Shortly after my 60th birthday, my wife and I decided to start researching a bucket list trip: an African safari. After contacting several companies, we easily settled on Africa Dream Safaris with Dawn Anderson as our advisor. Dawn was fantastic and really listened to what we were looking for, making suggestions to accommodate our every wish.

In August 2025, we left Ohio for 12 days in Tanzania. After 22 hours of flights, we landed at Kilimanjaro and were comfortably escorted to the VIP customs lounge where we met our ADS rep for Arusha, Joseph. Getting through customs was very easy, and the lounge had snacks, comfortable couches, and clean bathrooms.

After getting through the customs process, we hopped in Joseph’s ADS van and headed to the Arusha Coffee Lodge. We had elected to take an extra day in Arusha to get acclimated and check out the Cultural Heritage Centre for a little education and retail therapy. My wife picked out the most beautiful tanzanite piece for her necklace and some wood hand carved pieces for our home.

Next, it was time to head to the Arusha airport for our bush flight to the Mara River in the North Serengeti and hopefully see a migration crossing. After a quick flight to Kogatende Airstrip, we were greeted by our guide for the next 10 days, Stanley. We decided to head straight to the Mara River, and within a mile of leaving the airport, we encountered a herd of zebra and a few adult and baby giraffes.

Stanley knew exactly where the crossing points were on the Mara, and after waiting at a few of those and watching the massive herds of wildebeest and zebra, we saw that the herds decided not to cross the river that day. Stanley opted to do a little game drive to a couple of kopjes, and we were able to see a couple of lions. As the day was winding down, we decided to head to River Camp, our home for the next couple of days.

Day 2 in the Serengeti started early with a driver from our hot air balloon tour company picking us up at 4:00 AM. We arrived at the balloon launch site around 5:30 AM, and by 6:30 AM, we were lifting off. The balloon experience over the Mara and Serengeti was spectacular, offering a completely different perspective of the region’s biodiversity. We finished the excursion and enjoyed a beautiful family-style bush brunch and at 11:00 AM, Stanley was there to pick us up.

After returning to the Mara and watching in amazement as the herds of animals zigzagged indecisively, we decided to drive back to where we had seen the lions. As we approached the kopjes, we noticed a fresh zebra kill up in a tree and found the female leopard camouflaged behind it. Just as we snapped a few pictures, we looked back to see her juvenile cub feasting on the kill in the tree. The decision to leave the Mara river that day proved to be epic!

Once again, we headed back to the lodge for a private bush dinner fireside. Stanley suggested getting up early to secure a good viewing spot on the river, as this would be our last chance to witness a crossing before heading into central Serengeti. His instinct was right, and at the last minute, we were able to witness a crossing that lasted 30-45 minutes. It was an incredible sight, and we were so glad we persevered.

The next few days were spent in the central Serengeti at the Mbuzi Mawe Tented Lodge and the Seronera Sametu Camp. We were up early and right into game drives with our box lunches. We were able to see prides of lions, a male and female lion mating, a lone leopard snoozing in a tree, giraffes, wildebeest, zebras, hippos, warthogs, ostriches, numerous species of gazelle, impala, many birds, and our first cheetah with her juvenile cub hunting for gazelle.

The next morning, we were up early to try and get in a game drive before the trek to Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the crater. Getting out before first light is key to seeing animals before the other vehicles start showing up. Stanley located a mother cheetah and four little cubs which my wife claimed as her own!

We had roughly two hours by ourselves to watch the behavior of this family, from friendly playing to a very cautious posture when mom spotted a big hyena crossing the plain about half a mile away.

Once the other vehicles started arriving, we decided to move on. We found a den of hyenas with numerous babies and mom. We spotted serval, bat-eared fox, many hyenas, a rock hyrax, and all of the usual suspects.

En route to the crater, we stopped at a Maasai village and learned about their culture and way of life by the Chief’s son. We were invited into one of the villagers boma (home) and visited the one-room school where children are taught Swahili and English and learned how they make fire.

The crater is an ecosystem of its own with the availability to see the Big Five within its boundaries. We saw every animal imaginable except for the black rhino. Our lodge that night was Lions Paw, right at the top of the crater rim in this amazing canopy of trees.

We left the crater and headed to Lake Manyara, where we drove through a wonderful woodland forest with baboons and vervet monkeys. The trees would come alive with them. We followed a troop of baboons that walked right down the game trail in front of us. We saw water monitors and even caught a glimpse of a three-foot black mamba crossing the road in front of us

That evening, we headed to our next lodge, Elephant Springs, which was a very new lodge and absolutely beautiful. Early the next morning, before we headed out to Tarangire, we heard a pride of lions roaring down below us, and Stanley felt like he knew right where they were. He was correct.

At first light, we found a big pride at a small watering hole with a couple of males, a couple of females, and two groups of cubs that Stanley thought were about six months apart. From there, we were off to Tarangire, which is just a total elephant habitat. So many large groups of elephants, we lost count.

One thing that I cannot stress enough is the importance of a good tour company and a good guide. ADS did this in spades. With it being the busy season, it is very apparent that a lot of companies hire “taxi drivers” as opposed to guides.

Dawn, Joseph, and Stanley made sure that every detail was handled, and there was never even a hint of a glitch. The lodging, service, and food were unbelievable.

Our guide Stanley was a wealth of knowledge, whether it was animals, plants, geology, or history. He was invaluable in assisting my wife with her photography, and we were able to capture memories that will last a lifetime.

A testament to ADS is that my wife and I have just booked our trip back during the rainy season in 2027, and Dawn and Michael are helping facilitate a four-day mountain gorilla trek in Rwanda. SERVICE, SERVICE, SERVICE. Thank you, ADS.

David and Leigh D.
Madison, Ohio
Safari Dates: August 1, 2025 to August 12, 2025