Our Second Safari to the Serengeti and Tanzania!

Back in the fall of 2014 my wife and I decided it was time to fulfill our ‘once in a lifetime’ dream trip. We made the wise choice to use ADS for our tour and we were overwhelmed with the experience, which was perfect in every way. Our once in a lifetime trip turned into a ‘we gotta go back again trip’, so we returned to Tanzania in March 2018.

Of course we chose ADS again and once again they were extremely helpful and accommodated our every need. You’ll read that there is no bad time to go on safari and now I’m convinced it’s true.

Our 2014 trip was in September because I wanted to see the Wildebeest migration crossing the Mara river–it was fabulous. This time we chose March and April to spend more time in central and South Serengeti and see the abundance of newborns.

Once again our guide, Russell, was fabulous and had an incredible knowledge of all wildlife. He was particularly impressive in identifying all of the different birds. My wife and I aren’t really birders, but his enthusiasm was truly infectious.

The abundance of big cats, lions, leopards, and cheetahs, was incredible, and of course it was a treat to see the lion cubs playing together. We were also fortunate to have 34 different Black Rhino sightings in the Ngorongoro crater, compared to only 1 in 2014.

One of the main reasons we chose ADS was that they only offer private tours. I am an avid photographer and didn’t want to have to fight for a position in the Land Cruiser for the right shot. So it was just Sue and me, but we saw plenty of other safari vehicles filled with 8 or more people.

It was helpful that Russell was also interested in photography so he always did his best to position the vehicle for me to have the best view and best lighting. In the 2 weeks we were on safari, I took over 4500 photos, so it took a while to sort through them to get the best of the best. I’ve attached a few for your enjoyment.

BTW, we are already talking about when we should do a third trip, and of course we won’t have even consider using a different company.

Bill and Sue D.
Friendswood, Texas
Safari Dates: March 27, 2018 to April 12, 2018

  1. Very beautiful pictures, great sightings! We are preparing for our first safari with ADS in just two weeks and are very excited.

  2. Fantastic photos! Looks like a great experience!

    Can you please share the type of photo equipment you used to get these great shots? Thanks!

    1. Ed, I use two camera bodies, a Nikon D610 which is a 36mp full frame sensor, and a D600, which is 24mp. On the 810 I use an 80- 400 f4.5/5.6 Nikon lenses. Most of the photos were taken with that setup. On the D600 I use a 24-120 f4 lens, convenient for wide angle and when you are really close to the subject. It’s a lot of gear to carry but it’s what I like to do. Our guide used a Nikon Coolpix and was able to get really nice shots with that little camera. The 60x zoom was pretty amazing.

  3. Great photos, Bill! And thank you for telling me about ADS. Amy and I are planning our first trip early next year. Hope my photos come close to the ones you took. Getting more excited, the more I research information about this trip.

  4. I love this video…Do wish we could go back again. Every moment was special and our guide, Emanuel was first class in every way. Thanks WDS.