This was the year we said, “let’s do something different, visit someplace unlike any other place we have been”. Africa easily met that mandate, but where? By a stroke of luck my sister- via a ‘friend of a friend’ – was put in touch with someone who was eager to share her recent safari experience. And that is how we first learned of Dawn Anderson, ADS tour expert extraordinaire. Fifteen months later we are holding boarding passes: destination Kilimanjaro!
From our arrival in Kilimanjaro to our departure 10 days later Dawn put together a seamless itinerary which included the West and Central Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. Mathias and Timon picked us up at the airport and delivered us to the Mt. Meru hotel providing lively banter along the way about all things Africa. They were friendly and helpful as they provided us with the all necessary details regarding our following morning bush flight from Arusha to the West Serengeti.
Upon landing at the Grumeti Airstrip we were greeted by Claude, ADS driver/guide extraordinaire. Little did we know we hit the lottery in drawing Claude to guide us through our ‘trip of a lifetime’. Within the first 90 minutes we saw UP CLOSE impalas, hippos, crocs, and a cheetah. By our trip’s end we saw the Big 5, some of the Little 5, and animals we never expected to see. We were fortunate to have elephants, lions and zebras cross in front of our vehicle several times. We even saw the hard to spot serval cat.
Claude exceeded our expectations daily in spotting animals at Hubble telescopic ranges much to our amazement and delight. He not only knew the wildlife from antelope to zebras, he demonstrated Audubon-esque knowledge of Tanzanian birds including their nesting and feeding habits.
Accommodations at all our lodges – Mbalageti, Lemala Seronera, and Lions Paw were top notch. The food far exceeded our expectations (soup recipes, please!) and there are not enough superlatives to aptly describe the friendliness of the staff at each camp. All were genuinely caring and attentive.
Having been bitten by the safari bug, we can’t truly describe our safari as a ‘once in a lifetime’ trip as we are already discussing our next safari. But, if you are looking for a unique, forever memorable experience a safari is the answer. ADS actually can deliver your dreams.
Bernie and Gary R., San Jose, California
Barbara and Tony P., Red Bluff, California
Safari Dates: May 18-27, 2015
Absolutely lovely pictures
Barbara, your pictures are fantastic! That leopard picture is incredible. As the “friend of a friend”, it’s great to know I could whole-heartedly recommend ASD and know that I didn’t steer you wrong. I am so glad you had a wonderful time. Dawn is wonderful to work with and the whole ADS team just can’t be beat.
Thanks for sharing!
Teddi
Planning our first trip to Africa Safari Country. Many of my questions were answered. The Video portion were amazingly informative, the views of the animals were so realistic. I was encouraged to stop dreaming of our safari and actually start booking our trip.