Nomad: efficiency, charm & ‘nothing is too much trouble’

Simply stunning is the best way to sum the holiday up. We yet again meet some great people, stayed in superb camps & had our own little adventures. Chris & I still chuckle now over the funny thing we saw & our friends jaws drop open when we tell them about the wildlife.

Without question we all agreed that Chada Katavi was the best camp, best food & best game viewing. The overnight stay in Arusha on the way out was very welcome & built up the excitement for the final hop. The chef at Chada should be complimented since his food was equal, if not better to that you can find in the West End. Extended stays in the mess tent or library due to elephants or hippos in the camp really wasn’t a problem.....There were only 2 other guests in the camp during our stay so we felt as if we had the camp to ourselves. The girls got used to being watched by the dozen or so monkeys that sat on their shower screen whilst they had their bush shower.

Mahale was other worldly both on the beach & in the forest. Harrison Ford & family checked out as we checked in so we knew it has to be good. The weather was odd (rain, mist, wind from the wrong direction & rough water) so the journey to & from the camp was wild. A successful fishing trip resulted in fresh sushi for the all the guests and a swim at the waterfall, refreshing. The chimps on the first day were positively frightening (makes bringing up two teenagers look easy) & seeing them on the second day when they were calmer so much more intimate. The guides are predicting a coup so there was much tree thumping, rock throwing  & stick bashing.

Gibbs Farm grew on me the longer we stayed there & our trips to the Crater & Manyara Lake were interesting but low on the game score. After Katavi the 22 vehicles around 2 lioness in the Crater was worthy of a few photos. The tour around the farm was great & the fresh fruit & veg superb. I would suggest that The Crater walk is only offered to your ‘die hards’ since it was exhausting so say the least & the bush & forest canopy so thick that we needed a machete all the way up. Once up the views made up for all the ticks, ants & nettle rashes (!!)

Please would you pass my sincere thanks & compliments to the owners of Nomad Tanzania. If my company could be run with their efficiency, charm & ‘nothing is too much trouble’ then I would be very happy indeed. I could not fault them at all. Superb.  The guides were great entertainers (Mohammed at Katavi, Muwega at Mahale & Godwin at Gibbs Farm) and extremely knowledgeable on all things living & breathing including the Olympics & the usual football teams. We were met at every stage by a Nomad representative which was great. 

August 2012

Greystoke Mahale might just be one of the greatest places I have ever been..

Since we’re friends, I’m going to tell you a secret—but you have to promise you’re not going to tell anybody. Here goes and remember, you promised—Greystoke Mahale, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, might just be one of the greatest places I have ever been...

Now, I know you want to hear about the chimps and I won’t let you down as they are undoubtedly the stars of the show. But before we get to them I put it to you that if you’re not a scuba diver and you’re looking for a beach escape in Africa where the only people you’ll see are the staff and the other people at the lodge (to a maximum of 12), this could well be it. Mahale has white sand beach, crystal clear water, peace and relaxation, seemingly limitless warm sunshine, great food, outstanding yet laid back service, and on top of all that, a setting so gob-smackingly beautiful that you will find yourself wondering if it's real. True it’s on a fresh water lake rather than the ocean, but you even get the sound of waves crashing on the beach to lull you to sleep—what more could you want?

As far as the primates are concerned, the experience that you can have with them supposedly varies depending on the season. In the dry season (June to October) the chimps tend to be more spread out and further up the mountains—meaning more walking and tougher viewing. When it's wet (November to April) they’re generally closer together and closer to camp. I say supposedly because we went in June and saw chimps, either in camp, or within 20 minutes walk of camp for three days running.

Seasonality aside, seeing the chimps is quite an intense experience, and that’s putting it mildly. In some ways they’re exactly as you imagine primates to be from seeing innumerable nature documentaries, and yet they’re so tantalizingly human in their movements and behavior that it’s impossible not to be moved and feel some sense of kinship. If you ever had doubts about evolution, seeing the chimps will almost certainly make you a true believer. It's a humbling, illuminating, and almost revelatory experience and as a result it's surprisingly difficult to adequately describe—you really just have to go there and see them for yourself.

