Let me & my team surprise you! Christopher Samwel
I Dream of Africa
- Offices In:
-
Netherlands
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2003)
- Member Of:
- Tanzania Association of Tour Operators
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $230 to $1,250 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
IT
Email Luigi e Patrizia | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
my best African safary experience
An experience in Africa is always something special that leaves you feeling great and makes you carry in your heart that feeling that only those who have tried it recognize as "mal d'Africa". I traveled in almost all the countries of southern Africa but, the wonderful experience that I lived with my wife Patrizia in August, led by Chris, the best guide I know, is and will remain indelible in our minds. The Dream of Africa is precisely the realization of a dream and thanks to the expertise and skills of Chris we have lived the experience of a real private camping safari. Nothing is left to chance, from the planning of stops in the camping areas, to the daily safaris that are organized in the parks where indescribable emotions are lived, until the evening return where we find Japhet who, with just as much mastery prepares delicious dinners in the heart of the savannah. In our nine-day trip we visited the Parks of Lake Manyara, the Serengeti, the crater Ngoro-Ngoro and the Tarangire. We were lucky enough to see the lions climbing on the trees, to experience the thrill of a night safari in Lake Manyara, on the Mara river we had the opportunity to see the great migration of the wildebeests, an incredible show, hundreds cattles that in a neat row of Indian cross the waters to go to the green areas where they can find more food and water. An incredible show that nature offers us! not to mention the exciting encounters with groups of zebras, giraffes, antelopes, buffaloes, hippopotamuses, elephants and for all the surprise of finding ourselves in front of a meter away a lioness with three affectionate puppies! what intense days! and in the end the magnificent sunsets that only in these lands can be admired. We recommend to those who intend to organize a safari and live a real experience in Tanzania to contact without delay our friend Chris and his team of I Dream of Africa, we do not we'll never thank him for the magical days and nights spent together.
NL
Email Maria | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unforgettable safari
In one word: GREAT!
The safari we (a family of 5 persons) had in Tanzania with Christopher and his team is unforgettable. He is a passionate expert-guide with a lot of knowledge and experience and he is a very good driver too. Also: Christopher is a very nice person !
We learned a lot about wildlife (from the Big Five to the little termites), about the balance in nature, the dangers of climate change. Christopher is always searching for new possibilities to observe the animals, away from the touristic routes. Instead of following other jeeps, we were often alone in a beautiful and vast landscape, experiencing unique encounters with lions, elephants, special birds etc.
In the evenings, around the fire, we shared experiences and stories. The ambience was always nice. Christopher told us also a lot about culture and tradition, the young history of Tanzania and the challenges of today. He felt very responsible for us, ensuring that we had a good time from the beginning to the end. The food Geoffrey made was excellent every day, made with attention, love and humor!
We did not stay in lodges, we preferred camping: hearing the beautiful sound of nature in the night, watching giraffes and zebra's nearby, in the amazing early morning or evening light. Our tents were always in a beautiful spot with the best view.
Idreamofafrica is a little Tanzanian company. Personal contact, flexibility, a good atmosphere are main characteristics. We preferred to support a local Tanzanian company above booking with a foreign, European travel organization. It turned out to be a very good choice!
We really recommend Idreamofafrica to everyone and wish Christopher and his team all the best. We hope to see them again soon.
Email Thomas | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An unforgettable experience
With two fellow students we decided to do a safari while we did an internship close to Mwanza.
Out of two safari’s I did this one was the most incredible.
First of all because of the guide, Christopher, who knew the perfect places where to camp and where to drive. He understands that privacy is key to the experience and we camped a few times with almost no company. During game drives we had several incredible encounters with leopards, lions, cheetahs, elephants and even rhino’s. A combination of luck and skill of Christopher, who has ridiculously good eyesight.
Second the service was perfect as everything we wanted during the safari was taken care of. Especially the food was very nice.
And lastly because Japhet en Christopher are just amazing company, We loved Christophers stories about the wildlife, and Japhets’ jokes.
Would love to do this trip again!
NL
Email Anna | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A dream came true.
In 2016 we had a wonderful camping safari with I Dream of Africa, visiting 4 national parks (Arusha, Lake Manyara, Ngorogoro, Tarangire). But we had one more dream: to visit the Serengeti en see the migration. This happened in October 2018. We booked with Christopher again. We had kept in contact since our first trip.
It was a very happy reunion! Christopher and Warren (his son) fetched us at Kilimanjaro Airport and drove us to Songota Lodge where we spent two nights. From there we flew to Seronera Airstrip. In the meantime Christopher and Japhet (cook) had driven to the Serengeti and set up camp in Lobo. Christopher fetched us from Seronera and we had a two-hour drive to Lobo, during which we saw so many animals! Arriving at Lobo campsite Japhet met us in his white outfit with a tray of drinks, and a big smile! We were all very happy and emotional, meeting each other again.
We spent 12 days in the Serengeti beginning in the north at Lobo, and ending in central Serengeti at Seronera. Both Lobo and Dik-Dik were public campsites.
