It was much, much more than a safari, it was life changing is so many ways. Oh how true this was all 10 days of our Safari. When our friends Nancy and Lenny asked us if we wanted to go on a Safari with them, we had no idea what to expect. This would be their third safari with ADS. They tried to tell us what to expect and we watched every video on the ADS website and read all the blogs! It still was beyond our wildest dreams.

The smells, the bumpy ride, the sounds of lions roaring, the elephants trumpeting, cheetahs calling their cubs, not to mention the close proximity of the animals were unbelievable. The kindness of the people touched our hearts!

It was such a comfort to be greeted by two ADS representatives who made our entrance through immigration a breeze as they took our passports and documents to the front of the line. No waiting for us. Our first accommodation was the Lake Duluti Lodge a countryside authentic African rural setting with individual cottages. The next day we toured the city of Arusha.

We boarded a small plane to Seronera Airstrip were Arnold our guide greeted us with a friendly smile. The Land Rover was stocked with diet cokes, water, candy and cookies. Arnold was very knowledgeable of all the animal’s behaviors and habits.

He had a passion to find them for us. Because of his knowledge we were at the right spot at the right time to see the mating of lions, when the elephants would be at their watering hole and the courtship display of the Kori Bustard bird. Within 5 minutes from departing the airport our safari began with the sighting of giraffes challenging each other, baboons running in front of our vehicle and even a leopard in a tree.

As we arrived at our first camp Seronera Sametu we were welcomed with a refreshing juice drink and a cool towel. The tent had all the comforts of home. This was a big concern of mine and I could not have been more pleased. We felt safe in our tents even with lions roaming at night just few feet away.

Our second camp Lake Masek had a beautiful view of the lake and a new infinity pool but sill maintained the safari ambience experience we were wanting. A Maasai Warrior walked us back and forth to our tent before breakfast and after dinner. Our last night we were surprised with a sundowner cocktail party near the lake with hippo’s, flamingos and our Maasai warrior to protect us! Doesn’t get any better than that!

Our third and last camp Lions Paw was more on the rustic side but we had a nice warm tent when we returned from dinner with a hot water bottles in our bed to keep us warm. We saw all of the big five and more. If you love zebras as much as we do then you will see thousands of them. They travel with wildebeest. We fell in love with the prancing ostrich, vervet monkeys and warthogs. Have you ever seen a dung beetle at work? We did!

If you planning a safari visiting a Maasai Villages is a must! They will welcome you with a dance, give you a tour of their humble home and explain how they live. Best of all was the school house. The children sang to us and recite the alphabet. Two words “LIFE CHANGING”!

Another must is a visit to FAME which is a hospital that was started by a physician Dr. Artress and his wife from Los Angeles. It has grown from a mobile bus to a state-of-the-art hospital, laboratory and outpatient clinic.

We left our hearts in Tanzania and hope we will return again someday. Thank you Sharon for making our dreams come true beyond our wildest imagination and for the many surprises along the way.

Patti and Marc V.
The Villages, Florida
Safari Dates January 9, 2019 to January 19, 2019