First and foremost I would like to say that this trip and the service that we (my father and I) received were well beyond my expectations – that is saying a lot as I put a lot of pressure on the PAS staff, ensuring that everything would be perfect and run smoothly. Initially I thought this would be a trip of a lifetime, now I know I have to come back!
Nandi was the first of four customer service representatives to return comments about my initial inquiry in May about the prospect of going to Africa. From that initial contact, there was almost no comparison with the other three companies. Both of us agreed that PAS was the right choice for us, solely based on the email correspondence with Nandi (I am in an area where there is no good way to call Nandi or the PAS team without time limits and incurring excessive costs). The initial itinerary that was submitted by Nandi was almost perfect from the start. It included what we should expect to see, the lodges in which we would stay and background about all the locations. The only significant changes I made, was to make the journey even longer because everything sounded so amazing!
Because my father (Steve) had to travel further, he began his journey a day earlier and arrived in Arusha on the 7th and spent a wonderful night and following day at the Arumeru River Lodge. I missed my initial flight and had to take a later flight which caused a little worry among the PAS staff (Zubeda and Adam). I arrived late on the 8th and met up with Steve at the Arumeru River Lodge where he spent the day casually walking the beautiful and enchanting grounds of the lodge. He wasn’t alone as the staff and the manager, Byrd, ensured that Steve had everything he needed and was well rested for the Safari.
We set out early the next morning and conducted a drive through A-Town (Arusha) and some of the surrounding villages (which we would have done the day prior had I not missed the original flight). We quickly visited a market and saw the mass amounts of people as well as goods that were for sale, even some of the smaller markets were bustling with activity. We then continued our journey to Tarangire National Park, where we lodged at the Kikoti Luxury Tented Camp (while this is considered a camp, it was closer in nature to a lodge since the rooms were fully constructed rooms vice an actual tent like some of the other tented camps). There are guards that walk you to your room so that there is little risk of encountering wild animals. We chose to have boxed lunches at almost every opportunity so that we could experience more of the Safari than if we had to return to the camps/lodges everyday for lunch, cutting out Safari time short and potentially missing some amazing opportunities.
Tarangire was a wonderful start to our safari as we saw both lions and a leopard (which I called Sophi – watch Big Cat Diary). The lions had made a kill overnight which the big male was not willing to share with his lioness and 1 y/o female cub. The big male swatted at the female and cub every time they attempted to get close to the kill. The female leopard was spotted relaxing on the ground under a tree. She and the lioness cub were very ‘flirtatious’ with the viewers as they were rolling around and practically posing for the photographers. Sophi eventually ran up the tree and posed for a while longer before falling asleep on one of the branches. We also saw literally tons of elephant, some giraffes, and several types of birds as well.
After two nights at Camp Kikoti and Tarangire National Park, we moved on towards Lake Manyara where we stayed at the Plantation Lodge. Plantation was by far the favorite lodge of both Steve and I due to the luxury setting, colorful grounds and gardens and the service staff. They have some ‘free’ cats on the grounds to hunt mice and bugs, but some of the cats are friendly and will approach people. The staff actually attempted to catch a cat so that I could sleep with it (I have three of my own which I had not seen for about 8-9 months prior to this trip). While their attempts failed, I eventually caught one for myself and he was a little scared at first but quickly warmed up and was pampered for a night 
Lake Manyara was a little low/dry due to the time of year and the lack of rain in previous years; however, the highlands were almost jungle like and sustained uniquely different life than the ground level at the lake. There were plenty of various monkeys and birds to view in the highlands and we spotted our first hippos in a ‘hippo pool’ near the lake bed. At a distance, we could see that the lake itself was covered with a layer of flamingos, but were too far away to get a good picture at this location.
We moved on from Lake Manyara and the Plantation Lodge (later to return in a few days) and headed towards the stunning Ngorongoro Crater and the Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge. While the lodge was beautiful in its construction and how it is built into the face of the crater wall, giving you unbelievable views in the morning and night, they lacked slightly in the customer service department. Initially they would not allow our tour guide/driver, and owner of the company, Adam to dine with us, until I approached the service staff and inquired. They mandated we pay for the meal, which is fine, but why would they not present this option at the beginning of our stay is unclear. Maybe other guides are not as personable or good as ours was, but this should be divulged to the customer by the lodge upon registration so we may have the opportunity to have our guide dine with us. Secondly was their inability to deliver coffee in the morning to our room. We understand that we leave early, usually earlier than other groups, but if they begin brewing coffee at 0530 for breakfast, they should have the ability to serve it at 0600 so we can leave at 0630. However, Adam, the wonderful person he is, corrected the issue on the spot and ran, literally ran, to the kitchen to retrieve a cup of coffee for Steve. The next morning, he had the cup already pre-filled and waiting for Steve upon our arrival at the car.
