Short Review of Our Safari Vacation
Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area & Lake Manyara
April 3 - 13, 2007

We just returned from an incredible safari vacation planned by Africa Dream Safaris. The experience was akin to living 10 days in a nature documentary, an odyssey that I kept hoping would never end. It was simply unforgettable!
The concentration of wildlife in the Serengeti defies imagination, witnessing the cycle of life and death is heartbreaking yet inspiring, the beauty of the unspoiled wilderness and the kindness of the Tanzanian people beckons me to return again and again. Asante sana (thank you very much), Michael Wishner and everyone at Africa Dream Safari, for this phenomenal experience. For anyone looking to plan a safari, I highly recommend Africa Dream Safaris. They provided me with unparalleled service from my initial phone inquiry right up until we boarded the plane for our return flight home.

A private safari is a must to get off the “tourist circuit” and to explore and appreciate the remote corners of Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area and to truly comprehend the beauty and the vastness of this immense ecosystem. During our game drives, there were only a few days that we ran into another vehicle – most days I felt we were the only ones exploring the endless plains.

The game viewing was beyond anything I imagined. Our guide, Pokea, was very knowledgeable and happily answered my endless stream of questions about plants, birds, animals, behavior, weather, geography and Masaai culture. Although our stay at the opulent Ngorongoro Crater Lodge was impressive and the view of the crater from our lodge breathtaking, the real highlight of the trip for me was the four nights of Private Luxury Camping at Naabi Hill.

Camping allows exceptional early morning game viewing as the animals are almost at the perimeter of your campground – one morning we drove barely a few minutes from our campsite before we came across a pride of lions barely visible in the breaking dawn and on another morning, we witnessed a lioness trying to take down a wildebeest in the same area. Camping also removes you from the hustle and bustle of the lodges and other tourists so that you are left to appreciate all the sights and sounds in complete solitude while the friendly camp staff provides many unexpected luxuries (hot water showers, cold drinks waiting for you on return from game drives, turndown service, just to name a few) one would not normally associate with camping.

The nights were also memorable for me, as the evening stars lit up the skies, we would enjoy a delicious dinner by candlelight and discuss the day’s events and plan for the next day’s game drive. When we headed back to our tent to retire for the evening, our bed would be turned down and warmed by hot water bottles and as we drifted off to sleep, we could hear the nightly roars of the Naabi Hill pride carry across the plains asserting their rights over their domain. As we neared the end of our safari, it saddened me to be leaving a beautiful country and our guide with whom we became friends and I resolved that I would return very soon.

Lisa Y. and Eugene M.
Vancouver, Canada
April 2007