In short, Mahale is incredible. In fact, if you’re in need of a new spiritual home, this could very well be it—but remember, keep it to yourself.

Dan Achber of Trufflepig visited Greystoke Mahale in June 2012

The Kiba chef is amazing!

The transfer to and from Kiba was excellent.  The camp and rooms are excellently appointed & well maintained. The food at Kiba point was the best we had in Africa. Your chef is amazing!  outstanding vegetable dishes! Your staff were wonderful.  Fabulous English & great manners!
Camp managers as well as Ernest were informative, warm, funny and knowledgeable about the Selous as well as Africa in general and life.


GB, July 2012

You have the recipe right

[Serengeti Safari Camp] surpassed all expectations! Attention to detail and consistency of such high standards are a credit to the people & company.  We were wonderfully pampered – the camp folk go out of their way to ensure all was above expectation.  Intelligent, friendly - brilliant. You have the recipe right.

Chada exceeded all expectations...

The camp itself exceeded all expectations. Everything was an unexpected wonderful surprise. Camp folk were very courteous, helpful, polite, professional.  Paul was a superstar and Mark & Kristen of course!

TB, July 2012

Nduara was magical as expected...

Everything was magical as expected! [Nduara Loliondo] is PERFECT - a 5 star mobile!

The food served was really good and service was perfect!  All the Nomad staff were really good, but I will say that Ally was particularly good, even I would say the best guide we ever had!

C&R, June 2012

We're departing Lamai in tears...

We are departing Lamai today practically in tears.  We had such an adventure seeing hippos fighting and crocs killing a wilderbeast and cheetahs and leapards..... The children even met up with a runaway donkey from Kenya, living amongst the wilderbeasts.  Unfortunately we weren't able view a river crossing which means we just need to one back. 

Lamai was superb is every way.  Sasha and Tam were extremely hospitable and made us all felt at home.  View from the lodge is magnificent, service was impeccable.  All in all,  a wonderful experience. THANKS!
 

 P, August 2012

We've both been bitten by the safari bug...

Good morning Jill

This was a pleasure to read and please do pass on thanks to Chediel and Ernest.

All that behind the scenes organization is essential to making a good safari and it is so pleasing that Nomad are still delivering in such a consistent way over all these years.

Best wishes

Miles

(of Theobald Barber Ltd)

Dear Miles

We both wanted to say a huge thank you for all your hard work in organising for us what turned out to be an absolutely perfect honeymoon. We have so many fantastic memories (and even more photos) and I think it is safe to say that we’ve both been bitten by the safari bug – which I think must be transmitted by the Tsetse fly! The trip was made even more special as we knew we could relax safe in the knowledge that you had organised everything so thoroughly for us.

It was fantastic moving from one camp to the next with each camp living up to the impressively high standards set by the previous one! We have to admit that our favourite camp was Lamai, which was in such a stunning location, with the added bonus of the surroundings teeming with wildlife (it was here we saw leopard, lion and cheetah all in one day). All of the camps made us feel special as we were on our honeymoon with a complimentary bottle of champagne being a given!

Our guides Chediel (Serengeti) and Ernest (Sand Rivers) were both great and their knowledge and ability to see the slightest hint of an animal on the horizon was amazing. We felt particularly spoiled by Chediel whose passion for safari and the animals he was telling us about really shone through.

Thank you again for everything,

C & J, August 2012

"..we were particularly thankful for our extremely knowledgeable and friendly safari guide, Emmanuel"

I just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed our stay at Sand Rivers and our day excursion to Zanzibar that you booked for us. Everyone at Sand Rivers was extremely attentive and gracious, and we were particularly thankful for our extremely knowledgeable and friendly safari guide, Emmanuel. There wasn't a tree, plant, bird or animal he wasn't able to explain about, and believe me, I ask a lot of questions! The whole experience was a highlight of our time in Tanzania. We also had a fabulous day taking in the sites of Stonetown with our colorful and animated guide, Ali Bab. That, too, was a wonderful and memorable experience. Thank you for making all of the arrangements for us both at Sand Rivers and in Zanzibar. 

If you could also share our thanks with Chloe and Emmanuel, as well, I would be very grateful.

MJ & NW, July 2012