From the moment I stepped off the airliner in Kilimanjaro I realized I was in good hands. Starting with the big welcome hug from Zubeda, and her absolutely whisking me through the Customs process, while what seemed like an endless line of other travelers were stuck in a line, and meeting Adam, I knew we had made the right choice.

Of course none of this would have come to fruition without first having the trip sold to us by Nandi. And by sold I am not referring to money, but rather the concept of the entire trip. Her willingness to ensure that our trip was everything exactly as we wanted rather than just telling us what they could provide was a major contributing factor as to why we settled on Proud African Safaris as our guide.

As to the wildlife sightings, I’m quite sure that all of the Tanzanian tours are similar – there is just that much abundance of wildlife there. The thing that struck me about Adam was the number of times that he was the first to discover lions, leopards, cheetahs, rhinos, etc. Once those animals are sighted and others see a vehicle parked for a time, the crowds seem to gather. But we had numerous opportunities of being alone with the animals, with no crowd, which offered us some fantastic photo opportunities. I often wondered how he spotted some of the game that he did, and one of my best moments was toward the end of our safari when my field vision had become more accustomed to spotting the game, I actually spotted some lions before Adam did!

Another of my favorite times was when we were visiting the Hadzabi tribe. They had taken us on a hunt in the early morning and we were to go with them again after breakfast. Truthfully, they had worn me out on the first hunt, so I asked Adam if I could just stay behind on the second. He opted to stay with me and we had a great conversation. Adam is a very unique individual, a very simple man, but also a very complex man, extremely professional, yet very personable. We talked of everything from our families, raising children, our countries, our governments, environmental issues, and world politics. It was honestly a few of my most treasured hours spent there.

The name Proud African Safaris is really fitting. The pride that they have in their country and the efforts Tanzania is taking in preserving this beautiful land and all of the birds and animals that call it home is evident. They are a small company, which if you take the initiative to get to know them personally, will make you feel like you are taking a trip with family. I couldn’t recommend them any more highly, and if I am fortunate enough to have another visit to Africa, I would insist on another trip with Adam and his crew.

Steve Mong

Albuquerque, NM USA