12 Day-AAC’s Private Migration Safari to Tanzania
By Jane, Jack and Alex Cummins
Safaris:
Overall Trip Experience Rating:
5 Stars
Countries Visited:
Tanzania
To say that our Safari was a “trip of a lifetime” is not doing it justice! My sons, Jack and Alex (ages 15 & 17) and I will remember our 10 days in Tanzania for the rest of our lives – not only because of where we were but because of the superb and professional organization by all of you at The Africa Adventure Company. From that first day when I cold called you after seeing an advert in an airline magazine to the day we left for our trip, I cannot praise you enough for how smoothly the whole trip went…You thought of absolutely everything!
Guide Experience Rating:
5 Stars
Guides:
Our Guide, Elibariki Pallango – Eli. I don’t know where to start with Eli. What a wonderful man! From the time he met us at Arusha to the time he put us on the Regional Air plane in the Serengeti we could not have asked for a better, more competent person to take care of us. We felt so comfortable with him and being a father of a teenage son himself he knew exactly how to engage the boys…His knowledge was first class and the pride he took in his job was clearly obvious. He has a wicked sense of humor which was enjoyed by all three of us. He organized us well but also accommodated us if we wanted to return to the hotel a little earlier than planned. Jack and Eli developed a great ‘working relationship’ as Jack was our official photographer and he and Eli would work together to get the best shot! On our last night we invited Eli to join us for a farewell dinner and it was clear that we had all become very good friends – always hard to say good bye to a good friend when you don’t know when you will see them again!
Accommodation Experience Rating:
5 Stars
Accommodation:
- Tarangire Treetops Camp, Tanzania
- The Manor at Ngorongoro, Tanzania
- Serengeti Pioneer Camp
- Migration Camp, Northern Serengeti, Tanzania
Tarangire Tree Tops: What fun to sleep in a tree house wrapped around a giant Baobab tree! The staff, food and service all excellent. The first evening I was Skyping my husband and some elephants walked up to the watering hole by the pool and within a few minutes there were 10 of them all trying to get into the watering hole! It was a surreal moment as I was able to let Neil, who was sitting in his office in downtown Chicago, see everything live! Our waiter Mbaiz was brilliant.
The Manor at Ngorongoro: What a beautiful setting – again it reminded me of houses in the north of Scotland. Roddy and Camilla (the Managers) are lovely. Having a massage in their spa was relaxing at the end of the day.
Serengeti Pioneer Camp: I think the boys were thrilled at the thought of staying in a tent at last! I was very relieved when I saw the inside of the tent and realized how luxurious they are! Once again, the food and staff were excellent…The first night I was awakened by the loud sound of breathing and chomping and realized that there was a buffalo (which I established the following morning) literally on the other side of the canvas from my head working its way around the tent – another surreal moment! The open sided lounge with the spectacular views was hard to leave.
Serengeti Migration Camp: Although similar to Serengeti Pioneer Camp it is obviously older but once again we had a great experience with the food and staff – especially ‘Charles’ who couldn’t have been more helpful. Lauren, the Manageress, is a very sociable and gregarious lady which the boys loved. Again during the night I woke up to the sound of ‘chomping’ again. This time I woke Jack up so that he could witness it with me – we carefully pulled the curtain back to find a mother elephant and baby elephant feet away from our veranda working their way around a tree – so exciting! The boys thought it cool that, in order to attract the staff members from our tent, we had to stand at the door and wave a torch and in the event of an emergency we had to blow a whistle! Something we did not have to do!
AAC Experience Rating:
5 Stars
AAC Trip Planning and Organisation:
Dear All,
Well – where do I start….?
A huge thank you again from all three of us – I just wish I could turn the clock back 8 months (when I first contacted you) and have it all to look forward to again. It was our first time to Africa but it will definitely not be our last.
Take care and I wish you continued success,
Warm regards,
