, humbling, educational, and incredible 2 weeks of my life. I have no doubt in my mind that I will come back to Tanzania someday.

Aside from this, I can’t thank you enough for planning the this trip for us. Everything about it was perfect. I talk for hours on end when people ask me about my experience. I still can’t believe all the things I experienced and saw and did. I am only 19 years old, so it is kind of a problem because I have such a yearning to travel and experience other cultures and countries now.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you a million times.

Hannah K.
Holland, MI
Safari Dates: December 3, 2013 – December 15, 2013