It was very relaxing to be in one place for a few days at a time. The tents were our “home”. We enjoyed sitting in front of them overlooking the wide open space of the Serengeti - watching the zebras, gnoes, antelope, giraffe and buffaloes pass bye. At night we heard hyenas giggling and lions roaring. We weren't afraid as Christopher had explained how to behave ... and to keep safe. We had a few gamedrives every day- sunrise to sunset. Christopher's expertise was amazing. He found so many animals. Everything from Big Five to the Small Five and everything in between - including the huge migrating herds. Christopher taught us a lot about nature, birds and wildlife behaviour.
At the campsite, Japhet was always busy looking after us with meals and drinks.
At the end of the safari we drove to Seronera airstrip, embraced with a warm and tearful goodbye.
We had a never to be forgotten time and recommend Christopher and I Dream of Africa to everyone!
And this saying is true:
You can leave Africa, but Africa never leaves you.
MT
Email Corinne | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Responsive, helpful, professional, knowledgeable and friendly
We first chose I Dream of Africa because they support a foundation which takes care of street children in Moshi - Watoto Foundation and because they are a local company and support the local economy. They have been responsive from the very beginning, Christopher got in contact with us immediately and Wilmke has been amazingly professional. She has replied to all our queries and guided us from long before we arrived in Tanzania. Our guide Ayubu was very knowledgeable, professional and passionate and the team who took care of our meals and camps - Alex and Japhet made us feel at home in the middle of the Serengeti! We visited Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara...all wonders of nature. We highly recommend I Dream of Africa!
US
Email Kayla and Donald | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Knowledgable, professional, and an experienced local!
What a wonderful experience! My husband and I went on an 8 day safari and were not dissapointed. From initially booking the trip, the communication was very personable compared to the other tour companies we reached out too. Chris was an exceptional guide! Being a local, he was very knowledable about Tanzania, the National Parks, and esspecially the wildlife. You can tell he is very passionate about what he does and enjoys doing it. I am so glad we opted for the camping safari, it did not dissapoint. Chris had all the camping gear and loves being out in nature. His cook, Jeffrey, made delicious meals for us every day. Camping made our safari an even more memorable experience. Even if you don't want to camp, Chris can accomodate you with tented camps and lodges. After traveling to Tanzania and seeing all the big tour companies, I am very happy we chose a local, family owned company. I feel like we received a more personable, memorable experience and supported the local commutnity. The amount of wildlife we saw was unbelieveable and we have a lifetime of memories from our trip. We will definitely be using Chris again for our next Safari and will be reccomending him to all our family and friends!
BE
Email Hilde en Guy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I dream of Africa was the best touroperator in Tanzania. We went to the most beautiful places? Super
Our guide en driver Christopher from I dream of Africa was fantastic. He was always looking for the animals. He tooks the time to spot the animals. He drove to places where most of the other big companies don't go because it 's too far to drive. For Christhopher it was very important that we were satisfied. He was so kindly. We saw so many animals. Nice, nice and more nice!!!!
You can trust this small local company. We stayed in beautiful tentlodges. What an experience!!!Food was good.
Please go to Tanzania with this local company 'I dream of Africa'. You will be satisfied.
Thanks Christopher!!!! We hope to come again.
Thanks Wilmke for the communication! Everthing was good organised!
CH
Email Oliver | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Authentic
Christopher is a fantastic driver and Guide. We always felt very safe and he has a huge knowledge about nature.
NL
Email Joosten | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The tour operator was super: we had an amazing trip!
Last week me and my husband joined the '8-Day Amazing Comfort Camping Safari Tanzania'. Christopher was our guide, and together with our cook he showed us the amazing animals and nature of Tanzania.
Christopher has really been an amazing guide, his knowledge about nature and animals is really good and his eyes are working for 200% (he spotted animals which we almost couldn't see with binoculars;)). Also the service he gave was high standard, we were treated like king and queen and they did everything to make us feel comfortable. A real plus was that we could decide what we wanted to do (early breakfast at campsite or breakfast on the way.. everything was possible).
Also the cook was really really good! Every meal we enjoyed! We even got a cooking course:) Our vegetarian wishes were no problem at al.
We would definitely choose to travel with this tour operator again when we have the chance!
A big plus of this tour operator is that they provide a diningtent and a cookingtent. Because of these you can enjoy camping on your own and it's not neccesary to be with other guests on the campsite for having diner.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Service and Knowledgeable Guide!
On a family trip to Kenya and Tanzania, we were fortunate to work with Christopher for our time in Tanzania. Christopher picked us up in Arusha and from the moment we were with him, made sure that everything was to our satisfaction. Throughout the trip, he provided detailed and interesting tidbits about the parks and animals and demonstrated clear skill driving a Landcruiser (no easy feat on rough roads!). Always flexible with what we were interested in doing, he nonetheless professionally made suggestions and modifications to ensure we would have the best experiences. As a photographer, I was especially appreciative that Christopher was willing to stop when asked for the occasional scenic picture and animals that we had already seen many times. If I am fortunate enough to come back to Tanzania again, I will be sure to use Chris again and I highly recommend him to anyone that wants a wonderful, private safari experience in the beautiful country of Tanzania.