A lovely experience in the northern Serengeti

We loved the northern Sergengeti.  We were camping with the wildebeest, with lions.  As you know, the Nomad camp was excellent—all the details taken care of.  Love the campfire and sundowners.  Service and food very, very good. 

David is superb—he always gets us to the best spots first and away before the crowd. I won’t bore you but we saw some remarkable things including a cheetah with four cubs and Thomson ‘s fighting off jackals.  He is endlessly good humored and thoughtful as well as an exceptional bird spotter.





Tiede Family staying at Serengeti Safari Camp, August 2013

The trick to a successful family safari

You nailed it…our trip was everything we could have expected and more…and it was not only what you suggested what we should do that was spot on, but also what we could live without that was very helpful.  Being overbooked with three kids (one being 12) would have really burned us out.

Your 1-2-3 of tent camping, Lamia Serengeti and Sand Rivers Selous could not have been better thought out…I would recommend (demand) that itinerary for any of my friends…

Your insight into traveling with children (considering you have three yourself) was your best value add…

Now for some specifics:

Onsea House:  What wonderful people and what an amazing chef…the perfect place to get settled in Tanzania after 17 hours of travel…five stars from this guy.

Gibbs Farm:  A true highlight and a must for anyone traveling to or from the crater.  The daily lectures, the wonderful grounds and the terrific rooms…you were right, it was a shame we didn’t have two nights there…

You were right, you have to go to Lake Maynara and the Crater, but we had some great experiences coming up…

[Serengeti Safari Camp] Tent Camping in the Serengeti:  People must experience this…and believe me, no matter what I had heard about the tents, yours (and the hot showers) exceeded every expectation…there is really nothing better than walking out of your tent and being part of the Serengeti.  The nights around the campfire enjoying the stars is magic.  And I felt safe enough that I was comfortable with my children having their own tent, but a do have to say it was a little unsettling to see fresh animal tracks outside their door in the morning.

Lamai Serengeti:  What a magical place and what wonderful staff…we really enjoyed meeting Mark and Chloe (she’s a gem)…please let her know that we were asking about her (and hope the pregnancy is going well).  I could go on and on about the Lamai…we woke up one morning to the sight of 15,000 wildebeests…the walking safaris, the happy hour surprise, the wonderful service…seriously:  special place, special people, special family time.

Sand Rivers Selous:  Wow, thank you for sending us there last…it was the perfect place to finish and would have frankly been too much for this guy if we had started there…It was the perfect finish…boat versus truck (we’d had enough of sitting in the Land Cruiser).  Nic and Jana were delightful and I hope I have this right, Ernst (looks like Festo on the website) was the man.  Once again, you were right on about fly camping…it is my single most vivid memory of the trip…and you made it happen.  Thank you so much.

The people you meet (although very diverse) are such a pleasant surprise.  We made friends, exposed our children to thoughts and sights that they would never see and most important…had the family trip we really needed (with a our oldest heading off to college).

Bottom line on a Safari (in my opinion) is that the Guides simply make the trip.  And Nomad has amazing guides.  We felt fortunate to have Godwin for the first two legs (he was passionate about us getting to the right location to take the best possible picture) and there should be a shrine to Ernest (Festo)in Sand Rivers …the night of the fly camp he must have gotten an hour (max) of sleep…he makes a true difference.  The key to a great guide (and thus a great experience) is having the guide listen to you…which they did.  There were times when we simply wanted to end the day early and go back to the lodge and enjoy each other as a family.

Nomad Tanzania has a big fan in me…please let me know what I can do to spread the word.

Thank you again Milly, you made our Safari the trip of a lifetime…

JWG

Sand Rivers Selous - we're completely sold on it!

Well … (we) had the most incredible time at Sand Rivers Selous.  We are completely sold on it!  What a way to spend P’s 18^th birthday.  More to the point, what a marvellous hotel you have there.  From the swimming pool with a view to die for, to the service, the food and drink, the rooms, the lovely and knowledgeable guides, the precise attention to detail in everything and of course the hippos, crocs, elephant and the rest around, or even sometimes in, the gardens – it was all amazing.  We enjoyed walking, boating, being driven and just sitting while all the time bird and animal watching.  Thanks so much for fixing it all for us.

Keeling Family, July 2013

We snuck up behind a pair of lionesses in the Selous

Our favorite location was Sand Rivers. It’s hard to believe how a place could be that remote and still provide such a high standard of accommodation. The kids’ jaws dropped when they saw their open-fronted hillside suite – none of us had ever stayed anywhere so exotically luxurious – and even though Tom and I saw and heard a hippo grazing at our doorstep that first night, we felt relaxed and safe (another reason why it was good Sand Rivers was last on the schedule!). 

The friendly staff treated us like royalty and thoroughly spoiled us with a picnic on the beach midway through our boating trip, sundowners after a short hike, and a fully cooked breakfast after a long one. I will never want to camp or hike any other way! Although the food everywhere surpassed expectations, the meals here were the best -– I’m craving the butterbean pate as I write. The chef even fried up the fish we caught. Nomad’s attention to detail is impressive: Apparently, the organization monitors the guests as they travel from camp to camp so as not to duplicate meals. 

We loved the variety of activities (especially being on the river, crocs and all) and not seeing another car or boat all day. Even the game drives, in an open-sided Land Rover on roads that were in themselves adventures, were a change of pace from those in the Serengeti. As our guide slowly drove along, he leaned out to study the tracks and droppings; based on what he saw, we snuck up behind a pair of lionesses, for example, and followed them as they went about their business. We’d seen lions in the Serengeti, but this was a more personal experience.

...what an amazing experience!

Our accomodation was to die for!
Hearing the hippos underneath our balcony at night; the general sense of involvement, could it be bettered?? I don't think so!

We were hugely impressed with our guide, Emmanuel, who didn't simply give out his extensive knowledge, but did so in a way which was so involving and exciting as to make the experience so much greater than it otherwise might have been.

We were very fortunate to see all that we saw. This included all the creatures which one would hope, and to some extent might 'expect', to see (if that's reasonable in 50,000 sq km of terrain!....but you know what I mean!) i.e. Elephant, Impala, Giraffe, Baboon, Crocodiles, Hippos, Zebra and even Lions, plus the most wonderful birds, etc. However we were fortunate enough also to see Wild Dogs, which I understand are pretty rare sightings!

Wonderful river trip as well which we greatly enjoyed.

We adored the fly camping!
What an amazing experience! We felt so privileged to share this fantastic environment with the 'local inhabitants' of Lake Tagalala who didn't seem to mind our presence!
At sundown, we witnessed an incredible Hippo fight right in front of us, no more than 100m away! Then at night, the eyes of the crocs lit by torchlight was more akin to Blackpool illuminations than the African bush!
I had just turned in for the night as Emamanuel advise that he had spotted a Leopard! I leapt out of the tent in just my boxers, no shoes, and saw by torchlight the leapard about 50m away prowling after 3 impala before him! What a privilege!!

Mark and Kristen were simply delightful. Mark very helpfully arranged with his taxi driver for us to meet up with a 'friendly face' in the form of Yusef when we ultimately arrived in Dar after Fundu Lagoon. This worked out really well; please make sure you thank Mark for this; it was really appreciated!

Henderson, 2013

Attention to detail in the savannah...

The Nomad Tanzania tented experience, was beyond our expectations. The quality of the service, the food and the friendliness of all the people was unbelievable. Our guide, Rowland, will stay in our memory for a long time.  The attention to details in the middle of the savannah was exceptional. I would recommend Nomad Tanzania to anybody.

Pfund party, Serengeti Safari Camp, December 2012