By Claude Shitindi – A Great Seven Days.

I have just gotten back from our seven day safari with my clients Bill and Nancy from New York. I picked up the guests at Seronera Airstrip in the Serengeti on April 23, 2013 and after 5 nights in the Serengeti and 1 final night at the Ngorongoro Crater we concluded the trip on April 29th. We had superb wildlife viewing for entire duration of our safari. For me the highlight of our trip happened during our last morning in the Serengeti when we watched a mother cheetah and her 4 one-year old cubs hunt and kill a wildebeest right in front of our eyes. It was amazing to watch!

As for the great migration, there are currently large herds of wildebeest and zebra on the Southern Serengeti Plains in the Triangle Area between Naabi Hill and Ndutu. There are smaller herds further south and west through Hidden Valley and Matiti Plains. We also saw a few scattered herds just beginning to arrive at Simba and Moru Kopjes. It looks like the northward migration is now starting. I believe that soon there should be more wildebeest beginning to migrate north through the Central Serengeti and West Serengeti.

Bat eared fox posing – Ndutu woodlands in the Southern Serengeti.

Curious little cub.

Scanning for prey at sunset.

Giraffe at sunset – Ndutu woodlands.

Male lion enjoying a meal – Seronera Valley.

A mother velvet monkey with her lovely baby – Seronera Valley.

Thank You!

Claude

By Pokea Nko – On Safari With My Guests Celebrating Their 50th Anniversary

Jambo Everyone! This is driver-guide Pokea with ADS. I have just finished an extra special safari with three guests from Illinois, USA. My guests named Marlin and Priscilla were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and their daughter Brandy was celebrating her 40th birthday.  The safari was from April 25, 2013 to May 1, 2013 and we spend 4 nights in the Serengeti and 2 nights in the Ngorongoro Crater. Here is a collection of pictures I have taken with my little pocket camera while out on this safari.

A young male cheetah sitting on my vehicle bonnet in the Kusini plains, South Serengeti.

A female cheetah with four cubs on top of a dead acacia tree around the Ndutu woodlands, South Serengeti.

A pride of lions feeding on a wildebeest around Lake Ndutu, South Serengeti.

Two young male lions drinking at the water hole around Sametu Kopjes, Central Serengeti.

Two baby baboons on the bonnet – Central Serengeti.

Baby baboon playing with antenna on the bonnet – Central Serengeti.

Thank You,

Pokea Nko
ADS Driver Guide
May 2, 2013

Africa Dream Safaris is aptly named-they made our Safari dream a reality!

We talk about going places all the time, especially after hearing recollections of some of our friends’ amazing adventures, but those special trips are always what we will do some day. So, when I found myself sitting in our Land Rover in the Serengeti surrounded by wildebeests, zebras, and gazelles, I almost had to pinch myself to realize we really were on the Safari of our dreams!

We were talking with friends of ours and we all wanted to do something big to celebrate turning 50. Going on a safari was on the top of the wish list. We said that we have friends who had spoken highly of their multiple safari experiences with ADS, so we decided this was the time to go and we contacted Sharon through the ADS website.

ADS gave us everything we needed to plan and pack for the trip. She helped us through the booking process, giving us updated detailed itineraries as we adjusted our dates. We packed our cameras, clothes, our ADS guidebook and boarded the plane. From the time we arrived in Kilimanjaro and were met at the airport to the time we said our final good byes to our guide, Francis, at the airport twelve days later, ADS staff was always prompt, professional, and handled every aspect of our trip smoothly.

Our ADS guide, Francis, never failed to impress us with his amazing ability to spot animals and birds, his knowledge of the wildlife and the parks, and the uncanny ability to predict the weather! As we were starting our safari at the beginning of the wet season, Francis was preparing us for rainy weather, especially during the last week of our trip. This was the only time it turned out he was not correct!

We were lucky that we only encountered rain twice for short periods and we were able to see lions playing in the mud and hyenas enjoying a mud spa. On every other matter, we could count on Francis to be an amazing wealth of knowledge. He could predict what a lion’s next move would be and identify every bird we encountered. Francis also shared aspects of life and the culture of Tanzania and efforts to preserve the parks. At the end of each day, we would agree on a plan for the next day. He made sure each day held new and exciting experiences. He even patiently waited while we lingered at the pungent hippo pool.

We kept track in our ADS guide book and our ADS-recommended wildlife field guide book of all the birds and animals we encountered and it was quite an impressive list! We watched a cheetah being herded away from the wildebeest calves by the adults, baboons playing in the trees, lions lounging on the beach and snacking on a fresh kill, elephants cooling themselves in the water, and so many other amazing encounters. It was great to have just the four of us and Francis to decide how long to stay and observe and take photos at each location.

We traveled to the central Serengeti, southern Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara and and Tarangire. Even though the last night we stayed at the Kikoti Lodge we were the only guests, we were still treated to a full four-course delicious meal as at every other stop, which we were happy to share with Francis and celebrate an amazing trip.

Africa Dream Safaris is aptly named-they made our Safari dream a reality!

Jeff and Sue B.
West Bloomfield, MI
Safari Dates: March 18, 2013 to March 28, 2013