We can’t believe it’s over! What an incredible experience we had on our Africa Dream Safari – it truly was a dream come true. We are a recently retired couple who went on safari with our 16-year-old grandson. From the moment we landed in Kilimanjaro to our departure 12 days later, we were taken care of and every need was met with grace and kindness.

The next morning our flight to Kogatende gave us our first view of this unique part of the world. We landed and met our guide/driver/soon-to-be-friend and we were off on our first game drive. We were totally transported and rapidly in synch with this wondrous place. We gasped and were awed with what we saw our first day. Our driver/guide was exceptionally knowledgeable about everything we were seeing: animals, of course, and plants, trees, birds (oh what a variety of incredible birds) and history.

We could hardly believe what we were seeing that first day near the Mara River: hippos, gorgeous giraffes, wart hogs, thousands of twitchy Thomson gazelles, those crazy wildebeests, zebras, crocs, elephants and 3 cheetahs. We had our box lunch in the car under a tree with four lions … can you believe it! We just felt so privileged to be seeing this magnificent place with our own eyes. Everyday was a new … we were happily on the go every minute we could be to see and photograph as much as possible and we were rewarded time and time again.

On our third day in the bush we were invited to witness a Masai ceremony in Loliondo. This was truly an honor and a wonderful opportunity to have a glimpse of what is important to these beautiful people. The occasion was the elevation of a new generation (age set) of warriors. These young men came to this boma (circle village) from miles around to this “graduation” ceremony as they had come of age and had proven their bravery. There were around 100 of these men all very proud and decorated with red color in their hair and unusual hair arrangements and many big smiles.

We are particularly glad that we chose ADS because of their commitment to supporting many of the conservation efforts in Tanzania and are especially pleased that some of cost of our trip goes toward these programs to help preserve these precious places forever.

Joan Salm and Family
July 2011