Clients Trip Reports East Africa: Jun – Jul 2023

Galloping Gnus Safari to Kenya and Tanzania with Zanzibar Getaway

Kyle, 

… Every single aspect of the trip was nothing less than an exceptional experience on so many levels.  The food, including recognition and cheerful accommodation of our dietary restrictions, was delicious and varied.  At every tent camp and hotel, the food was as good as any restaurant.  I could not understand how each chef was able to prepare delicious meals in the remote tenant camp locations.   

While the wildlife was exciting, the best part of the trip was the people. Our guides, Jackson, Hillary and Moses were all geniuses. Their breath of knowledge was astounding, each could teach a college level or post-graduate class on all aspects of the habits and nuances of each species, vegetation, geology and history. The folks who met us at each airport were always prompt and efficiently managed to usher us past dense lines of passengers. Their efficiency eased airport anxiety to zero.

The staff at each camp and hotel have raised the bar for warmth and hospitality. I don’t know whether we or they had more fun being together.  We danced with the staff, tried to learn their Swahili songs, which tunes have kept recurring in our heads. 

This past year, my wife and I have experienced the Antarctic, Egypt and the Nile and now Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar.  The safari was the equal to the first two experiences and we thank you for creating that wonderful adventure.

Jeff Donfeld, July 2023

 

Private Safari to Tanzania

Hi Saskia and Mark,

What an amazing trip from start to finish. I’m sure I don’t speak for myself when I say this trip, exceeded our greatest expectations and wishes. We loved every minute! I was asked if I were to go on Safari again, what would I change. The only thing I could come up with is that I would pack less and visit more places! 

Starting with Ephraim, he was an amazing guide, so thoughtful and kind! He made everything perfect for us each day, and his knowledge of the wildlife was fascinating! He endured countless questions and was so full of knowledge for his land! We can’t say enough about him, just fantastic!

Anita and Finias are fabulous hosts! We absolutely adored their home and Kahawa Cottages, and they welcomed us with open arms. Such a lovely couple. We learned so much about the country from them as well, and conversations flowed with ease! We loved every meal, walk, and talk! The welcome committee of their dogs and cats were an added bonus! 

The lodges were beautiful, the staff friendly and so accommodating! The food was scrumptious everywhere!  Our visit with the Maasai school and village was an eye-opening and humbling experience. We were also fortunate to have a visit from some children of another Maasai tribe during one of our picnic lunches with Ephraim. It was another highlight for us all. 

Thank you so much for all you did to make this Safari a trip of a lifetime!  We also love how much you all give back to this truly beautiful country and people! 

We highly recommend the Africa Adventure Company and if we are ever able to visit again, we’ll be knocking at your door!

With gratitude,

The Safari Squad: Maureen, Manny, Wendy, Laura, and Janice. July 2023

 

Adventure Safari to Tanzania

Thank you so much! What an amazing experience Africa was! Our guide Wilson was amazing! We saw everything you could possibly see! Anita & Finias were amazing hosts. All the camps were great. The people were amazing & the food was delicious! Thank you for making all the arrangements. Arrived home safe & sound today! My granddaughter had an amazing time also!

Warmest regards,

Margo & Victor Vogis, July 2023

 

Galloping Gnus Safari to Kenya and Tanzania

Our adventure with the Cooks and Donfelds this past month was Absolutely Amazing!

Here are just a few of things we especially appreciated:

We loved the opportunity to smoothly transfer from place to place without worrying about the details, timing or drivers. Even though some of the jeep rides were bumpy and dusty and long, we knew that we were absolutely being taken care of from point to point, Hakuna Matata!

We especially appreciated two of the driver/guides, Hillary in Tanzania and Moses in Kenya. They were both very well versed in the animals and their behavior, in how & where to find the animals and they were also ultimate professionals, letting us “discover” experiences for ourselves and stopping whenever requested. We would give them an A+ in exceeding our expectations.

To a person, everyone whom we came in contact with was friendly, helpful, courteous and positively happy. If we made a simple request, they came through with much more than we expected. One example, when we were staying at Little Governor’s Camp, we were celebrating the three men in our group who were all having their 80th birthdays this year. I asked someone in the office if the chef could provide us with a small cake at dinner that night. You should have seen the singing, dancing, wonderful event that they created for us (along with a cake). Everyone in the dining room was overjoyed! We felt so safe and well-cared for.

