" Our time in Africa left such an indelible impression "

Ken and Nan with Julie and Clyde went on a Safari with pro-photographer Randy Hanna to Kenya in September 2021. Kenya is Randy’s second home and we had them going to elephant-rich Amboseli National Park and Masai Mara’s Mara North Conservancy.

After their Safari with Randy in Kenya, they wanted to add a some extra days so we added some time in Loisaba Conservancy, Kenya and then they hoped over to my Tanzania and explored World Heritage site Ngorongoro Crater, the wonderful chimp-filled Mahale Mountains in remote Western Tanzania, and finished on the beaches of Zanzibar Island.

It is safe to say that Ken and Nan had a fabulous time on their Kenya and Tanzania Safari.
- Mefi

From Ken and Nan:

““Recover” is defined as “the return to a normal state of health, mind or strength”. We are home and have recovered our normal life routine. But, our time in Africa left such an indelible impression on us both that we will never fully recover mentally. Every day I think about our trip. For this I am so thankful to you, Randy, Julie/Clyde and every person, place and event we experienced.

Where to start with safari stories? Each and every day was action packed with new experiences and adventure, especially for us first timers. Starting our trip with Randy (the Professor), Julie and Clyde…learning safari travel and chronicling it with a camera…was the perfect intro. We all got along fabulously, sharing many meals, chores, and laughs. Randy was the perfect host. All of our guides were personable, knowledgeable and professional. We enjoyed them all immensely and would not hesitate to recommend any of them.

Some of our favorite memories:

-Mid morning bush breakfasts after three hours of tracking and photographing animals.

-“Bush sundowners” (gin ‘n tonics) each evening at dusk after tracking and photographing animals.

-Our elephant encounter at Elephant Pepper camp. One night we woke to an elephant eating tree leaves 5 feet from our heads, We felt his movement thru the tent canvas.

-Getting close and personal with elephants as they marched across the Amboseli dirt flats toward water. [Tortillis Camp]

-Listening to Randy’s past experiences and recapping our own during the many wonderful meals.

-Learning about Masai life from our guides and the camp staff, and then experiencing it via visits to Masai compounds. [ Entamanu Ngorongoro]

-Take offs and landings on rural dirt airstrips in seven passenger bush planes.

-Viewing the changing African landscape from 10,000 feet.

-An afternoon swim in the warm, crystal clear water of Lake Tanganyika from the Dhow, one mile offshore.

-Listening to Bush Pigs outside our tent at night in Mahale [ Greystoke Mahale].

-Trekking thru the Mahale forest looking for chimps, drenching our clothes in sweat.

-Two hours of close interaction with chimps as they wandered thru our Mahale camp (a magical experience). Mahale was our favorite lodge by far. It was the boat ride , the lake shore location, the smaller size, the rustic remoteness, and Butati that elevated Mahale above the others. We felt more immersed in nature, with very little separating us from jungle life.

-Our connection with KaKae and Butati, with hopes of maintaining some sort of connection into the future.

I could go on but must end this for now. I hope my musings are helpful and adequately indicate how much we truly enjoyed our entire adventure.”

Asante sana Ken and Nan for trusting Randy and I on your Epic Safari through Kenya and Tanzania. Can’t wait to share more of Africa with you in the future.

Let’s chat about your Epic Safari to Kenya and Tanzania.

What to Pack on Safari - by Journey To Africa guest Julie.

What to pack on Safari and how to make it all work with the 35 lbs weight limit is one of our most asked questions when getting ready. A little tricky but doable with a little planning and preparation.

This piece is written by our guest Julie Stevens, A Model Traveler, who went on Safari with us in Oct 2021 with her husband, uncle, aunt, and my friend and amazing photographer Randy Hanna. Enjoy!
- Mefi

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"Out of Africa" Safari Style for the Modern-Day Female:

What to pack for your upcoming safari.