Enroute to the Ngorongoro Crater/Conservation Area we had a stopover in Lake Eysai where we met with members of the Hadzabe (a.k.a Hadza) Tribe. This is a group of individuals that literally live off of nature and completely off the grid. We began by arriving in a small village to pick up our local guide and continued into a Massai area where the Hadzabe were currently living. We arrived to greet them as the hunters were already awake, but the rest of the tribe was just rising from their ‘huts.’ The huts were made purely of natural substances consisting of no more than sticks and leaves. The hunters were sitting by their self-made fire and smoking different substances which are a ritual before a hunt. They were ensuring their bows and arrows (made of sticks and tendons from animals) were in good order and then we proceeded to join them on their ‘walking’ hunt. While they tried to be slow, we were a little slower and they had to slow their pace in order to ensure we were able to keep up and snap a few photos. On the initial hunt, they shot and captured two birds (very small birds). We arrived back at their village/camp and proceeded to have our lunch – not the birds, but boxed lunches. After lunch we were allowed to shoot the bows and arrows which is the real reason Steve and I wanted to do this extra trip. I utterly failed, but had a really good shot group – about 5 feet away, while Steve was able to shoot fairly well. After this, I proceeded to join the afternoon hunting expedition which Steve and Adam choose to sit out. I initially started out with the local guide; however, after a short distance/time, we became separated. That is when I realized I was alone with a click tribe who spoke a little Swahili, of which I knew absolutely none. After some dismay, the hunters decided to communicate via body language which worked relatively well. They were going a little faster and over rougher terrain on this second expedition, likely because the ‘old men’ were not on this second trip… I thought I was going to have a heart attack. But in the end, the leader shot a squirrel and we returned to the village mostly unscathed. Although this part of the trip was tough, I would not trade this experience for anything. The tribe was remarkable and enlightening.
Immediately after, we proceeded to visit the Toga Tribe, which is similar in many ways to the Massai, but the specific group/family that we visited were blacksmiths; blacksmiths which create the arrowheads that the Hadzabe use for hunting attached to their stick arrows. We visited their home first and met with the women of the tribe. They live in small mud huts where you have to duck and bend over to even enter the mud and wood formed huts (and I’m only 5’7”). After some time with the women and the huts, we moved outside to where the men were working on making bracelets, knives, and arrows which they sell to locals and tourists alike. It was noteworthy to watch them work on items, and purchase items in which you know how and who made the items. Steve purchased a knife, and I wear three bracelets, two copper and one bronze every day. These items may be the best souvenirs that I purchased since I know the details of their creation and seeing how intricate they are.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area was magnificent in the morning when we arrived at the gate of entrance. As we moved down into the crater, we observed a male cheetah at a distance, although, as more cars began pouring into the crater, he moved away from view and disappeared into the landscape. As we proceeded, we saw two Rhinos from a distance (a total of four Black Rhino sightings in the crater). We also spotted several male Elephants, Monkeys (one hopped into the truck with a baby clinging to its stomach, and drank the juice from one of the juice boxes from our disposed of boxed lunch), Cape Buffalo, Wildebeest, Zebra, Grants and Thompsons Gazelles, Impala, and Lions. The Lions had made a kill and were eating the carcass, as we approached the female lioness and the black-mane male lion decided they were full and returned to their resting area across the road where a tree had fallen. These two crossed within arm’s reach of the vehicle because Adam was able to predict their future actions and moved the car before the two had even gotten up from their meal. The blonde mane male was still eating and was beginning to collect the attention of hyenas and jackals which were all perched nearby. Two jackals were able to steal bits and pieces of the carcass, but before they were full able to consume their steal, the lion moved away from the area, resulting in the hyenas overrunning the jackals. A chase ensued for the remainder of the carcass between hyenas and jackals alike. The blonde male lion wandered over to our vehicle where a female must have urinated and was in estrus because the lion scented the area several times, giving us minutes of worthy photographic opportunities, and finally crossed in front of our vehicle and joined the other male and female by the tree.
From the crater, and after an additional stop at the Plantation Lodge, we moved on to the Seronera (Central Serengeti) via Olduvai Gorge. While the visit to the gorge was informative, the ‘class’ was essentially redundant and was riddled with uninformed tourists asking too many questions that could have been avoided had they viewed the museum first. We lodged at the Mbuzi Mawe Luxury Tented Camp where the staff was excellent; however, I found the rooms uncomfortable. Personally this was my least favored lodge, mostly due to the extreme number of bugs, both in and outside the tent as well as in the dining area. Steve, who is an avid camper, found the amenities just fine. I would like to state this so that anyone, expecting luxury or who have spent the majority of their safari in actual lodges, do not expect the same at the “luxury tented camps.” The remainder of the tented camps were slightly better than this one; however, do not expect the same level of amenities and comfort as the lodges at any of the tented camps.
