We arrived in Arusha, Tanzania on January 27, 2025 to start our second trip with Africa Dream Safaris. Once we got off the airplane we were met by staff from ADS and taken to a lounge where we had snacks and a variety of drinks waiting for us. The ADS staff checked us in with immigration and got our checked bags and then took us to the Arusha Coffee Lodge for two nights. Joseph was our driver in Arusha and we visited the School of St. Jude and a large market. The School of St. Jude is a private school that runs on donations.

We then flew to the Serengeti and met with our Guide/Driver Ellison Mkoyi. On our first trip with ADS in March 2011 we had an exceptional driver guide, Petro, and were hoping for one as good as Petro. Ellison turned out to be, if possible, even better.!

Ellison’s field craft, knowledge of animals, birds and plants was unbelievably vast and very helpful. By carefully watching the animals, he would let us know what they were going to do and how they were going to act. Because of this we were accurately able to predict their actions and be ready for it.

On one occasion Ellison told us that he thought a Cheetah was going to go hunting. He mentioned this to a couple of other groups, that were next to us, watching the cheetah cubs playing. They decided to leave as they did not think anything else was going to happen.

About ten minutes after they left the mother Cheetah started sneaking up on a Grant’s Gazelle. I got my camera ready and was able to photograph her chasing the Grant’s Gazelle and catching it. I was able to get some amazing photos of the chase and kill.

The first four days we had rain, yet Ellison was able to get us through the mud to areas where we were able to see and photograph some amazing scenes of the animals during very inclement weather conditions.

We did have occasion to talk to another vehicles struggling with the road conditions, and were told they were heading back to their respective lodge. Ellison was able to continue and we were able to get some amazing photos.

He did ask us at the start if we would like to go back to the lodge for lunch or he could pick up a lunch and we could have lunch in the bush. We opted to take lunch with us and eat in the bush. These were not box lunches, but a variety of food prepared and put in metal containers and we had a mini buffet style lunch.

On our first trip we did not visit any villages or schools as we were interested in only seeing the animals. Although it was amazing, we did regret not going to some of the villages and schools. On this trip we visited a couple of schools and several villages. We visited a Massai village and learned about their culture and got to visit an elementary class where the kids were being taught Swahili language and some math. The classroom had no electricity and everything was taught from a large blackboard.

We also found and visited the Hazabe tribe, a nomadic tribe of hunter-gatherers. They are considered one of the last remaining hunter-gather tribes left in the world. They live in small bands, 20 to 30 people, and have no permanent villages. They have no livestock and live off the land. When they move it will take the women a day to two to build their individual shelters. They do not deal in money and if they need anything they will trade skins, or food products from the forest for what is needed.

The last tribe we visited was the Datoga. They are known for their metal working. They have skin made bellows to melt scrap iron and make jewelry, or other metal objects used in daily life. Their black smithing skills are centuries old and you can watch them as they melt the scrap metal and then progress in making it into a useful item or jewelry.

We were also able to visit a small rural school that had 265 students with 9 teachers. No electricity and no water. The kids and teachers would walk a mile or so to bring jugs of water back to the school. The kids would walk to school, some as far as one or two miles. This was an elementary school with the students sharing books. We saw the difference between private and public schools. No trip to Tanzania would be complete without visiting some of the villages and schools.

We would spend several nights at a lodge before moving to a different area and a new lodge. The lodges picked out for us by African Dream Safari were amazing. The staff were all very attentive to your every need. It was easy to make friends with them and joke around. All you needed to do was ask and they would find out what you needed to know or get it for you. The rooms were very comfortable and had bathroom facilities in the rooms. Electricity and hot water were available.

We traveled the Central and Southern portions of the Serengeti since this was where the animals were located this time of the year. With the rains the areas were green with plenty of food for the animals. We did take a hot air balloon ride, which went up at sunrise. A whole different perspective of the Serengeti from the air. The weather was good and it was amazing to look down on herds of Zebras and Wildebeests grazing on the grasses of the Serengeti.

Sharon was able to take our request and put them into a very organized and complete safari for us, that was indeed a trip of a lifetime. This was our second trip and on both we had an extraordinary and knowledgeable Guide/Driver. They knew the areas and how best to navigate and get you to the best and safe viewing of the animals. Their knowledge and expertise left you with a sense of safety even though you might only be meters from wild animals.

I cannot imagine ever going back to Tanzania with any other company. Africa Dream Safaris is by far the best choice if you want a trip of a lifetime and truly a Dream Safari. The experience and knowledge of their Guides/Drivers and the work the staff put in on organizing our trip made it very memorable. The people and scenery will forever be an extraordinary memory for my wife and I.

Thank You Africa Dream Safaris!

George and Eileen J.
Ballantine, Montana
Safari Dates: January 27, 2025 to February 10, 2025