"If there were one more thing I could do, it would be to go on safari once again." - Karen Blixen

For those of us who have seen the movie, Out of Africa, there's a certain safari elegance and attitude that it exudes, and I've always wanted to emulate that if given the chance. When I started planning and packing for my upcoming safari adventure to Kenya, I couldn't get the images from this 1985 Oscar-winning film out of my mind. Now, I'm not saying that high-collared white blouses, neck ties and midi skirts are somehow practical in the bush, but I am suggesting that you can happily merge style and comfort, without the need to sacrifice your independent flair. There was only one Karen Blixen, so let's do our best to find our own unique fashion sense while on safari. 

Our safari tribe consisted of myself, my husband Clyde, and our Uncle Ken & Aunt Nan. We were also joined by professional photographer, safari guide & friend, Randy Hanna. Traveling with these familiar faces made the journey that much more special and intimate, and it also allowed us to converse on a regular basis before our departure about what to pack, what to leave at home, and stir up the excitement and anticipation of going on safari together. 

What Clothing To Pack

One important thing to do before you pack anything, is to lay all of your clothing and accessory items out on your bed and see what pieces you can mix-and-match so that you can create several outfits using a few of the same clothing items. Less is more, and I can assure you that you will never be upset about packing too little, only too much. There’s no need to purchase a new wardrobe for safari. I only bought one or two new items, and I knew that I would wear these again once I returned home.

Good communication with your safari company or travel agent should give you a heads-up regarding weather conditions and insect frequency for the time of year you'll be traveling to Africa and what nations you will be visiting. This will help in deciding which fabrics to choose and how much layering will be necessary for each stopover. Our safari company, Journey To Africa, made packing a breeze with their own detailed packing list. 

Earth tones like tans, muted browns, light greens and blues will serve you well, not only for reflecting most of the visible wavelengths on a hot day, but it can get dusty during those adventurous jeep rides, so it's nice to keep the wash load down. I've also found it easier to find softer, breezier fabrics in these lighter colors. 

Warmer clothing options like fleeces, light-weight jackets and pullovers will be essential for those early mornings, evenings and higher altitudes. Do leave your bulky sweaters and jeans at home. They take up too much space in your pack, and you won’t need those heavier fabrics on safari. Be sure to pack a rain jacket just in case, as you never know what the elements might surprise you with each day. Do your best to be prepared, comfortable and protected at all times.

The proper shoes can make or break a good vacation, so a little effort goes a long way in selecting footwear. I prefer a high-top boot, but this is just personal preference. Depending upon your itinerary, unless you are scheduled to take on Mt. Kilimanjaro, Ngorongoro Crater, or other challenging treks in Africa, most of your time will be spent in a 4x4 or relaxing around camp. So, most trail or day-hike shoes will suffice. 

Socks are also a small, yet very important item to choose wisely. I prefer a wool or cotton blend, and a sock that covers your ankles. If bugs are present, this seems to be the one spot where I get nibbled on the most. A nice compression sock will keep circulation flowing if you're sitting for long hours. They are especially important for those long international flights. Wool socks that are lined with a cotton blend make for a lovely alternative if you have a sensitively to wool.

Hats can be found in an array of styles, colors and fabrics, and I switched between a breathable UV-protected hat with an adjustable chin strap, which is great for those windy days, and a fedora-style packer hat. Beanies make for a great option as well, they're easy to pack and will keep you warm during those chilly morning rides.

Scarves or bandanas also come in handy as hair ties or face-coverings when needed, and sunglasses should be worn not only for daily sun protection, but as a shield from the wind. 

Ladies, one last suggestion, a quality sports bra. Yes, a sports bra. Those safari jeeps don't do us any favors with all of that bouncing and bobbing about, so good support is a must!

Extras

A few final suggestions when thinking about your safari wardrobe. Bring a bathing suit, as some of your camps or hotels may have swimming pools. I also like having large airtight baggies on hand in case some of my clothing is still damp and we are en route to another camp. 

Having a pair of sandals or flip-flops will give your tootsies a nice breather after a long day in socks and boots. 

Clothing items and accessories with built-in insect repellent are quite popular, so it's worth checking a few of these items out, especially if bugs seem to take an extra special liking to you.

Leave your fancy bling at home. Packing a sport's watch, simple earrings and possibly a necklace are all the jewels you will need on safari. Use this as an excuse to buy some of the locally made jewelry and wear that while you're in Africa. 

