It is hard to put in words the amazing trip we had in Tanzania. This was our first trip to Africa and we didn’t know what to expect.

Within 5 minutes of landing, near the Mara river in the Northern Serengeti, we were face-to-face with a giraffe…and that is how the trip continued! All I can say is that every day was exciting, fantastic and an experience of a lifetime.

We spent 11 days in the bush and enjoyed every minute of the time with our guide Russell. We often spent 9, 10 and 11 hours a day on game drives and I can’t even begin to list everything we saw. Let’s just say I took over 1600 pictures and our friends traveling with us took over 6,000!

I think if you are reading this blog you are interested in a few things about traveling to Africa. I have listed our experience with each:

• ADS – Sharon and the ADS team paid attention to every detail of our trip often recommending changes in our itinerary to maximize the number and variety of animals we encountered on our trip. Over the 11 days we saw two wildebeest river crossings, the big 5 and on some occasions other animals we never expected to see. We saw the rare Egyptian Vulture, a mother and baby rhinoceros (very close up…within 50 feet), a white tailed mongoose, a bush baby (on a night safari), and a tree python. ADS did a great job in making sure we saw everything.

• Our Guide – What can I say about Russell. He had eyes like an eagle (spotting a leopard in a tree from 300 yards without binoculars), a great personality and his knowledge of the animals, the landscape and culture was fantastic. He made us feel very comfortable and we enjoyed our time with him.

• The ADS Vehicle – ADS vehicles are the best. They are clean, comfortable and well stocked with everything you need for your game drive. Each night Russell would wash the car and clean it, inside and out, so when we started our game drive the next day everything was fresh and clean. Note that this is not the case with other safari companies in Tanzania. We were glad we chose ADS.

• Accommodations – All of the accommodations were great rivaling 5 star US Hotels. The staff were extremely friendly and made our time in Africa fantastic. This was not roughing it…and it was incredible the level of luxury and service provided considering we were in the middle of Africa.

• Food – The food was great. Buffet style is common for many of your meals, but several locations (Swala and Lemara) served gourmet food in wonderful settings. We enjoyed many meals looking over the Serengeti as the sun set. Your food on the road is great and you won’t go hungry.

• Wildlife – We saw everything. I was not expecting to see lions, elephants, rhinoceros, giraffe, topi, wildebeest, zebras, warthogs, bush buck, élan, gazelle, ostrich, hyenas and many more right next to our vehicle. I purchased a zoom lens for the trip and often didn’t need it for my pictures. We also spotted over 150 different species of birds.

We have attached a few pictures of our trip. We hope that you have as wonderful of a trip as we had (and you will if you choose ADS)! Enjoy.

David and Renee C.
San Jose, California
Safari Dates: October 8, 2013 to October 18, 2013