Due to COVID-19 we booked our Tanzania trip at the end of October 2020 at very short notice (2.5 weeks before departure). We flew with KLM from Zurich via Amsterdam to Arusha. Here, we looked forward to 9 days of safari, just us two Swiss and our local Guide. Tanzania-Experience picked us up at Kilimanjaro Airport on arrival and took great care of us, attentive and courteous, until our departure. Thank you very much! Our Guide David was a gem. There was no question he couldn’t answer (and we had many questions!). He was knowledgeable about anything and everything: country, people, customs, flora and fauna, politics, alternative medicine, Toyota engines etc. “Don’t google – ask David” was our motto.
David is very well connected in the bush, he seemed to know everyone. He was able to organise ANYTHING you could imagine. He could tell our needs and interests and surprised us with amazing sightings again and again. Nothing seemed impossible.
This wasn’t our first safari in Africa. But it was a very special one. We have never before experienced a country so thoroughly and so “up close”. We did really immerse ourselves in the country. It was so much more than just “observing the Big Five”. We were able to experience a full package of impressions and experiences which I can’t put into words. We met a guide and said farewell to a friend. This trip was magical. I can highly recommend it.
COVID is being taken seriously in Tanzania. We could reduce any unnecessary social contacts to a minimum without problem and travel without worry to infect the local population. We were not worried to get infected ourselves. Tanzania did do their homework in this regard. During meals we were served with face masks, there were functional hygiene stations set up everywhere (on the bush toilets as well!). The lodge staff ensured that hygiene standards were adhered to and would draw attention to it if not. That was quite impressive. For us it was a bonus to see hardly any other tourists. However, for our hosts we would have wished that we hadn’t been the only guests at the lodge (this happened twice). One day, we will return to Tanzania. We’re already looking forward to it.