Our camps provided shampoo, conditioner, body wash and laundry soap, so there was no need to add this extra weight to our pack. The camps also offer daily laundry service, so do keep this in mind when packing. We brought laundry wash leaves that dissolve in water for our undergarments, as these items are not part of the camp laundry service.

Most camps do not provide hairdryers, but I found that my hair dried very quickly on its own in the African heat. If you want to add a little style to your hair, I suggest a travel-size, cordless curling iron. They’re rechargeable, compact, and add some polish to your do.

Sunscreen, bug repellent, wet wipes, lip balm, moisturizing eye drops, and a GoGirl or SHEWEE. You may need to tinkle outdoors, and while these last items are certainly not necessary, they could come in handy. I do recommend taking a few practice runs at home before using these in Africa. It’s always a good idea to make sure your aim is on point.

How To Pack

Rolling your clothing instead of folding saves you space in your pack, plus most fabrics will obtain less creases during transit. If you do acquire a few wrinkles, most man-made fabrics will naturally release these once they are hung up. 

Bring camera gear, including extra batteries, memory cards, a hard drive, and all other valuable equipment in your carry-on luggage. Most camera batteries are lithium these days, and international laws will prevent these from being sent through to the hold of an airplane. It’s also a good idea to have a change of clothing on hand. If any luggage goes missing, you'll have these items with you.

I suggest soft-sided backpacks over hard luggage. Bush planes will require this for easier transit and packs are convenient for throwing on your back when walking over rough terrain or camp trails. My husband and I travel with mountaineering backpacks as our check-in luggage. They’re portable, durable, and allow us to display our travel patches from our globetrotting adventures.

Pack light. Weight restrictions on internal flights are quite strict, 35 pounds to be exact, so bring only that which is absolutely necessary. We bought a hanging scale to make sure that our carry-on, as well as our check-in luggage, was 35 pounds in total. 

Packing creams and liquids such as sunscreen, skincare, bug spray and hand sanitizer in sealed bags will save you from the unfortunate product explosion. I'm speaking from experience on this one.

Have The Time Of Your Life

We were so blessed to travel with family and friends on this safari. We shared many inside jokes, we gave names to the animals and became narrators as they went about their daily routines. It became a game, one that we will chuckle over for years to come. One night while traveling back to camp from our evening safari, we played Toto's, "Africa", at full volume, and we all sang along to this classic tune. This song now holds a special memory and a meaning that will always take us back to Africa and our life-changing safari.

Heading out on safari is guaranteed to be one of the most memorable adventures of your lifetime. You will see and experience the most amazing wildlife in its natural habitat. You may feel a shift in your perspective and a newfound sense of freedom. Your mind will open to the landscapes and horizons and your heart will expand for the people and their continent.

Like they say, "once you get the dirt of Africa on your boots, you will always find a way to return." Just make sure those boots are comfortable, and stylish.

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You can visit Julie’s YouTube channel for a short Safari video. Julie has captured some stunning wildlife photographs from Masai Mara and Amboseli National Park, Kenya.

"Enjoyed every bit of it"

Joe Maggio and I talked about his Family Safari for a long time. He was so involved in the Safari planning details to make sure his Family Safari in Tanzania was a memorable one. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Joe because in envisioning his Safari to all the lovely Tanzanian National Parks, it took me right back to my many Safaris.

And so happy to say, Joe and I are back at it with planning his Safari Two for 2022. This time to Zambia and Victoria Falls and the glorious Mahale Mountains and exquisite Greystoke Mahale with an ending in Zanzibar Island for rest.

Some of the highlights from my phone conversation with Joe when we were going over their Safari were:

• The Camp Manager in Serengeti [Ubuntu Camp] made authentic Swahili food for them when they asked for Tanzanian cuisine.

• He loved all the lodges picked for them. He thought he got, “super value for the money”.

• He said, “it still surprises me how close we got to the wildlife! I was not zooming at all.”

• At Oliver’s Camp in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, when walking to the room, the guard says “stop, the backup, turn around and walk away”. Two lions were mating about 30 ft from the room. They drove them to the room at night. He said he heard them mate until 6:00 am that following morning. They will never forget the sounds.

