From the beginning with ADS, our Safari trip coordinator, Dawn Anderson, everything went so smooth and easy. She was a huge reason why this dream trip was truly our dream come true. We cannot say enough about the information and help with setting everything up, even help with all our flights getting there and back with Cathy King.

When we arrived in Kilimanjaro we were immediately met by our meet and greet specialist, Joseph Emmanuel Wado. He helped us get through immigration in just a few minutes while having lovely fresh squeezed juice. He made the process seamless and not stressful at all. Our luggage came through with flying colors, we were so happy.

We got into the van to take us to the first camp, Lake Duluti Lodge, and our driver handled the drive and traffic so well that we were able to listen to Joseph giving us great information about the area, Tanzania, the culture and so much more. He was a wealth of information and had a very warm and congenial personality.

It worked out so well that we came in early in the morning to Arusha, Lake Duluti Lodge. It gave us time to have a little lunch and then go to the room and re-pack so we were ready for our airplane trip to the Serengeti early the next morning. We were able to leave one bag behind with the travel things we would not need while on Safari so that we could make sure our weight for what we were bringing would work out fine. That night at dinner we were entertained by the local troops of monkeys and had amazingly good food.

Joseph and the driver picked us up early to take us to the plane that would deliver us to the Serengeti and the start of our trip. Joseph also made this so easy and stress free. The flight was easy and uneventful and we arrived in great anticipation of meeting our ADS drive-guide.

We found our guide, Goodluck Amani Godson, and started on our trip into the amazing ecosystem that is the Serengeti. They could not have found a better guide for us. Goodluck was such a lovely person, full of information about Tanzania, the plants, the animals, the culture, and everything else we asked questions about. He was continuing to learn by observing the animals and could compare behaviors he had seen over his career.

The care and concern he had for his environment, the wildlife, and the people was very evident for his passion to pass on this information. He is constantly going back to school and learning new and important information to help him with this work. He not only was a great driver-guide but he also had a love of photography and was very helpful to my husband in getting the best views for taking pictures.

My husband, Mark, is a Landscape photographer and was able to give Goodluck some hints on how to do that while Goodluck helped Mark with taking pictures of the animals. It was a match made in heaven.

Our first Lodge in the Serengeti, was the Mara River Camp. This camp was perfectly situated to get to the great migration easily and often. It was a beautiful lodge with a very large room that was beautifully decorated. The first day on the Serengeti the staff brought out a table with table cloth and wonderful food to eat out in the bush.

We loved the staff as each evening, after dinner, they would dance and sing as they brought “welcome back” cakes to those that were leaving the lodge the next day. It was magical. Goodluck, our driver/guide ate with us and we were able to make plans for the next day adventure.

Each of our lodges were amazing in their own way. Two of them had swimming pools that you could refresh yourself with a dip after a full day in the bush. We had Maasai tribal men that would walk us to and from our room at night and early morning to make sure we were safe from any of the animals that roam the areas. It was especially nice to have all the beautiful accommodations to come back to after 12 plus hours in the Land Cruisers.

The Land Cruisers were very comfortable for riding in the Serengeti looking at the amazing animals, birds, open plains, and granite kopjes. For my husband being a landscape photographer it was a dream to shoot. I cannot say enough about every one of the staff that we encountered. They were absolutely kind, helpful and very friendly. We were always shown to our table for dinner and they made sure we had everything we needed. It was very luxurious.

We could write a book about all we saw and the adventures we had but will leave that to those new ADS travelers to find out on their own. Suffice it to say that every lodge, while each had their own unique look and feel, were always comfortable and the staff extremely welcoming and helpful.

Most importantly we had an amazing driver-guide, Goodluck Amani Godson, without whom we would not have had such a perfect trip learning so much from him. Goodluck felt like an old friend from the beginning and had so much knowledge of the whole experience. We certainly wish to thank him for taking the time to be so kind and sharing his knowledge with us.

Mark S. and Roma H.
Poulsbo, Washington
Safari Dates: September 24, 2024 to October 02, 2024