Dream vacation – understatement! Life changing – most certainly! ADS was the perfect choice for my mother and I. Can’t thank Omary enough for sharing his country and 15 years of knowledge with us. His eagle eyes (without the help of glasses) managed to spot a python – only the second one he’s seen in his 15 year career.

He also spotted two rhinos in the crater. Added fun at no additional charge was our up close & personal encounter with the resident leopard that has managed to elude the gals that run Soroi Serengeti. Carol graciously gave us the honor of naming him. We chose Tar Heel after our home state of North Carolina.

We tried to race over to Gary & Grant’s campsite to catch a glimpse of the 20+ lion pride that visited them one morning. Unfortunately that was the only day I was running 15 minutes behind & we lost out. That same evening, our campsite was visited by a huge herd of mostly bull elephants. They woke me around 1am & stayed for hours. Omary swore they were only curious. He was awake as well to ensure they didn’t step on his little tent. I had never been so happy to see daylight & the sound of that generator in my life.

The lack of sleep had definitely taken a toll on mother. By the time Kevin came to give us our morning wake up call, she had a story made up about lions visiting us that not even Gary & Grant would believe. Needless to say we got no pictures but did have the bags under our eyes as proof.

On our last day we had the pleasure of meeting Pam who gave us a tour of F.A.M.E. We stopped for a quick bit of shopping after that & met fellow ADSers Debbie & Barry. There Barry insisted on purchasing the shop owners display wooden elephant. This would be his carryon over the next week as they were off to Paris after Tanzania. Hope ya’ll made it back in one piece! It was also on our last day in Lake Manyara National Park that I saw the most amazing sign that summarized my time in Africa just beautifully:

Remove nothing from the park except:
Nourishment for the soul;
Consolation for the heart;
Inspiration for the mind.

Kimberly Green and Donna Kelly
Charlotte, North Carolina
May 2012