• The bush plane rides were an adventure especially when there was a bit of wind.

Thank you for much Joe for letting us show you our favorite corner of the world - Tanzania.
And thank you, Melissa, for sharing your pictures from your Family Safari. To many more Safaris together.

Let’s chat and get you and your family on Safari somewhere in amazing Africa.

"I can't say enough good things about Mahale."

Journey To Africa guest Rebecca Rawalt sharing her chimp trekking experience from Greystoke Mahale, an amazing Safari lodge run by our friends Nomad Tanzania. I can totally relate as this is also one of my favorite adventures in Tanzania.

“I can’t say enough good things about Mahale.  This place is perfect.  The setting is amazing, the staff were incredible, the food was my favorite of the trip.  I can not believe how hard the staff worked to make sure we had a good time.  The first day, the trackers were out all day and even though there were no chimps, Jillian [camp manager at that time] took us snorkeling in the lake and then the guide took us on a guided walk where we saw a bunch of monkeys.  The guides here were incredible. They were so much fun to be around and clearly knew so much about the area.  The second day the chimps were found and I think the staff was as excited as we were.  They worked so hard to make sure everyone had a good viewing experience.  The main groups were really far up the mountain.  One of the guides went out and worked with the trackers and they found a family of 3!  The chimps initially didn’t cooperate, only staying with us 10 minutes before going off into the swamp.  The trackers stayed with them while they kept us comfortable.  When we started talking about being hungry one of the staff heard us and ran back and made us all sandwiches.  We were all amazed when sandwiches appeared!  The chimps came back out - it was a really great experience.  The trackers came back covered in mud on every available surface and with their clothes torn to shreds.  It was amazing how hard they worked to give us a good experience.  “

Thank you Rebecca for echoing our feelings.
Don’t wait! This place is pure magic and you will never get the experience out of your mind.

Let’s chat chimps and Greystoke Mahale.

'lucky I had as much time to spend ...'

Get ready to be inspired by the stunning wildlife photographs taken by our guest Alex Fine on his Safari through Tanzania.

Alex zig-zagged through Serengeti, Tarangire, to wild Katavi, Ruaha, and Selous. Alex was supposed to have gone to Mahale Mountains to see the chimps but injured his foot about two months before his Safari. Next time Alex! Can’t wait to see what you capture there as well.

What were some of your favorite things to see on Safari?
”That's kinda hard to pick. The crossing obviously are amazing to see. Watching the hippos (upwind of course) fight in their pools was fun to watch (Hamza and I are sad we missed the hippos killing a crocodile). Ruaha was great because of the lion cubs we spent 4 hours with, and then seeing the Cheetahs hunt (well, kinda hunt). The wild dogs in Katavi (the 6 hours in the morning) were amazing to just watch the animals play and be themselves. I was lucky I had as much time to spend there as I did, as it let me spend 2-3 hours waiting for the cheetahs to hunt, or spend a morning with the lion cubs or dogs, instead of trying to fit everything into a few days.”

Alex is a world traveler [check his instagram]. When asked about our services, he said, “You were most helpful. This was a very different experience for me. I had someone else handle organizing/ booking/ coordinating, so it was very foreign (and a little nerve-wracking) to leave someone else in control. I think you did a good job.”.

Alex, it was a pleasure working with you planning your Safari. Looking forward to taking you to Mahale Mountains and hopefully some other parts of East and Southern Africa as well.

What will you see on your Journey To Africa Safari? Let’s find out shall we.

'I had to keep saying this is real!!!"

John and Gayle Mead reached out to me because our past guest Jill Kulbe had spoken highly of Journey To Africa. My Journey To Africa community - I tell ya; amazing! John and I went back and forth over email, a few phone calls until we landed on an Epic Safari. When I asked shall we confirm, John said, “Let’s go for it!! The plan looks fantastic!!”

From Zambia’s Victoria Falls to Serengeti and Selous, and more in-between in Tanzania, if you too can make this happen, this Safari is one for the memory books.

Their Epic Safari stories as per Gayle …

“ You asked how our first Safari was …. I had no idea what I really would feel once I saw the “wild” up personal from what we see on TV. Wow, it truly was amazing and I had to keep saying “this is real”!!!!

