Our thanks go out to Africa Dream Safaris and their marvelous staff! We were greeted in Kilimanjaro by the ADS staff and they never left us during our eight day safari through the Serengeti. Before leaving, Lynn took good care of us by answering all our questions and preparing us with material. A big part of the fun of every holiday is planning and anticipating. Our trip to Tanzania was my mom’s dream for at least 13 years. I was lucky to get to go along with her on this adventure. My mother and I called Lynn multiple times, asking questions and analyzing the data that was returned to us. We really appreciated all her hard work and efforts to insure we had a great trip. We chose the right company to host us…definitely!

Tent Camps/Hotels – Every accommodation was great and the staff aimed to please every need. It was fun being in an international atmosphere, with different languages being spoken at every table at breakfast and dinner. The beds were comfortable and wifi was available at most places so we could check email, text home or send video clips to our family and friends during the trip! We would use “Face-Time” on our cell phones to get free video service to the USA. The staff at the camps got a real kick out of this technology and all got in on the video streaming to home, so our family at home could see the people and the accommodations, etc.

Food – we dined both breakfast and dinner at the hotel or tent lodge wherever we were staying. They all had European standard cuisine that was delicious and a good variety of choices. The fruit selection in Tanzania was amazing – the most wonderful tasting pineapple, mango and passion fruit were my favorites – I ate them at every breakfast opportunity. We had a packed lunch for every day on the trip, which was helpful so we didn’t have to return to the camp in order to eat lunch – we could just keep on our adventure.

Guide – Our trip WAS our guide. Thomson Malekia knew so much about all the sites and animals. He and his colleague, Francis (another ADS driver), walkie-talkie’d each other to help their respective guest see the best sightings of the Serengeti. Thomson was very friendly with all the SUV drivers – everyone loved Thomson! We are so grateful to have such a professional, experienced and friendly driver – he was just amazing! He’d stop anytime we wanted to take pictures. He would jump out of the SUV when it started to rain, to close the sunroof panels so we wouldn’t get too wet. He’d go to bed after we were taken care of for the evening and be ready to drive again as early as we wanted to start.

Animals – we saw so many animals – Right off the bat we saw two Leopards in a tree and we saw two lions mating. Then we saw a hippo pool with a giant crocodile lingering at the edge. We saw a kill – infanticide killing of a baby hippo by one of the adult hippos. – this was all during day one! We also saw cheetah, elephant, giraffe, striped mongoose, fox, hyena, vultures and cheetah. The Thomson Gazelle, Grunt Gazelle and Impala were so graceful and quick. The wildebeest and zebras everywhere – we got to see them migrate, which was so interesting. The baboons and their babies were so fun to watch. We watched all week with our check list of animals we wanted to see. We even got to see two Black Rhinoceros on the last day. Thompson knew of my passion for Flamingos and made sure we saw plenty of them. The Ostrich, Crane, and many bird varieties were with us at every stop.

People – Everyone spoke English, which was very helpful to us. We visited a Maasai Village, where we were introduced to some native tribal people, their homes, their traditions, lifestyle, and interaction with each other and the world outside. We saw the children in their schoolhouse and the people tending to their cows, goats, sheep and donkeys. We jumped off the ground with the tribesmen to their rhythmic beats. I’m really glad we opted for this excursion – it was one of the highlights of the entire trip!

Time of Year – We originally were going to start our trip in January, because that’s when the babies are born, but Lynn suggested a “hidden secret” – going in March or April. At this time the babies are big enough to run with the rest of the pack. It’s the rainy season, so the cloud patterns in the background added to each picture we took. It rained but not too much…just enough to keep it cool. I’m so glad we listened to Lynn with this suggestion!

Thanks to ADS for our trip – it was everything we wanted and more. I’ll definitely suggest ADS to people wanting to take a safari in Tanzania!

Karen D. (mom) and Brad D. (son)
Long Beach, California
March 18, 2013 to March 25, 2013