Still learning from you all-this time to type my trip report on Word and copy it. The first one got lost in the Great Fodor Void.
I am also going to send it in installments and hope for the best...

Many, many thanks to all of you for your help in the planning of this wonderful trip. I remember the decision-making stress of trying to choose the perfect safari and I’d like to offer a couple of observations (rather than a day to day report) to help someone new relax and just GO.

Group or private safari? I went crazy with this decision and special thanks to ShayTay and evelyntrav for their suggestions. As my husband and I do like the company of other travelers and I was having a lot of trouble designing our own safari, we decided on a group. We chose OAT because we had traveled with them before and know they limit their trips to 16 guests. We ended up with 6 on the 3-night pre-trip and 13 plus 3 guides for the 12 night trip. It was a really good group-all seasoned travelers with lots of stories and good ideas for our future adventures. We rode in 3 Land Cruisers and switched around to get to know each other and the guides. We had no whiners and lots of laughs and everyone was pretty equal in their needs for photography time, bird watching, etc. One would definitely want a private safari if you want to be sure to get the perfect light for photographs, focus on birds and have lots of time to observe them, etc. Our drivers always asked if we were ready to go before leaving and animal, etc., but group courtesy kept anyone from taking too much time at any one place. However, the guides were flexible and one vehicle could linger or even go back to an animal for another photo if requested. The guides were very knowledgeable and amazing drivers able to maneuver wet, slippery, deeply rutted roads and spot the ears of a lioness peeking out of the grass at the same time.

Tents or lodges? I am so glad we opted for more tents. Our pre-trip was at Kambi Ya Tembo and we had the camp to ourselves the first night and were joined by 4 Spaniards the second. The staff surprised one of our group with a fantastic birthday celebration where they sang and danced for at least a half-hour! The tents were huge and comfortable and I didn’t even mind sharing it with a mouse, or some small animal which got into my bag of almonds. We had wonderful off-road game drives in open vehicles and saw our very first giraffes complete with Mt. Killimanjaro in the background. One of the Masai who work at the camp, Willliam, took my husband and me on a walk around the area and got our whole group invited to attend a Masai wedding celebration.

Well it sounds as if "not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse" doesn't apply to your tent at Kampi Ya Tembo.

Thanks for re-doing this, Sue. And how exciting to attend a wedding.

Thanks alot. Good observations re Oats and Kibo. I'll be starting a private safari w/3 nights at Kampi Ya Tembo on March 7. I'll be sure to advise my nutty travel partner to seal her meals.

This is the 2nd wedding that I've heard of up there. How lucky for you.

Would love to hear more about your trip. Especially the Sinya concession area as well as other experiences you had due to the fantastic migration sitings we've been hearing about, and of course, all the terrible road conditions etc.

Again thanks, and welcome home.

I'm doing something wrong-added another installment this morning, but can't find it again. Oh well, at least it is retrievable on Word now. My husband and I are off to ski in VT for a couple days (big change from Serengeti!) so there will be no posting until we get home. Thanks for your encouragement, it keeps me typing. Travelnat-I'll answer specifically w/photos of the Sinya camp when we return.

PART TWO--
Other tented lodges were the Maramboi camp in Tarangire with a great view of Lake Manyara and the thousands of flamingos. It was another luxury tent with wood floors, pictures hung on the canvas walls and even a door instead of a zipper. One afternoon the 3 vehicles went on a “surprise ride” off road to a Dagota tribe village. They had gotten permission to visit, but I guess we were early because the women were very flustered and they ran into their huts (rectangular instead of round, with more light and much higher ceilings) where we could see them rubbing oil on their bodies and sprucing up for us. Their clothing was very different from the Masai, leather was used for blouses and fringed skirts. Their jewelry was brass instead of beads. We only stayed a short time and there was no touristy “show”, just some friendly interacting. My husband and I had not been thrilled with some of the cultural activities with OAT on other trips because they felt staged and we, and probably the local participants, were uncomfortable. But this short visit for an opportunity to glimpse another way of life was wonderful and they seemed really excited to meet us as well. We went to another village where the Masai did the “letting of the blood” from one of the cows, drinking it and offering it to us-our guide seemed serious in saying it was really ok to drink, but there were no takers. Then they invited us to “help” them thatch a roof, rub cow dung and mud on a hut, make some beads, sing and dance, etc. It had obviously been done before but there was so much joy and dignity we were happy to participate and it somehow felt right and authentic. We learned that OAT does pay the Masai for these visits and goes to many different places so the money gets spread around. It seems like a good way to help. We also visited a school which is funded by OAT’s parent co. Grand Circle Travel and a women’s co-op which was started by one of my favorite charities, Heifer Project. I was glad to see these real positive results of these organizations at work.

Regarding only the first installment, thanks for making the effort to repost. It appears your trip was wonderful. You did a good job of describing the services and procedures with OAT.

It must have been a real treat and honor to attend the Maasai wedding.

I'll be reading the next part later.