You asked what were some of our favorite things we saw …

At Victoria Falls, we LOVED Tongabezi. Our room right on the river, the hippos burping and beeping right there, the evenings that our personal valet would arrange for us (always a surprise); always a beautiful table with candlelight, always romantic; the sundowner cruises (loved the first night so much, we went all three nights). Saw so many animals on the cruise and then the island for sundowners and watching the beautiful Sunsets! John loved swimming in Devil’s Pool over Victoria Falls (I was not that brave) but we both did a Microlite Flight over Victoria Falls in the afternoon and loved that! One morning we went to the National Park close by and walked in with our guide and park ranger to see the White Rhino. That was fascinating.

October 9th … Livingstone to Lusaka and then finding out our next flight was canceled and then Nick (ground crew) came to share that you were making new arrangements for flights …. Mefi, you were amazing to get all those changes done for us and as it turned out better for us since we arrived at 12:30 rather than 3:00 the next morning. Rivertree Country Inn was a lovely place to rest before being picked up the next day.

Ali, our guide for the next 6 days, was WONDERFUL!!! He and John loved to share good jokes and fun stories as we spent time together :) We loved Tarangire … saw so many animals on our drive through the park to our camp. So enjoyed Kuro Tarangire camp. Our tent was so nice and really enjoyed the bucket showers :) It was fun to experience that “flavor” and then get better as the camps went on….and I do mean, just got better and better. Evenings were fun there with the cocktails around the fire outside before dinner. We enjoyed sitting with others for dinner. Met some very interesting people.

Our Night Game Drive in Tarangire was amazing seeing 4 plus 2 lions on a kill. We saw it right before and then backed up and the kill had happened but we saw them enjoying the meal. Four lions who made the kill were apparently from a pride that this was not their territory so they ate but the other two whose territory it was came running in to chase them off and we saw a “cat fight”. Wow!

Every morning (we always went out at 6:00 with breakfast out and loved a full game drive all morning. Saw amazing animals and birds all over and UP CLOSE. So enjoyed our drive to Ngorongoro Crater. We drove through Lake Manyara National Park and was amazed at the Tropical terrain there, beautiful, and so many animals on the side of the road and in the marsh area. Once again, WOW! Then, once we got around the rim of the crater and off-road heading to our camp, we were wondering where Ali could possibly be taking us :) Amazing camp! Loved the fireplaces in the evening before and during dinner. You are right about the winds at night …. earplugs did work great. They are going to build permanent structures in place of the tents which will help with the wind. Ali had us meet him at 5:45 the next morning and we were FIRST into the crater! Going down into the crater, this glorious male lion was sitting so proud looking all over … what a greeting :) Amazing day and loved our breakfast on this beautiful pond with hippo, eagles, beautiful birds. Later that day, we walked with a Maasai man and park ranger to his village. What a delight and the people were so interesting and delightful to meet. Not sure I could handle their diet, however!!!!!

We were sad the next morning saying “goodbye” to Ali at the airport. Got tickled at the little airport but that wasn’t the best of it once we kept getting into smaller and smaller airports along the way :) Yes, Ali made our first 6 days there wonderful!!!!

Arrived at Serengeti National Park; Jairo was our Guide and again what a delightful, wonderful man. Had a great time with him even though I called him a “crazy man” a couple of times when he would spot “something” and race there and sure enough, to our surprise, we were always amazed at the animal he had spotted. Cheetah on a boulder, lion, leopard with cubs. Our first full day, Jairo and other guides were seeing “build up” across the river of Wildebeest…a couple times looked like they were going to cross and then they would stop and run back. The rest of the guides were starting to tell their couples that it was time to go back to camp for lunch. Jairo knew we were just loving everything we could see and do so he said “you okay with a late lunch?” We said, of course!!! So, we headed back to another area on the river that he had heard there were more Wildebeest coming together. We sat and watched and it was looking good, then he said “we are going to move on down some more, I heard there are even more” … bingo!!!! He planted us right up front, and Mefi, we WATCHED in amazement as some 5,000 (yes, I said Jairo said it had to be at least 5,000) Wildebeest cross. I have tears in my eyes just thinking about how amazing it was!!!! WELL, when we got back to camp NOT CARING that we did not have lunch at all, the others were rather jealous … chuckle. Jairo said he was not very popular with the other guides that evening :) WE LOVED IT!!!! Jairo was there for us and we loved it.

