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Trip Report: Tanzania Northern Circuit Safari with Earthlife Expeditions

Trip Report: Tanzania Northern Circuit Safari with Earthlife Expeditions

Old Jun 24th, 2017, 12:02 PM
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Trip Report: Tanzania Northern Circuit Safari with Earthlife Expeditions

So after extensive research (and I mean extensive ... I hate spreadsheets, but I created one to compare all the tour operators I contacted and their offerings), I selected Earthlife Expeditions. It was the single best decision I've made in quite a long time. Deo Japhet is the owner and the main point of contact while discussing your safari needs. We were looking for a private, family (two parents, two kids) safari on the northern circuit. Deo was patient, helpful with suggestions, and open to more dialogue. Unlike some other tour operators I contacted via email, I never felt any pressure to sign a contract or make a deposit. And even after I had booked, I was allowed to add on other activities (a coffee plantation tour), which he deftly scheduled in a suitable timeframe.

During the safari, our driver-guide Paul help to exceed all of our very high expectations on safari. He was super friendly, answered tons of questions (both on animals and just about life in Tanzania), and has that uncanny ability to spot animals I will never have.

The safari started in Arusha, after Paul picked us up at Kilimanjaro International Airport. I would advise you to get your visas ahead of time to save the hassle at the airport immigration office. We stayed the night in Arusha at the African Tulip. Very nice hotel. We left the next day for Tarangire National Park. In consultation with Deo, we selected Tarangire over Lake Manyara, and are so happy with the decision. Tarangire was a wonderful start. Don't skip out on it. We stayed at Tarangire Simba Lodge, which Deo selected and was wonderful. This felt like a luxury safari without the luxury price tag.

The next day, we did a cultural tour in Mto Wa Mbu village, hike to Enduro waterfall and explored the elephant caves, and visited a coffee plantation. All arranged by Earthlife, with two expert local guides for each. Paul was waiting for us at the end and we headed to Ngorongoro.

For your crater visit, plan on rising early and getting to the crater floor as early as you can. Your guide will help you plan this out. The earlier, the better. In fact, early starts should be de rigueur on safari. You can sleep late when you get home. Our early morning start down to the crater floor helped us beat almost all the other vehicles down the access roads, and as we slowed to our first stop around some zebras, Paul spotted a rarity. A bat-eared fox, usually nocturnal, was watching us watch the zebras. Then it sprinted off and was gone for the day.

The crater was incredible. Paul was expert at plotting out our day, covering the entirety of the floor. We stalked lions as they stalked buffalo. We forded a rocky stream in our Land Cruiser easily. And speaking of the Land Cruiser, this vehicle has it all. First, Deo promised plenty of water, soft drinks, candy and snacks in the vehicle to be sure the kids were always fueled up. Paul didn't disappoint on that front. The icebox in the back was always accommodating. And ginger snaps, butter cookies or cashews would appear on the shelf in front of us. The four seats were spacious, with lots of storage (a shelf ran across the front with walls ... very handy), and each seat had at least one outlet with international prong access, no adapter needed. Two large beanbags were under the seats for your camera. Don't waste space or weight packing one. And some tour operators limited you to 1L of bottled water per person per day. Earthlife has no limits, which is good when you do long game drives under the Tanzanian sun. Stay hydrated!

Paul knew that in June, the main road between Ngorongoro and Serengeti would be under construction, causing some slowdowns and even more bumps than usual. With our permission, we went off the road (allowed in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, not in the crater or SNP) and found amazing sights we would've missed otherwise. We found three lionesses and ten cubs munching on a recently killed (that morning) eland carcass. They let us park right next to them as they lounged under a tree. Later, we caught sight of another rarely seen animal: ratel. Three honey badgers were streaking through the tall grass away from us, a mother and two cubs. We sped up to watch them and it felt like they would attack the Land Cruiser (they didn’t).

In Serengeti National Park, we stayed at Kubu Kubu Tented Camp in the Seronera area. Again, Deo hit it out of the park. Paul had not yet visited this camp as it was relatively new, and even he was impressed. Staff, food, views, cabins ... all excellent. Without Deo, we'd have missed out on it, as there weren’t many (if any) reviews of it online.

We relied on Paul to plan out our time in the Serengeti (three full days). He was masterful at it, with one day going into the Western Corridor for the migration, another searching (and finding!) one of only three packs of African Painted Dogs (aka, African Wild Dogs) relocated from the south of the country. Even other driver-guides were incredulous of our find, pestering me to confirm what Paul had told them at a picnic lunch stop. Our family vacation motto became: In Paul We Trust.

Deo had booked our tickets out of Seronera to Zanzibar and Paul delivered us and handled all the logistics at the airport. It was a sad time since not only was our safari ending, we had to say goodbye to Paul, who had become a great friend.

Bonus Plug for Earthlife Expeditions: We had booked our international plane tickets into JRO and out of Dar es Salaam, going to Zanzibar after the safari. Deo graciously booked our plane tickets from ZNZ to DAR. However, after we got to Zanzibar, reasons cropped up that caused us to want to be in Dar for a night before our international flights. We contacted Deo on a Saturday afternoon, asking a HUGE favor: could he rebook our tickets for a day earlier? Not only that, he had already given us gratis two free aiport transfers, so could we get picked up a day early, also? He called the airline (Coastal Aviation, recommended) and got the manager he knew at home. He secured a promise to get us rebooked in the morning and told us to be ready for the pick up. He said to expect an email by 9:30 am with the new tickets. Well, Africa Time is a serious condition and I wasn't sure if we'd have the tickets then. Call me a Doubting Thomas: the email arrived at 8:48 am.

I don’t think I would have gotten that service if I had booked with one of the larger companies. This small company strives to personalize your experience, from the owner on down.

This was supposed to be an item I had always dreamed of doing (African Safari!) and then I could check it off and move on to other things. It went sooo well and simply was far better than anything I had imagined, that we will return to Tanzania. We will book with Earthlife and we will ask for Paul to guide us again.

If you have been searching for a Tanzanian tour operator, stop now and contact Earthlife Expeditions. You. Will. Not. Be. Disappointed.
Brussig is offline  
Old Jun 28th, 2017, 04:59 PM
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I've always wondered if having a guide for entire private trip would feel intrusive. Did you find that?
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Old Jul 14th, 2017, 05:14 PM
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We are headed to Tanzania for a family safari with our kids, ages 12 and 9 in a few weeks, so it was great to read your trip report. Our current dilemma is about photography equipment. Did you take many pictures and, if so, what type of camera did you use. I hate to buy something new for this trip, but also hate to miss out on having good pictures to commemorate the trip of a lifetime.
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