Related to the lodging and camps, our favorite camps were Tortilis Camp Amboseli, Maramboi, Lion’s Paw and Little Governor’s Camp. Each camp’s staff was always helpful, friendly, smiling and accommodating. We loved that we would be brought hot water to make tea in the room in the AM. Both of the hotels, House of Wayne and Tulia in Zanzibar were exceptional. We were treated like royalty and thoroughly enjoyed both experiences…

In all, our trip was fabulous and we were very well taken care of! We all expressed gratitude for Africa Adventure Company for the choices that had been made for us to keep us smoothly moving from place to place. The opportunity to experience Africa in comfort with exceptional guides is an experience we won’t soon forget.

With gratitude,

Suzanne Walsh, July 2023

 

Safari to Tanzania and Kenya

Hello Kyle and the Africa Adventure Team,

We have recovered from our return flight with our memories, souvenirs and pictures. We had a fantastic time and offer the top 5 of our trip:

• Black and white rhinos: caring for their little ones, feeding, and mud baths
• Lions: a pair of brothers strolling down the road and a lion pride napping before their evening hunt
• Hippos: floating along the Ruaha River right in front of our cottage, caring for their little ones, roaring and wrestling, and “marking” their territory (quite impressive, if a bit gross)
• Giraffes: throughout the drives and in our front yard at Solio
• Speaking of Solio: the absolute luxury and service

Here are our top 5 people:

• Jonathan in Nairobi
• Our lady who assisted us in the Nairobi Airport
• John, guide at Solio
• Guide and driver at Ruaha River Lodges
• Maasai fellows/security staff at Ruaha River Lodges

Thanks so much,

Kathy and Tim Wren, July 2023

 

Classic Kenya Flying Safari

I’m not sure words can describe my experience. Each camp, Tortilis, Kifaru House and Elephant Pepper Camp exceeded all my expectations. I can’t pick a favorite, the guides, waiters, food, service, wild life viewing was all incredible. They all went out of their way to spoil us and treat us like VIPs. Your service at the airports was much appreciated, Nairobi is a bit difficult to maneuver. I would never go to Africa without your services, this is my second! Hopefully not my last! Thank you!

Susan Gilchrist, June 2023

 

Plains & Primates Safari to Tanzania & Rwanda

Hi Alison, Shelley, and team,

Our recent trip to Tanzania and Rwanda was INCREDIBLE!!  Everything went smoothly and I am so thankful to The Africa Adventure Company for making the arrangements.  There were so many memorable moments.  Each camp or lodge brought its own unique set of experiences. 

We arrived in Kilimanjaro in the evening and as expected our guide, Martin, was patiently waiting for us.  He gathered us and our luggage and delivered us to Arusha Coffee Lodge where we spent two nights.  The lodge was very comfortable.  We enjoyed the tour of the coffee plantation and learned a lot!… 

Martin spent the next couple of days with us.  He transported us to Lion’s Paw Camp and then down into Ngorongoro Crater.  The Crater was unique and offered some great wildlife sightings, including two rhino (at a distance) and a lovely serval cat.  We also saw lions, elephants, zebras, buffaloes, hippos, jackals, antelopes, wildebeests, warthogs, and many bird species. 

When we left Lion’s Paw we drove thru the countryside to the Lake Eyasi area.  There I was treated to a lovely surprise.  Mark, with the help of AAC (Shelley and Alison), made a donation to a school water project in honor of my 70^th birthday.  I can’t begin to tell you how much that gift meant to me!!  I have spent a large portion of my life working in the water treatment field, so it was very special to be able to help at the school.  The construction Manager, Finias, along with the community Chairman, met us and gave us the tour of the grounds.   As we were walking around, some children who were studying for their state exams started waving to us.  We waved back and the teacher invited us into the classroom.  The students then sang to me.  It was priceless!!  Martin was an excellent guide.  He was knowledgeable, pleasant, and had a good sense of humor. 

