The safari through African Dream Safari’s was the trip of a lifetime. We did not really know what to expect and could not imagine that we would really see such beautiful creatures and depicted in the online and booklet pictures. To our amazing delight, the sights and experiences we had surpassed everything in the brochures. In a “short” 5 day safari trip in the northern and central Serengeti, we saw a huge variety of birds, animals and plant life including leopards, cheetahs, buffalo, elephants, and lions.

The most memorable experience was catching a lion pride of 10+ lions that had caught a buffalo earlier in the day. We saw vultures huddling in a tree and hyenas lurking nearby and knew something was up. Underneath in the bush were about 8 male lions and 2-3 females with their fresh kill. It was amazing to watch them coordinate the effort. Many were exhausted by their efforts to get to the meat. Others were sleeping (with one eye closed!) nearby rolling side to side with their swollen bellies. Gorgeous animals. We came back to them during our night drive and continued to watch them as the sun set.

Another surprise was the amazing number of babies. We traveled in early December for a special birthday celebration which turned out to be ideal. The weather was not too hot, there was plenty of green everywhere, it was not too crowded (especially in the North), and babies were everywhere! Baby lions lounging in the trees, baby baboons being cared for by adults, baby spider monkeys playing in the grasses, and the cutest baby elephants. One was surely only a day or two old walking gingerly and eating leaves. He was barely dry.

Our driver was wonderful and very knowledgeable. He said we were lucky to have seen so much in such a short time but we are sure it was also due to Vincent’s experience and persistence. We hated to leave him to go on to Zanzibar! He and the staff at the various luxury tents were wonderful. We had such 1:1 treatment and the food was great. Vincent managed to get a special birthday cake made and all the staff sang and danced for our special event.

Other highlights included the Maasai boma, the hot air balloon trip, and the snorkeling in the Indian Ocean. We traveled very light (one backpack for 10 days total) and had everything we needed. If you want to have an experience of a life time and see how others really do live, then this is the trip for you.

Tracy Parham
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
December 2011