Although I knew that the Serengeti National Park was extensive, I was unaware at the different terrain that it offered which sustains different types of animals throughout the year and seasonally. We actually caught the tail end of the migration and there were presumed to be about 600,000 to 800,000 Wildebeest and 30,000-40,000 Zebra present in the Serengeti. To put that on paper and to actually see it is completely different. It looked like there were millions of animals on the plains of the Serengeti, the type of thing you see on the Animal Planet or National Geographic Channel, not in real life. We saw several healthy prides of lions in which we were able to be at arms reach, yet again, including a male lion and female lioness mating, another female leopard, a cheetah who stumbled onto a reedbuck and ensured in a half hearted chase only to be distracted by the slew of accumulating vehicles, several hyenas, innumerable birds, including the popular turkey vulture among others, elephants, giraffe, eland, gazelles, impala, and several other animals. We actually saw almost all the Big Five in a single day in the Serengeti (minus the Black Rhino).
After three nights in the Central Serengeti, we moved out of the Mbuzi Mawe Luxury Tented Camp and moved northward, just outside of the Serengeti National Park into the Liliondo Game Controlled Area and Buffalo Luxury Camp. The camp, although a tented camp, was superior to the previous one and had a wonderful staff, a chef, an outdoor fire pit, and each tent had a wonderful porch for afternoon relaxing.
During the morning, we had a game drive and were relatively unsuccessful at finding much of anything; however, we did find a Cape Buffalo carcass that had been killed and consumed by a pride of lions (which we later found at night). We returned to the camp for lunch for the first time since our journey began and spent time relaxing before our night game drive ensued, just as the rain began. Unfortunately, we had to use the camp’s vehicle for the night drive, even though our driver was still Adam and we had a local guide for our duration at the camp. This camp essentially requires that we hire a local guide so that the cooperation between the camp and the community is maintained; otherwise, the local Massai could mandate the camp be torn down. Hiring of the locals also supports their local economy and helps the Massai Villages which work with the camp. During our night drive, we found those lions that had killed the Cape Buffalo the night before, they were all wet (so were we) and looked pretty miserable (especially if you have ever seen a wet housecat). We spent a little bit of time with these lions before we moved on and found a few black-backed Jackals searching for food in the night. The following day, we went on what can only be described as a nature walk… I suppose we were supposed to see some wild animals, however, we only found a tree hyrax (found at many of the camps), a few birds, and several piles of cow bones. Not necessarily a recommended activity for your safari, unless you want some exercise. However, this was followed by a visit to the local Massai village which is certainly a must. First we met with our local guide’s tribal elder who explained a few things about the Massai customs and culture before I entered one of their huts (Steve could not fit) which had two rooms and a few beds, but was otherwise bare from the ground up. Afterwards, we proceeded to an open area so that the Massai Warriors could perform their customary dance rituals, including dancing, singing, jumping, and throwing spears. After the performance we were allowed to view the items that Massai women make to supplement their income and purchased several items from the village. I was also given a present from our local guide which was made by his mother; I keep this with me as I cannot wear the necklace with all of my clothes, but attached it to my backpack where it remains.
From Liliondo and the Buffalo Camp, we moved on to our final destination at the Northern Extension of the Serengeti National Park and the Sayari Luxury Tented Camp. Before we even went to the camp, Adam took us to view the Massai Mara, the most famous East African river. The camp was very pleasant, but they expect you to join in “combined group dinners.” We obliged for the first night; however, neither Steve nor I are much for strangers, so we requested to be separated for our other meals. This is also another camp in which you must request a setting for your guide, but they had no qualms with the request. The staff is eccentric and very friendly and the rooms are VERY luxurious for being a tented camp. This may even top the luxury of the Plantation Lodge, but I liked the PL better. Due to the friendly atmosphere and the desire of the staff to have all their clients mingle, there is an open bar for the majority of drinks and a happy hour prior to dinner.
The landscape was very different in the Northern Extension than the Central Serengeti, but that was not necessarily a bad thing. We were able to see a family of Cheetahs, a mother with her two 1.5y/o sons, a male Leopard defending a possible meal – a dead lion, and several Lions and Lionesses in various stages of hunting, sleeping and mating. We saw a short-haired blonde mane male mating with a lioness, a couple hundred meters from the location of the dead lioness. It is unclear what killed the lioness, but it happened fairly recently. Due to the rain, the male Leopard who desired to potentially take a meal of the lioness, had to wait it out under some bushes until the rain subsided. He ran off the birds of prey taking part in the meal on several occasions; however, we never actually saw him take a bite or lick of lioness, which was likely too far tainted after the rain and birds had tossed it around in the mud. We also came across a male Black Rhino which we were able to slowly approach close enough to snap a few great photos before he trudged off in the other direction. We also saw an immature Nile Croc, but it was at a distance and was still very yellow and blended into the grass quite well.
Overall, my main intentions and goals were met by the staff of PAS, particularly Adam. The trip was inclusive of everything we had desired to do and more. There is no better way to say this than, if you are planning a trip to Tanzania, choose PAS and you WILL NOT be disappointed. I would like to thank all the members of the team for making this trip as marvelous as it was and I look forward to doing business with you all in the future. We took a total of about 15,000 photos between Steve and I, while we are not the best photographers in the world, a majority of them are share worthy and will be shared by Steve in future communications.
Thanks,
Racquel and Steve
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