By Arnold – Cat family & Migration on a Seronera Valley.

After eating rest on a Maasai Kopjes.

Lioness is full after eating a Wildebeest close to Maasai Kopjes.

Migration at Seronera Valley.

A lion cub shaking the head at Sametu Kopjes.

Cubs rest and get the heat on the rocks at Sametu Kopjes.

Big lioness yawning at Sametu Kopjes.

Cub on a prey. – It was on the way to Barafu Kopjes.

Mother and cubs after feeding – It was on the way to Barafu Kopjes.

Killing made by cheetah and cubs, feeded on the part of wildebeest and it was fresh – It was on the way to Barafu Kopjes.

Black – Mamba, very venom snake in the world at Boma Kopjes.

Hole in the middle of the main road ready to play with his brother – From Four Seasons to Seronera.

Get wet from the morning dew, was close to start play with a car – From Four Seasons to Seronera sunrise time.

Hunting movement – Four Seasons to Seronera.

On the way to Seronera from the Four Seasons early in the morning on the sunrise.

The young males elephants trying to fight and to know how how strong they are at Seronera valley.

Resting under the tree and showing the shoulders the way it is strong and big muscles. – Seronera valley.

Better Than We Dreamed

There are no words to describe this experience; it’s just that, an experience not a trip…..

Try to image sitting in the middle of over 5000 migrating wildebeest, watching a mother cheetah teach her 4 cubs how to hunt, observing the behavior of a pride of lions, the adventure of trying to find lion cubs that are only a few weeks old and being a foot away from a year old cheetah cub playing on your vehicle, “talking” to a Rhino to get him to move closer. If you can imagine this, try experiencing it!

On our first day, we spotted a leopard, much to our surprise we got to watch a chase, not a normal kill chase, but a baboon chasing the leopard away. Seeing the baboon run and jump through the tall grass was a site you just can’t explain. One minute the leopard was trying to hide in a small tree then next the baboon was in that same tree with the leopard nowhere in sight. As we moved on, we came across some black face monkeys that just couldn’t resist stealing a cookie from inside our vehicle. Only took a few seconds, he was in and out, smiling at us holding the cookie.

Watching 250+ hippos in the hippo pool get settled for their day long soak, seeing them yawn, fight and maneuver into a perfect spot for the day, with the added bonus of a few babies keeping close to their mothers. At the end of day 4 we came across a large pride of lions (10), we patiently watched the cubs doing their best to share or steal the meal away from dad, until mom came in and “told” him to share. This is not an experience you will see in a zoo; you really get the true experience of animal behavior and interactions with each other. As the each day happened, we were more amazing with each new encounter. Following a cheetah family, mom with 4 cubs, as they were out hunting and finding the same family the next day to have one of the cubs jump up on our vehicle and having a little fun with the car antenna, along with a quick look in the sun roof before our guide shooed him away.

On our last game drive, we still needed to complete our Big 5, with the Rhino. Early morning we saw 3, but they were pretty far away, as we searched throughout the day, we finally was giving it one last look, we another one was spotted. Once again it was far away, just not as far as the morning ones. With a little patience, and a little “talking” to him, he started to move closer and closer and closer to us, 50-75 feet close. It completed the final game drive in a very special way.

As our experience came to an end, we were asked what our favorite part was, we didn’t have an answer, each day and encounter was very unique and holds a special place in our hearts.

We cannot say enough about our guide Pokea, there was never a question that he wasn’t able to answer, as hard as we tried to stump him. He truly made the trip that much more enjoyable, between all the laughing and knowledge sharing, we were truly with a one of a kind person, who we are happy to call our friend! We miss you!!!

This was truly an experience of a lifetime, even when it happens again, it could never ever be the same, can’t wait for my next experience with ADS. Thanks to Sharon for our wonderful itinerary and the rest of the ADS team that made this a trip we cannot stop talking about.

Mark, Priscilla and Brandy “buibui” W.
Round Lake, Illinois
Safari Dates: April 25, 2013 to May 1, 2013

Our 3rd Safari With ADS!

Once again, we would like to thank everyone at Africa Dream Safaris for making our safari such a wonderful experience. This was our third safari with ADS in three years. The questions that we are always asked are “Are you going someplace new?” “Are you going with a different company?” “Why would you go again?” The answers come down mostly to the fact that ADS and all of its employees are so exceptional that we couldn’t consider going with anyone else. Petro was our guide on our first safari and on the most recent safari. His knowledge of the animals and their behavior and his ability to spot animals still amazes us. It was like going back and seeing an old friend.

As far as returning to Tanzania for three consecutive years (first at the end of January/ beginning of February and the next two times in early April), there is always something new, different, and exciting to see. This year, one of the highlights included seeing several leopards, including a leopard close-up and making not one, but two kills. Unfortunately, her choice of prey was a bit disturbing as it was two feral kittens, but seeing a leopard close-up for about three and a half hours was exciting. Also, we finally got pictures of lovebirds!

Other highlights included seeing the Great Migration, seeing lion almost every day, seeing the most amazing number of zebra that we have ever seen, seeing many new (to us) types of birds, watching a monitor lizard, watching a mother lion and her two cubs playfully slipping and sliding in the mud during a brief downpour, watching the hippo at the Hippo Pool, and yes, watching the interaction of dozens of vultures on a kill.

To sum it up, in our opinion, going to Tanzania with ADS three consecutive years was just as exciting from the first safari to the third. Who knows? Maybe there’s a fourth safari in our future…

Jim and Sandra M.
Safari Dates: April 1 – 10, 2013
Torrance, California