Asante Sana from the Jackson Family
Jambo!
And ASANTE SANA for creating a once-in-a-lifetime adventure for us and our friends. Our two week trip to Kenya and Tanzania were truly amazing. Special thanks to Hilda for listening to us and fashioning a trip that was exactly what we were looking for. As an overall assessment,we were delighted with everything. We particularly appreciated the attention to every detail so that each step of the journey was hassle free. We were greeted by warm, welcoming people wherever we went, the service was outstanding, and the sights amazing. What a great wealth of resources we observed everywhere. A few comments on specific places we visited:
Nairobi – The House of Waine was lovely and comfortable. Staff was very accommodating. We asked them to prepare a typical African dinner for us on our last night in country and they outdid themselves. We loved visiting the Sheldrick Center to see our foster elephants, as well as the Giraffe Center and the bead factory.
Samburu- The Elephant Bedroom Camp was terrific. We particularly loved having to lock the zippers on the tent to keep out the facile monkeys who were always waiting for us when we returned to our tent. Sitting in front of the tent watching the river with all its wildlife was a delight. Julian, our guide, was outstanding, and the first full day ended with our getting to watch a leopard for about 20 minutes. It was a profound experience. The food was delicious,with many choices and the staff was most gracious.
Tanazania – Unlike our experience in Kenya where our guides worked for the specific camps, in Tanzania we had the same guide, Moudy, from our arrival at the Coffee Lodge until we arrived back there for our return to Nairobi. We felt that the Kenya model provided more local (site specific) knowledge and information and that our guides were more relaxed.
Arusha – The Arusha Coffee Lodge was beautiful, and the food delicious. We understand that the reason for the one night stop there was so that we could visit Lake Manyara on the way to Ngorongoro the next day.
Ngorongoro Crater, the scenery and the wildlife were well worth the time it took to get there and follow the road all through the crater. Amazing views, certainly wonderful photo ops. Given the size of the crater, it is hard to imagine the mountain that existed before the volcano blew the top off.
Exploreans Lodge – WOW! We were quite ready to luxuriate in a beautiful setting. Everything about the lodge was perfectly done. We loved it and would have been very happy with an extra day there to just relax and enjoy the accommodations.
Tarangire – The Treetops was probably our favorite of all the places we stayed. It was a perfect combination of a sort of “tent” experience with lodge amenities. What a joy to sit at the lodge overlooking the swimming pool and watch the elephants and other animals come right up to the water hole in the late afternoon. The evening meals in the bomas, complete with bonfires, were delicious and great fun. We did an evening game drive one night after dinner, led by a Treetops guide, who took us all around the area of the camp. It reinforced our feeling that camp/lodge guides are preferable to one person over several locations. The Treetop managers, Johan & Lori van Eeden, were delightful and welcoming. We loved getting to visit with them. Again, we would have liked to have had an extra night at this fabulous place.
It will take weeks for us to sort out all the pictures,but we certainly have a lifetime of memories from this amazing trip. We are dedicated to telling everyone that these countries are fabulous, safe and welcoming places to visit. Consider us part of the Africa Ambassadors. And we would highly recommend African Travel to anyone considering a trip.
Babs & Larry Jackson