PART THREE

Our favorite tented camp was the Simiyu Mobile camp in the Serengeti. It was the most rustic, but the ambiance with giraffes in the “front yard”, a great staff fixing warm showers and delicious meals and the glorious Serengeti all around us. Many have written of the night sounds in the tents and I had wondered how I would react to them. We heard a hyena one night and insects and birds, but no lions roaring in the nearby grasses. Maybe it was because I slept so well after being up early and having such full days. Our group also stayed in two lodges, Mama Wilson’s in Arusha and the Ngorongoro Farmhouse. Mama Wilsons was comfortable with a nice garden and pool which my husband enjoyed. I just don’t think it was a good location-it is some distance from the main road down a particularly badly rutted dirt road which made leaving the compound difficult during our free time in Arusha although one couple did brave it. Also it is an hour’s drive from the Airport the direction we headed toward for all other sites. The Farmhouse was lovely and the food was very good, but after the privacy of the tented camps we really didn’t like sharing our space with “all those other people”! And skip the private walk with a Maasai if you’re there-they charge $10/person plus a tip and he really didn’t take us anyplace special or teach us anything new.

Game Drives—our outfitter, as promised, was KIBO and they did a fantastic job. We saw many of the other names discussed on this board on the road and at the Nabai gate check-in and many of the guides seem to know each other and have even worked together. (One of our guides had been w/Abercrombie & Kent for a number of years) I think one would have a superb Safari experience with just about any reputable outfitter. They all have similar vehicles and go to much the same places. We were pleasantly surprised NOT to have safari-jams very often and did not feel that too many vehicles spoiled the wilderness experience as I had feared it might. OAT found wonderful out-of-the-way places for our picnic lunches with only elephants, giraffes, zebras or wildebeest as company. Tanzania is so vast and the animals so plentiful, we could stop and marvel at a lion or cheetah with no other vehicles in the way at all. We saw more animals more often than we had even dared hope for. Our guide leader was quite upset that we all did not see a leopard (one of the vehicles did, but the leopard had gone by the time the other two arrived). We honestly assured him that the other sightings were so thrilling—a bull elephant in the road making threatening gestures-a lioness walking out of the grass right up to and past our car-Thomson gazelle leaping and cavorting in front of us-a pair of hippos bursting from the water wide-open mouth-to- mouth, etc. etc. So many unbelievable sights—who cares if we don’t have bragging rights to all of the Big Five?

PART FOUR

Some Random Thoughts—I also obsessed about packing and ended up with just about the right amount. OAT sent us smallish soft sided duffels w/out wheels so I was forced to bring less than I may have wanted to. I wore everything I brought and was glad to have a sweater and fleece as it was cool in the morning and evening. Two of the tented camps did the laundry for free (not underwear) and the lodges charge. We wore those nylon long sleeved shirts w/vents every day for sun protection and used lots of sunscreen. Some of our group got sunburned hands as we do wash and forget to put on more sunscreen. I had ordered one of those contraptions from Magellan which you fill with water and spray a fine cool mist on your face thinking the tents would be hot at night. I used it happily in the heat of the noonday sun. There was some rain but we really didn’t need rain gear-everyplace had umbrellas-some people wore light rain/wind jackets a lot.

Our daughters gave us great binoculars for Christmas-Canon 10x30 w/image stabilizer which we really appreciated when concentrating on an animal’s features. We also took our pocket sized 10x25 Minolta. I am the family photographer and though I have an artist’s eye, I am too lazy to learn about and deal with lenses and other fancy camera equipment. I had this idea that I would take a few photos to document the trip and then just enjoy the really professional quality animal photos on this board, etc. I had planned to just bring my Canon S300 which takes fine digital photos with its 3 pixels and 3x optical zoom. However, about a week before the trip I saw a Kodak digital with 12x optical zoom and 6 pixels (Z612) on sale at COSTCO and decided to go for it. I am very glad I did-it was easy to use and the added zoom really came in handy for details even though many animals were close. And I really had fun with the video option which enabled me to capture the undulating movement of the giraffe, flapping ears of elephant, Maasi dancing, etc. I also appreciated being able to use both a rechargeable battery and a regular one-use battery although battery charging was available just about everywhere. I used one 2g card and took about 550 photos before editing.

We had never traveled this far before and I was concerned that I would not be able to enjoy the first days of the trip because of jet-lag. I took those “No Jet-Lag” pills from Magellan and also Airborne tablets and a half Ambien and slept some of the way over and was VERY happy to feel pretty good right away in Africa. I have had a couple of bad experiences with illness in Mexico so I was careful here, but did have some fruit and salad. Well, I was sick the night before our one day in the Ngorongoro Crater. I chewed Pepto-Bismol tablets and TG was good to go. I stopped the salad and fruit and chewed the little pink tablets at the first sign of distress and was fine for the rest of the trip until we were on the plane from Arusha to Dar going home. And I forgot and packed the No-jet-lag and Ariborne tablets in my check in so did not take them coming back and it took at least a week to feel like I wasn’t in a fog even though I slept pretty normal hours. Who knows, maybe the stuff works.

My husband and I (and it seemed most of the other OAT travelers) took Malarone with no side effects except I think I had a very dry mouth from it. Thanks to advice on this board we bought the Malarone at COSTCO at considerable saving s from the drug store.

