Tue, May 8 2012 - African Safari Adventure (View Original Event Details)
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Our group of thirteen AOC’ers had an absolutely amazing trip to Tanzania. Not only did we see thousands (literally) of animals, but our outfitter, Proud African Safaris, treated us like family and looked after us throughout our travels. When we arrived in the airport in Arusha Zubeda, their local hostess, greeted the ladies with bouquets of flowers, handled the Visa process for us, and escorted us to our trucks where fresh bottled water was waiting for our ride to the lodge.
All of our expenses and meals were included with the exception of souvenirs, tips and alcohol, which made the trip that much more stress-free. The box lunches were delicious and usually offered an abundance of options including sandwiches, fresh fruit, yogurt, pastries, cheese, rice and other items. Our trucks each had coolers built-in for water and sodas throughout the game drives and our guides always found us comfortable, shaded, safe and scenic spots to stop and eat our meals.
Our eight day safari took us to Arusha National Park, Lake Manyara, the Ngorongoro Crater and Conservation Area, the Ndutu Woodlands and both the Southern and Central Serengeti. Along the way we saw giraffes, zebras, lions, leopards, ostrich, hippos, rhinos, flamingos, storks, buzzards, eagles, tons of other birds, gazelle, antelope, cape buffalo, wildebeest, cheetahs, elephants, mongooses, hyenas, jackals, foxes, hyraxes, baboons, three types of monkeys, warthogs, pythons, monitor lizards and other various flora and fauna. We even drove through the middle of part of the Great Migration, with wildebeest and zebra stretching to the horizon on either side! We saw more animals than we had hoped or dreamed possible, often at much closer proximity than expected. One example was a mother Cheetah and her six cubs resting in the shade of one of our trucks.
Along the way we stayed at some beautiful lodges, and despite the occasional hiccup like lack of hot water and, in one case, very thin walls, they were all comfortable, well-located and had lovely landscaping. The service everywhere we went was friendly and helpful, though at one lodge they were still working through some start-up wrinkles such as over enthusiastic sales tactics and lack of organization on our bar bills. We always felt very safe, and the management of the lodges went out of their way to ensure that our stays were worry-free.
We weren't sure what to expect when it came to dining, but it turned out that the food was always locally sourced, freshly and safely prepared and included a variety of options allowing for the different tastes in the group. Interestingly, the "sweet potatoes" were not orange like we were used to in the US, but pale purple-blue and much blander and drier in texture. We also quickly learned that the beef tended to be lean and stringy, which was not surprising given the guant cattle we saw being herded everywhere. On the other hand, the avacado salads were delicious and the bananas were all about half the size of what we considered average, but with twice the flavor. In fact all of the fresh fruit and vegetables were delicious, and we sampled several juices we had never seen or tasted before. In the evening our group often chose to order one or two bottles of wine with dinner. The wines offered by the lodges were all from South Africa and we quickly fell in love with one type of red called Pinotage.
Our guides Adam, the owner of the company, and Prosper took excellent care of us. They checked in with us every morning, evening and anytime we stopped for an activity or meal to ensure we knew where and when to be later on and ask if there was anything we needed. While game driving they exhibited an inexhaustible amount of knowledge about the geography, animals, birds and plants we encountered. They were unfailingly patient with us in taking our photos and worked diligently to find us animals and landscapes to enjoy. Their past experience working with professional photographers enabled them to help determine the best angles and lighting for our pictures, which was an unexpected plus.
In addition to game-driving our group had opportunities to go canoeing in Arusha National Park, mountain biking in Lake Manyara and hiking in the Ndutu Woodlands, all of which were well-attended. These activities provided unique opportunities to interact with the landscape and the locals in a more direct way, and gave us a break from riding around in the trucks, even though we loved our time game driving. We also made visits to both the Olduvai Gorge, the "Cradle of Life" where the earliest remains of mankind were found, and a Masai village where we learned about their way of life and traditions.
At the end of our trip our group returned to Arusha by a bush flight from the Central Serengeti, with breath-taking views of the parks we’d visited along our way. It was almost like taking our trip in reverse as we retraced our route from the air. Upon returning to Arusha we were fortunate to visit an orphanage to donate clothing we had brought for the children, all of whom are infected with HIV themselves. The children were wonderful and everyone loved meeting them, seeing their house and sharing the donated clothing with the kids. It was a very moving and inspiring way to round out our trip and some of our group plan to help support the orphanage through additional donations moving forward.
If anyone is planning a trip to Africa, I highly recommend using Proud African Safaris. They were wonderful to work with before, during and after our trip and made sure we had a wonderful experience during our visit. Upon our return home, they even sent everyone DVDs about the Serengeti. If any of the other Trip Leaders would like to plan a trip to Africa (even if it is not to Tanzania, or is going to be structured differently like more camping/activities vs. game driving) please let me know and I am happy to help coordinate it, even if I cannot actually attend again right away.
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