African Dreams Safari took care of everything, our first time on a safari, making the trip a breeze. As we got closer to our safari, Dawn Anderson answered all our questions, putting our minds at ease.

Upon our arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport, the ADS greeting committee welcomed us to Tanzania and were one the first through Immigration and Customs. We retrieved our bags, although one bag was missing, which we received at the hotel the next day. We arrived at the Lake Duluti Lodge after a short drive, even at this last hour, the staff greeted us. We found the Lake Duluti Lodge very comfortable and attractive.

What a fun experience in our small cozy plane that flew us up to Northern Serengeti. The pilot pointed out numerous sights below which we would soon see on our Safari. Claude, our guide and driver, found us after we had landed and took us to our Safari Land Cruiser. Within the first 2 hours, after landing, we had seen at least 10 amazing species of animals.

Claude was so knowledgeable in every aspect of our Safari and able to answer all our questions. During our entire trip, we ask ourselves over and over, how does Claude know where these animals are. He drove slowly so we could savor all that we saw.

He gave us plenty of time with each animal, so we could take our videos and photos and then enjoy watching them in their natural habitat. The animals were calm, and we never felt we were ever in harm’s way. His years of experience were apparent throughout the 10-day Safari.

Seeing a pride of 13 lions sunning themselves on a rock in the middle of the savanna was a “Oh Wow” moment and how did Claude know where to find these stunning creatures? We stood in the vehicle and watched them in silence. As we are traveling, there on the side of a road, Claude spotted a female lion looking for prey. He backed up the vehicle and we were within 4 feet of this beautiful creature, with our jaws dropped. Another “Wow” moment.

We watched the migration of the wildebeest through the Mara River. We saw two serval cats, on different days, in different areas, one catching his prey and the other dragging his prey away. It was marvelous to find these rare small cats in the vast savanna.

We loved the balloon ride over the Mara River followed by the breakfast beside the Mara River.

The baboons with their young were so much fun to watch. The Vervet Monkey who takes any opportunity to try to steal your food, but they are so adorable looking. The mighty elephants, the majestic giraffe, the extra-large hippopotamus, the large male lions with the large shaggy manes, the sleeping-in-a-tree leopard, the fastest cheetahs, the gorgeous zebras, just to name a few of the wildlife we saw.

What a treat it was that we were also able to see so many of the small wildlife animals of East Africa and the many birds of all sizes and colors. Our favorite and most interesting & unique trees were the Sausage Tree and the Baobab Trees. The later mentioned trees were centuries old and they are still living. Amazing!

Each of our tent camps were unique and each had a special quality being in their location. Our favorite tent camp was TAASA.

The spectacular view, the staff, visiting the Masai Tribe BOMA, TAASA’s amenities, sunset campfire, night safari, walking safari and food were all over the top. We certainly felt very special when the whole staff of 40 people at TAASA came out to sing to us as we left the camp. That will always be etched in our minds.

During our time there on Safari, there were no mosquitoes, but the Tsetse Fly gave us lots of bites to remember them by. Thankfully, we had no lasting health issues from them.

This safari, with Claude as our awesome guide and driver, will be in our memory for the rest of our life as a fun, educational and first-class trip experience. There were so many “WOW” moments!

Thank You African Dreams Safari! It doesn’t get any better than that!

Ralph and Gretchen W.
Santa Clarita, California
Safari Dates: September 1, 2018 to September 12, 2018