Whitemen was our guide for the duration of our stay at Little Chem Chem.  I cannot say enough good things about Little Chem Chem.  It is very well appointed.  The staff was great, the food terrific, and Whitemen was another great guide.  We had many great wildlife sightings.  Lion cubs, cheetah, a white giraffe (Omo), flamingos, lionesses in trees, and leopard to name a few.  Elizabeth and Consolata, the camp managers, paid much attention to detail.  One of our sundowners was spent near the lake and was spectacular.  They set up a fire, lanterns, portable bar, and even brought our waiter, Emmanuel, to serve us.  FANTASTIC!!  Back at camp, I also was presented a gourmet birthday cake accompanied by song and dance.  We visited a Maasai village one afternoon and were delighted to visit with the Chief and his four wives.  He was very welcoming and gifted us with a Maasai wedding. 

From Little Chem Chem we traveled by plane to Namiri Plains in the eastern Serengeti.  Namiri Plains is another lovely camp.  Staff was excellent.  Our guide, Anderson, was great.  The hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti was unbelievable.  We saw wildlife from the balloon including a very rare sighting of a female black rhino and her baby.  The balloon pilot said that in 10 years of piloting over the Serengeti, he had only seen rhino 3 times.  While at Namiri Plains, we saw lots of lions including a mating pair and numerous cubs, witnessed a cheetah catch dinner, and had breakfast in the bush.

We left Namiri Plains and flew to Kigali, Rwanda.  Our guide, Emmanuel, spent the next 3 days with us.  Emmanuel was knowledgeable, pleasant, and went above and beyond to make sure we had a memorable experience.  We visited the genocide museum.  That was powerful and reminded us that we must never be complacent about what is happening in the world.  Rwanda is still trying to recover from that awful period.  Our final stop was at Ingagi Park View Lodge in Rwanda.  This lodge has absolutely beautiful grounds and spectacular views of the volcanoes.  Staff was attentive.  It was cold at night so they built fires in our cabins.  We did the Golden Monkey Trek and on the last day the Gorilla Trek.  The hike was hard, but the experience was so worth it!!  And on my actual birthday, I was treated to yet another birthday cake accompanied by song.

Many thanks to all of you at AAC for another unforgettable trip!!!

Luci and Mark Ginsberg, June 2023

 

Gorilla Trekking to Rwanda

Dear Elena:

We are about to leave (tomorrow morning) Rwanda after a wonderful, amazing trip — thank you very much for all of your great help in arranging it. 

We really enjoyed staying at the Amakoro Songa Lodge— the room was excellent, the food very good, and the staff amazing — incredibly nice, accommodating, and always asking, with a big, genuine smile, how they can help. We would recommend Amakoro to anyone.  Our guide Edmond has been excellent in every way.

Once again — thank you very much for making this great trip something to always remember.

Best wishes,

David and Betsy Gross, June 2023

 

Safari to Tanzania and Kenya

Kyle,

My trip to Africa was fantastic. I have traveled all over the world in my nearly 82 years and visited dozens of countries and this was without a doubt the best trip I have been on.  It far exceeded my expectations as to what I would see and do. The guides you arranged for me were superb. I saw 3 rhinos, 2 leopards, and 3 cheetahs (2 w/3 cubs each) all of which were on my wish list but doubtful I might see them. I was even lucky enough to see and photograph a caracal in the daylight.

That’s to say nothing of the literally hundreds of elephant, zebra, lion, buffalo, impala, hippo, giraffe, wildebeest and on and on that I saw. Most a close range. I’m glad I brought 2 cameras, one with a telephoto lens and another with a wide-angle lens. I used the wide angle much more than I expected. 

I was expecting long drives seeing nothing broken up by short periods of exciting game viewing. Instead, there was hardly a moment in any of the 5 NPs I visited that there wasn’t something to see and photograph. I don’t think I went more than 30 minutes between significant photographs, even on all day game drives.

The accommodations were excellent and the arrangements to get me from one camp to the next, especially across the border to Kenya were excellent. Anita and her crew in Africa did a super job. The only downer was as I was leaving Nairobi my phone was stolen at the airport at one of the security check points. Big inconvenience, but that’s life.

I just want to thank the AAC crew that put this trip together for me for the wonderful job they did and how pleased I am at the outcome. My friends will all know AAC is the way to go.

Thank you so much,

John Little, June 2023