In 2019, with a number of family milestones coming up (including a college graduation), we decided to celebrate by going on a safari. We had a fairly tight window with which to work, between graduation and the start of a new job. It made sense to use a tour company, because the thought of planning such a big and expensive excursion on my own felt too daunting. I looked at several top rated tour companies. Many of them offered group tours, albeit small ones, and I wasn’t interested in those. But the financial jump to a private tour with most of them was often mind boggling. Eventually, I came across Deeper Africa. Karen and her team ONLY offer private tours within an established framework that you can modify as you want. A phone call with Karen revealed a knowledgable and capable person, well connected in Africa. We set up a safari for May 2020. And then, you know, Covid happened. Since everything was shut down relatively close to our trip, Karen offered us a refund and cancellation of our trip. Never thinking that we’d still be dealing with the virus for so long, we decided to push it to the following year. And then, since vaccines were only just starting to be available that Spring, to May 2022. Throughout all of this, Karen and her team regularly communicated updates and seamlessly made the necessary changes to our schedule. By the time the safari rolled around this year, my oldest son could no longer join us due to a new job. Once again, Deeper Africa didn’t even blink and made the necessary changes so that a family friend could join us. After a very long flight, we were met at the airport by Ammy Nnko, the Deeper Africa coordinator in Tanzania. He remained with us throughout our entire trip, acting as guide, educator and driver. Ammy knew so much about the animals and plants that we saw. It turns out that he is also a wonderful birder, which was especially exciting for me. I can’t even begin to tell you how many new birds I saw! He also shared the history of Tanzania, while answering the many questions we threw at him. Ammy was like a funny, cool uncle - my three young adult sons really loved hanging with him. In fact, it was really hard to say goodbye to him at the end of our trip.We stayed in several different tent camps during our time in Tanzania. Each had its own special qualities - high at the edge of Ngorogoro crater, out in the middle of the bush with lions roaring in the distance, at the edge of the migration route with zebras visible from camp, and beautiful sunrises from our front door. But, they all had something in common too - a warm & welcoming staff, excellent food, and really comfortable beds (admittedly this was a surprise). This variety allowed us to really explore several National Parks and see a bit more of Tanzania. I highly recommend this approach. We met many people who stayed in one or two places, making daily excursions from a single point. Travel is difficult, even in safari vehicles. The roads in the bush are slow and bumpy, and you won’t see quite as much. But, to each his own.When it was time to go home, Ammy brought us to a local airstrip after a final morning of wildlife viewing for the bush plane ride to the airport. He handled the tickets and walked us right through to security. Once at Kilimanjaro Airport, we were met by Ombeni Samson, another guide with Deeper Africa. He helped us secure the Covid tests required for our return to the US, and stayed with us while we waited for the results. Once we were cleared, he brought us to security and said farewell.The team at Deeper Africa seemingly covered every possible contingency (no mean feat in this Covid era), dotted every I and crossed every T. We didn’t have to worry about a thing while on our trip and were able fully immerse ourselves (and enjoy) the beautiful country of Tanzania. Deeper Africa has local teams in other African countries too. I highly recommend using them!
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Unforgettable African safaris