Our camp, Lamai, was FABULOUS! What a setting, the food was fabulous, everything about it. Loved Katie. Her husband, Patrick, happened to be there too. Both of them work for Nomad. We were so impressed as we learned how Nomad promotes [Journey To Africa note - we love working with partners who help the community] from inside the camps so the people can work up to better jobs. Everyone was wonderful.

The Hot Air Balloon was great. The perfect park for seeing the animals. The rest of the Game Drives were all great seeing leopard with 2 cubs, 3 lions with 5 cubs …. learned that Wartbogs are called “the Serengeti Express” and Hippos are “Big Water Sausage” and Cheetahs call the Impala’s with the “M” on their butts “McDonald’s Cheetah Burgers”.

On our flight to Ruaha, we met a cute young couple and the young guy knew a friend of ours, had gone to school with our friend’s son!!! Small world.

Arrived Ruaha … ONCE AGAIN, our guide, Habibu, was amazing. Such a sweet man and SO FULL OF KNOWLEDGE. Ikuka, we must say, Mefi, was the BEST OF ALL!!! Location, room, everything about it was FABULOUS!!!! Thank you ! Love Jake and Lilly, the managers, so fun and helpful in all ways.

Habibu, took us all over … sat right next to a lion, leopard, mating lions (whew) and great sundowners with beautiful sunsets. One morning we did a 3 1/2 hour walking safari with a beautiful breakfast after the walk in a beautiful setting.

Flew to Selous (what??) where is the airport. Saw the runway, flew over in case any animals were on the runway, then land and see the sign on the tree “Coastal”. We loved it. Hussan, our guide, was a sweet young man and so fun. I told him he looked just like Tiger Woods :) The Manager, Melissa, was adorable. Hoping she will come visit us :) Love the camp [Journey To Africa note - Sand Rivers Selous], however, because of the rains, it was humid, hot and buggy. We learned that we could not take showers in the evening after dark because once the lights were on, all the bugs came in since it is totally open air. Solved that with showers in the afternoon.

We had a couple wonderful Game-Drives, but then John got sick one day so we rested most of that day which Hussan felt awful about and we told him he was doing a wonderful job and it could not be helped. We did get another Game-Drive in and a morning cruise to the Gorge which was great.

Our last Game Drive, we got to see Wild Dogs which was the only animal we had not seen. They had 3 cute pups playing around. We probably would say that by the time we got to Selous, we were so tired from playing so much, it may have been a bit long for us. However, we say that, and then say, we would not want to have missed it either for that park is so different from the others. Perhaps 3 days, rather than 4 in 3 of the camps, might have helped for making it a bit shorter….if we were recommending it to someone else (our age, perhaps). [Journey To Africa note - John and Gayle are healthy and fit in their 70s]

Sorry, that I went on and on, Mefi, but as you can see, we LOVED THE TRIP SO MUCH and THANK YOU for all your work putting it together. “

John and Gayle, sharing my love of Safaris was pure pleasure. Thank you for trusting me totally in planning your Safari - I enjoyed sharing my amazing corner of Earth. Asante for sharing your ‘journey’ while you were on the ground - made me feel part of your Safari. Our chat, especially after your Safari made my heart swell.

Your turn to experience the magic that is a Safari? Let’s chat.

An African Safari for a Birthday

When Natalie and I met up to talk Safari planning, she said she wanted to go to exclusive Singita Lodges for her 40th birthday. Staying in Singita Lodges is a win-win Safari.

- They will be supporting the amazing community and conservation work that Singita Lodges fund in East and Southern Africa; from anti-poaching, rhino relocation, research, etc.
- They will be spending time with some of the best in the business Safari guides.
- It puts them at 2 degrees separation from the likes of George Clooney, Will Smith, and other very famous people. Minor detail really.
- They have an exclusive pastry chef! Oh my.

