Tag: New Jersey

After 50 Years of Dreaming, I Had Some High Expectations!

Did you ever, in all your travels, have a trip from leaving the house to returning to the house without a single hitch? Well, we did, even including air transportation. Now who ever heard of perfect on time flights?

Sharon, your itinerary sold me on the deal and after dreaming about this for around 50 years, I had some pretty high expectations. Well, ADS met them all. Unfortunately for ADS, in terms of its evaluation form (which frankly was silly), it was impossible to exceed my expectations. How can anyone exceed an expectation of perfection? After all if we stay at a five star hotel it should be perfect, and it was. But why quibble about a form?

Everything went as smoothly as promised–from arrival at Arusha to final departure from Arusha. And in between: Wow. Our guide, Ally, was fantastic. He seems to have binocular vision: he spotted animals at five hundred yards while driving along on twisty, incredibly rutted roads. He really took good care of us. He was very knowledgeable, very solicitous and an easy conversationalist. And topping all that, he understood and laughed at my dry sense of humor. What a pleasure!

We saw all of the so-called “big five” and everything else to boot. We saw a bunch of lions feasting on a freshly killed cape buffalo (we might have missed the kill by less than an hour). Most interesting experience? We were twenty feet away from a new born gazelle, maybe five minutes old, struggling with its first few steps and learning how to suckle; unfortunately, something went wrong with those shots, we’ll see. All lodges were great and food was fine, even the picnic packs.

We’ll follow with selected photos. Have no doubt, everyone we talk to will know how great Sharon Lyons and ADS are. By the way, my granddaughter Alix did her own blog, meant more for her college friends but very interesting (http://alixinafrica.wordpress.com/). She had the same fantastic time that we did.

Bob Litke
Somerset, New Jersey
Safari Dates: January 8, 2013 to January 16, 2013

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I left my heart in Tanzania

I have been back from my trip to Africa for about a month now, but I left my heart in Tanzania. My dream has always been to go on safari, and ADS made my dream a reality. The entire trip far exceeded my expectations, and was definitely the trip of a lifetime. I haven’t stopped talking about it since I got back, and am already starting to plan my next visit.

I was fortunate to work with Sharon from ADS to set up the trip. She provided great advice on the time of year to go in order to see the great migration and also some suggestions regarding the itinerary. My safari was with two girlfriends, one of whom took some persuading to join us. Having read the brochure and information that Sharon sent to me, my friend commented that if it lived up to the description she had read it would be an amazing adventure. And she was right! It was everything ADS said it would be.

Special thanks and gratitude has to go to our guide Arnold. We very quickly became friends and he is the reason the trip was so enjoyable and unforgettable. He knew all the habits of the wildlife and was able to find incredible sights for us to enjoy. From the first day when we saw the wilder beast migration river crossing to the last day finding a final pride of lions. He quickly got to know us and we were soon joking and chatting like old friends. He understood that we wanted to see as many cats as possible especially leopards and lions.

Not only did we see 108 lions and 9 leopards, but he made it possible for us to have unique and special sightings. We had breakfast one morning while watching three lionesses and their cubs play and then lunch under a tree with a leopard.

We trusted him implicitly, so if he said we are going to wait for ten minutes in order to see elephants bathing, or a leopard jump down from a tree, we waited. And he was always right. Our safety was always his first concern and then making sure we took amazing pictures. His culinary skills were also appreciated for our breakfasts and lunches in the bush.

The tented camp accommodations also exceeded our expectations. The staff in all the camps were friendly and made sure that we needed nothing, from the wake up calls with fresh coffee, cookies and pastries to delicious dinners and hot showers. Our favorite camp was Seronera Sametu Camp. This was the true Africa experience, only four tents in the middle of the Serengeti. We went to sleep to the sounds of hyenas and lions hunting. Jonus, our host at the camp, made us feel so welcome and comfortable.

I could go on and on about how wonderful the whole experience in Africa was, but you must experience it for yourself. I highly recommend ADS when planning your safari, they are very professional, and will ensure that you have the trip of a lifetime.

Kerrie Page
Morristown, New Jersey
November 2011

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Every Day Got Better and Better!

Let me start by saying, thank you very much for a FABULOUS time!  This was my second safari and by far it was so much better than my first trip.  My first trip was to Kenya with another company and I loved it so much that when my friends wanted to go to Tanzania, I said sign me up.  My expectations were set very high to start with, but I have to say ADS surpassed my expectations!

Our guide was great!  His spotting abilities were outstanding.  He spotted the smallest leopard tortoise while driving down a paved road at highway speeds, now that is talent!  I truly believe we would not have seen as much as we did without him.  We saw over a hundred lions, nine leopards, thirteen cheetahs, four rhinos and many wilder beasts, zebras, elephants, giraffes, gazelles, hippos, etc

Day 1 we saw thousands of wilder beasts stampeding and crossing the Mara river, a wilder beast getting attacked by a crocodile along with seeing many other animals.  At the end of day 1, I didn’t think it could get any better.  Boy was I wrong, every day got better and better!  The only thing I didn’t see was a baboon holding a little simba on a large rock formation, but this was not a Disney movie it was better.

My favorite place that we stayed at was the Seronera Sametu camp.  The location was secluded and the scenery was outrageous!  While at that camp, we were lulled to sleep by the sounds of all the animals around us including the lions!  It was great and an experience I will never forget!  The staff at all the camps was friendly and extremely accommodating.

Thanks again ADS for an experience I will always treasure!

Cindy Chan
Waldwick, New Jersey
October 2011

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I Never Intended To Go To Africa

I never intended to go to Africa. It seemed like there were just too many reasons not to go. Then some friends booked a private safari with ADS and convinced me to go with them. WOW! I can’t believe I almost passed up the trip of a lifetime!

We saw so many animals. Our driver/guide was amazing. He could spot anything, and was so knowledgeable about all the animals, birds, and plant life. Our favorite camps were the ones where he could have dinner with us, so he could continue to tell us about what we saw that day. The best camp of all was the one I initially didn’t even want to go to, Seronera Sametu camp. Never having camped a day in my life, I thought a place with only four tents might be a little too “rustic”. Boy was I wrong. All the necessary comforts were there, and nothing compares to listening to two prides of lions calling out from opposite sides of the camp all night long. We had an incredible time there thanks to Arnold and Jonas.

One of the many highlights of our trip was seeing the wildebeest migration crossing the Mara River. It’s amazing to think that a year ago I was watching “Great Migrations” on television, never thinking that this year I would actually be there and witness it in person! Another highlight for me was seeing leopards. Although they can be hard to find, I had high hopes that we would see some up close. As you can see from the pictures, our guide did a great job spotting leopards!

I would like to thank Sharon and everyone at ADS for setting up an incredible trip for us. To anyone who never seriously thought of going to Africa, or just isn’t sure if they should go, DO IT! You’ll be so glad you did!

Thanks,

Elaine Ullrich
Whippany, New Jersey
October 2011

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