Several months ago, we were invited to round out a group of six for a 10-day trip through the bush with Africa Dream Safaris and it took us all of 2 minutes to decide that we would never forgive ourselves if we declined. We just returned home from the trip tired but thrilled – it was an outstanding adventure and a very well coordinated one.

Upon our arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport, we were met by Faith – a very sweet lady. She had everything under control for us and the next thing we knew we were at our hotel for the night. The next morning, she had us on our way via air to Grumeti. On our touch down at Grumeti, wildebeests were scurrying alongside the plane. We definitely weren’t in Illinois anymore! Stepping off the plane, we found Rafael “Rafa” Mollel, our driver-guide and soon-to-be new friend waiting for us with our home on wheels for the next 9 days. And off we went.

By day’s end, we had seen such an unbelievable variety of animals that I couldn’t imagine that the next day could be anywhere near as good but it always was. And Rafa was a wealth of knowledge on just about everything – the animals and their behavior, the plant life, the geography, etc. It was much, much more than just seeing animals – it was an education on the Serengeti.

Over the 10-day period, we noted down that we had seen at least 11 different carnivores (including 13 or so lions chowing down on an eland, several cheetahs, and a couple of leopards), 4 different primates, 5 different reptiles (including a 12-foot python that appeared right next to our vehicle while we had our focus on a pride of lions), 4 different raptors, 10 different antelopes & other ruminants, 8 other hoofed mammals (including 33 elephants in one spot and 10 black rhinos at a distance), 19 different birds, and 10 different types of trees (including several baobabs) – simply amazing! And then there was the scenery – the endless plains, the kopjes, the watering holes and rivers. Everywhere you looked, it was postcard beautiful. A place everyone should see at least once in their life.

During the trip, we stayed at 6 different places including a tented camp, a couple of tented lodges, and some luxury hotels – all were great in their own way and very different from anything we had ever experienced before. We’ve camped many times but had never heard a lion growl 20 feet from our tent before and we’ve stayed at many a nice hotel but this was the first time we’d ever shared the pool-side lounge chairs with a baboon. What fun!!!

A big thanks to Dawn who handled everything for us in the States, to Faith who took such good care of us in Arusha before we set off and after our return, and especially to Rafa who made the trip so memorable for us each and every day.

Oh, and the Tusker, Kilimanjaro, and Safari beers are all good.

Lawrence and Marcia O.
St. Charles, Illinois
Safari dates: May 23, 2014 to June 01, 2014