We are now back from our trip with ADS and feel so blessed to have been able to do this trip and enjoy the incredible people and animals of Africa. We learned so much and have thousands of pictures to now go through to relive memories. Not only were the animals amazing but all the people we met in Africa, in the camps, shops, and along the way were so warm and generous. We learned much about the culture and history of the people as well as about the behaviors of the animals we saw.

Thank you Dawn for all the work you did to help organize this trip and put together an amazing itinerary, fantastic places to stay and a great guide in George! We couldn’t have asked for more as you saw to our every need. George was truly a guide who did not want us to miss anything. I know there were times he was really worried about the vehicle and spent hours trying to make sure it was going to be fine and make it through the trip even staying up late with a mechanic to fix it one night.

I don’t think he got more than 3 hours sleep some nights and yet was always cheerful the next day and as alert as ever. We will remember such phrases of his like – “what do you want to say at the lodge for? You have a beautiful home at your home. We should take full advantage of the time to see the wildlife.” And we did, some days more than 13 hours! Also – “FILO” meaning “first in, last out” as the motto for our days at Ngorongoro Crater. And we were!

Some folks who had done a private safari had recommended that we do a safari this way and we were so glad that we did. I can’t imagine having to satisfy a group of folks to make decisions about what to see or how much time we would spend at any one stop to observe the animals. It is the only way to go and, even though we haven’t gone with any other company, ADS is the only one we would recommend to others.

We were also glad that we went in the “low season.” There were no crowds to interfere with watching the animals and the beautiful green of the savannah made for amazing pictures. The young newborn of so many animals added to the specialness of what we saw at this time of year. Yes, there were challenges for our guide to get through some of the muddy roads at times but it never stopped us from going anywhere and added to the adventure (at least for us!) For the “rainy season” there was never much rain and what we did have – late afternoon or at night – did not interfere with any of our travel or viewing of the animals.

The tent camps we stayed in truly were “glamorous camps” with all the comforts of home and more than attentive staff. The food was wonderful and plentiful.

As an added bonus it was so fun to get a chance to meet you In Arusha. What a wonderful surprise. Now, as I write this I can actually picture you as I write!

Thanks again Dawn for all you did to make this trip possible and especially for your compassion and caring when it seemed like we were going to have to change our arrangements at the last minute due to a family crisis. We were so touched by your generous caring and work to see if we could change the trip to another date. We are grateful we did not have to do that!

Barry and Connie H.
Redmond, Oregon
Safari Dates: April 06, 2018 – April 17, 2018

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