My sister and husband did extensive research of many safari companies and both separately were impressed by ADS. We set up a phone conference with our party of four and Dawn and by the end of the call knew we wanted to book our safari with Dawn and ADS.

We committed in April 2023 for September of 2024 and from day one the process was informative and smooth. Dawn emailed us all the information we needed and reminded us when it was time to have our visa, deposits, etc. with all the information to complete our tasks.

We arrived in Arusha around 9pm in the evening and were greeted and taken to a building to relax while passports and visas were processed through customs. We were then taken to our hotel and given information for check-in and the next morning departure. We had a nice dinner and had very nice accommodations. The next morning we had breakfast and were off to board an airplane to the North Serengeti. The process was seamless and we were excited for the adventure!

We landed and were greeted by our driver, Alex. Once our paperwork was processed, we were headed off into the Serengeti. Our first animal siting was the wildebeest. We were so excited and had no idea that we would see at least a thousand or more wildebeest during the next 10 days. We had a full day game watching and saw so many exciting animals in different habitats. We were amazed how well Alex knew the roads and where to find hippos, leopards, elephants, etc.

We thought we saw it all in the North Serengeti in just two days. On day three we headed to the Central Serengeti and had an incredible game watching drive. We saw Ostriches and their babies, lions and their cubs, a leopard and her cubs, buffalo, giraffes, elephants, beautiful birds and the list goes on.

The Central Serengeti had a very different landscape and we enjoyed seeing the animals in a different type of habitat. We had a coalition of three male lions walk down the road by the jeeps which was very cool. We also did a balloon ride which was beautiful and peaceful in the early morning gazing down at the terrain and animals. We were amazed that there were many large groups of hippos along the river.

Next we headed to Ngorongoro stopping at the Olduvai Gorge and visiting a Maasai Village. The history of Olduvai Gorge was very interesting and learning about the culture at the Maasai Village was very educational. The Ngorongoro Crater was beautiful. The pink flamingos and other bird species were spectacular to watch. We saw more of the same animals, but in different ways. We spotted the black rhino through binoculars both days.

Next stop was Lake Manyara. All the vervet monkeys and baboons were so much fun to observe. We saw a large herd elephants of all ages crossing the road and protecting the young in the middle. We had the opportunity to watch an elephant roll in the mud.

Our final game watching day took us to Tarangire National Park where we saw more elephants than I could count and the ostriches entertained us. Each area had some of the same wildlife, but we saw them doing different things which kept our journey constantly fresh and fun!

The lodging was very nice. We especially enjoyed Ngorongoro Lions Paw and Maramboi Tented Lodge. The staff at all the lodges were friendly, cheerful and always ready to help.

Finally, Alex, our driver and friend by the end of our journey, was incredible. We felt extremely fortunate to have such an experienced and knowledgeable guide. He answered our many questions about the wild life, their body language, their family dynamics, etc. He knew all the different birds and there were many and their colors were so beautiful. He told us about the land, trees, ecosystem, etc.

Alex knew his way around all the areas and where to look for the wild life and their babies. We enjoyed breakfast, lunch and dinner in the bush on different days. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Tanzania and our wonderful driver, guide and friend, Alex.

Thank you everyone at ADS who helped put together our trip! It was fabulous and memorable!

Shelley and Glenn B.
Charlotte, North Carolina
Safari Dates: September 24, 2024 to October 4, 2024