I really appreciated the cute lightweight headlamp I brought along. I like to read before going to sleep and it would have been impossible w/out it. Also useful going to dinner and back at camp although there was always someone with a flashlight if needed. And of course for finding the zipper to get to the bathroom at night and my clothes in the dark of dawn.

I bought Richard Estes’ “The Safari Companion” and lugged it around without ever really reading it. The guides had books and info and area specific books were sold at the Visitors Centers. We did some shopping, bought beaded jewelry from the Maasi and carvings from one of the stops. Mostly used US$ but got some TZ shillings which the Maasai appreciated.

To end with a laugh...re the thread on bathroom options on Safari. I found the public bathrooms pretty funky, but you get used to squatting and holding your breath. Our tents all had flushable porcelain though the mobile one was in a rickety crate. One day I needed to use the back of the vehicle and our guide said just hurry as there are lion in the area. So I had this thought: what is worse than getting dragged off by a lion? Getting dragged off with your pants down and everyone around you holding cameras!

I am still chuckling at your parting comment. Glad you had a meaningful cultural visit. I know how those Dagota women felt since I've had guests show up earlier than expected, which required some quick getting ready.

That's great OAT offers a mobile in the Serengeti and it proved to be a success for you. It's nice to see how you appreciated all of the wonderful wildlife sights you were privileged to see.

Good reminder to put lotion on your hands. I've suffered sunburnt hands when I've forgotten that body part. I don't take the Richard Estes book either but I do like a bird ID book.

Did the Magellan anti-jet lag pills work as sleeping pills or as some kind of internal clock fortifiers?

If your name has some truth to it, here's another question. It's on underwater cameras. I've used the $12 send-in-the-whole-camera with ok success. I have a housing for my Nikon CoolPix (3x zoom) that works alright too and does a nice job of diffusing the flash. The next step up seems to be a $400 to $500 Sea & Sea, though I just learned about an Olympus that's a bit less. Do you have any thoughts? Or is Snorkel just the name of your turtle or something?

Thanks Snorklesue. I’m glad you managed to post your trip report and that you had a wonderful safari. Thanks also for reminding me that Estes’ book is heavy.

To Travelnet-we really liked Sinya-it felt so remote yet comfortable. The tents were private enough to keep the screened windows uncovered and the views from each one were lovely, just trees and grasses, but somehow shimmery through the screens. The dining hall was on a hill and had a good view of the sunset. The food was good, don't remember great. But one of us had a birthday there and about 15 staff members including several Maasai came out with a cake and champagne and sang for at least 1/2 hour. Our favorite Maasai of the whole trip was William who took us on a walk- and also rode with us spotting animals. Say hi for Sue and Denis if you meet him. I cannot believe I forgot to even mention the Migration in my report. It was only the main reason I chose to go to Africa at this time. We had one day in the Serengeti when we saw many thousands of zebra and a few thousand wildebeest and I was impressed, but our guides were not. The next day we went to another location-and there they were-everywhere, as far as the eye could see-wildebeest. We rode through them, around them, thank God not over them. I took one video of swirling storks and the happy surprise is the sound of wildebeest grunting and moaning. It was very impressive, I loved watching them move and the masses of other animals traveling along with them. The road conditions in Sinya were fine when we were there, just bumpy. It was in the mobile camp in central Serengeti that they were really bad with lots of mud and flooded areas. One day two of our three vehicles got stuck. We understand we could not go to some places because roads were washed out (a croc area for instance. Oh yes the road down and up Ngorongoro was exciting at times especially just after a rain. But just having read the post about the robbery there I'll take muddy roads any time. I said I'd send photos but I'm not actually sure how to do so. atravelynn-the jet-lag pills are for "the relief of tiredness associated with air travel"-don't think they helped me sleep, just not feel that groggyness. Re snorklesue-that (misspelled) was just the name I chose when I first posted on fodors before a trip to the Caymans. I like to snorkel but have only used the one-use camera, my brother-in-law does well with the plastic case on his camera, but I don't know about the better underwater options.

Thanks for the answers Snorklesue!

Snorklesue: Thanks for helping us make up our minds to travel with OAT. We're thinking of next January. What month was your safari? Thanks in advance for any other suggestions.

Our trip was from 1/26 until 2/11. We chose that time for the Migration and also because it is supposed to be a dry season (short rains). It rained more than expected, but did not bother us at all and in fact we enjoyed the green. Ask any questions it helps keep it alive. BTW a friend took the OAT Kenya/Tanzania trip around the same time and also was very satisfied.

Thanks for the info, it just sounds so great, I can't wait.

Nat

Sue (I assume that is your name):

Please post your photos to a site, such as Kodak, so we all enjoy. thanks for reporting

Kevin from California

Enjoyed your trip report. We, my husband and I and our two adult children leave on May 30 with an overnight in Amsterdam. I assume the OAT trip you took was the "Safari Serengeti: Tanzania Lodge & Luxury Tented Safari", which is the one we are taking. Did you take gifts for the school? Who was your guide? I may have more questions before I finalize packing.
Thanks for a GREAT trip report.