The two Tanzanian Singita Lodges we used for her Serengeti Safari were Singita Sasakwa and Singita Faru Faru with Legendary Lodge in Arusha as their starting point.

When I emailed to see what she thought of her Birthday Safari in Tanzania, her response was:

“I truly left a piece of my heart in Tanzania. Singita is out of this world. Our guide Bernard amazing. He was so amazing with the kids and so knowledgeable he really made our trip special!

The food was also amazing. The attention to detail and the attention to the guests is above expectations!

My birthday was awesome. We saw lions on that day and to be honest the entire time in the Serengeti felt like it was my birthday. We did a community visit which was heart wrenching but definitely great to see how Singita is really working to make changes.

My kids and I can’t stop singing

Jambo
Jambo bwana
Habari gani
Nzuri sana ….

The song is catchy.

It was truly a memorable trip and now need to save up as I HAVE to go back. Ideally in 5 years but at the very least for my 50th.”

So happy to hear that from Natalie.

Singita Lodges delivered 100% for Natalie and her sweet family. So glad Natalie’s 40th birthday is one for the memory books.

You too can celebrate your birthday on an African Safari. We can get you there; either staying in exclusive Singita Lodges in East or Southern Africa or staying in the many other luxury lodges that are our favorites. Let’s chat about Your Safari.

"Quite a Memory."

George, Joey, and Henry and I started planning their Tanzanian Safari in March 2017 for their November 2017. Three photographers on Safari in Tanzania - I was ready to see some great pictures of wildlife and landscape and I was right. George, Asante sana for sharing your Safari Story with us and your amazing photos. 

" We had a spectacular time! In pretty much all respects, it was everything I imagined it would be.

Festo and Nathan were great but Nathan gets a special mention as he had us for the 9 days and 800+ kilometers; he was not only a wonderfully knowledge guide but an excellent (and patient :-)) travel companion. Life in the Land Cruiser was great, even with the free African Massage (as Nathan described traveling down some of the roads).

Camps and lodges were very comfortable and we were very well fed and taken care of in the camps. Ngorongoro Farm House was a nice oasis after a long day drive down from Kati Kati ... walking up the hill and seeing the sunset over the lawns, someone handing me a cool cloth and lemon water, I thought "Ok, I think I could hang here for a while". 

The game drives and wildlife viewing were superb and the weather ideal; we'd certainly recommend that time of year to go, rains, not a factor at all and in fact welcome to keep the dust down. Temperature nice and summer-like, crowds not a factor at all (well almost never, there was that leopard site ... :-)). It would be nice to go back and see the same areas right after the long rains though ... the stark contrast I imagine.

We missed out on the rhino at Ngorongoro and only saw the wildebeest hover but not cross at the edge of the Mara but otherwise, we saw all the big and small mammals and lots of birds (about 100 names on our list). Our cameras got a good workout and we're still curating the 5k+ images each of us have. Tough to capture the full impact of zebra and wildebeest out to the horizon in the Central Serengeti ... that is quite a memory.

For me the trip was one big highlight but a few things come to mind ...

• When we were in the crater, we watched this big old bull elephant saunter across the crater floor towards the marsh where Nathan had us positioned. The old boy stopped maybe 12 ft away and just stood there, dust bathing and looking at us for about 15 minutes and then just continued on his way.
• Being a city boy, I don't see the Milky Way very often due to light pollution so I hoped to get a night sky shot at some point on the trip. At Kichuguu, what was just as memorable was the honor guard of camp staff we had around us, simultaneously ensuring we didn't get eaten and just as keen to look at the results.
• On arrival at Kati Kati, Nathan had a somewhat extended dialogue with one of the Camp #2 staff after which, he chuckled and told us that we were in the right place but, since a family of elephants had gone through the kitchen tent the previous night, we were being moved to Camp #4. All was well and we got to see and hear a loud debate within an elephant here the next morning ... camp staff figured it was likely the same herd that had visited camp #2

Thank you for putting this all together for us and hope to do it again someday. "

Makes me happy when my Safari goers get to fulfill their Tanzanian Safari dream.
What is your Safari dream? We can help make it a reality.