We recently returned from our Africa Dream Safari vacation and from our first contact with Michael to start the planning process, to the moment we hugged our wonderful driver guide Bennett goodbye at the Kilimanjaro airport, the whole experience was nothing short of AMAZING!

We had wanted to do a safari for some time and initially had our sights set on a South African safari until a work colleague told us about her private safari experience with ADS in Tanzania. The private nature of the safari was all we needed to hear to turn our focus to ADS and Tanzania.

The next day I got in contact with Michael Wishner and he did a phenomenal job of putting together a superb itinerary with “Stanley” level accommodations which included 2 nights at the African Tulip in Arusha, 2 nights at Kirawira Tented Camp in the Western Serengeti, 3 nights at the Four Seasons Bilila Lodge in the Central Serengeti, and 2 nights at the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge with its spectacular view down the length of the Crater. Dawn’s blog with packing information for both her suitcase and her day pack was a lifesaver for me – the proverbial over packer. We followed Dawn’s lists item by item, and we had everything we needed, and used everything we took.

We were captivated not only by the proliferation of wildlife that we saw but also by the beautiful kopjes and the entire landscape of the Serengeti. Early morning drives provided cool temperatures and great color for photography. The hospitality extended to us by all of the staff at the camps and lodges where we stayed was overwhelming. In short – we were treated like royalty by everyone we encountered!

Our driver-guide Bennett had a keen eye / sense for finding animals and birds (so many birds!) and his knowledge about the wildlife and Tanzania was endless. The private nature of our safari afforded us the opportunity to have more engagement and interaction with him than what we observed in other vehicles that we passed. On our last day we sat with Bennett for over an hour and he identified for us all of the animals and birds that we photographed. He expressed his gratitude for our visit and sensitized us to how our traveling to Tanzania contributed to the livelihood of so many Tanzanians.

We’ve traveled extensively and have had many memorable trips but there is no topping our Tanzanian safari with ADS. It was the trip of a lifetime – it was truly AMAZING!!

Here are a few of our favorite pictures along with a huge ASANTE SANA to Michael, Bennett, Dawn, Joseph and Mathius who took care of us during our Arusha stay, and the entire ADS staff for making our safari experience so memorable!!! We embarked on our safari as tourists but we returned as ambassadors for Tanzania and our new found friends that we met along the way.

Mary Ann and Tony P.
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Safari Dates: May 13, 2017 to May 22, 2017