E-Trip Africa

Trip of a Lifetime!

Our trip consisted of my wife, my 29 year old daughter, my sister-in-law and myself. The trip was from July 7 to July 16. We flew from Atlanta to Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro airport. We traveled from Arusha and visited Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongora crater, and the Serengeti National Park which included the northern Serengeti a few miles from Kenya. We flew back on our last day from the Lobo airstrip. We stayed at African Tulip, Tarangire Safari Lodge, Rhino Lodge, Nieleze Camp and Flycatcher Bologonji Camp (Reviews of these camps are separate but all were good). I selected ETrip based on the responses to our questions and the ability of the tour provider to adjust the tour to our requests. Ben Jennings is an outstanding person to work with and we expect to plan a repeat trip in the wet season. Our guide was David. He is a local with many years of experience. He taught us not only about the animals but also about the country. We left with a great appreciation for Tanzania. Our review and experience with ETrip is much like the other reviews: Outstanding.

Below are some comments that we have but were not provided elsewhere online:

(1) You need an experienced tour guide. We noted that several of the guides from other companies were just kids and I could not see following their lead. Our guide (David) even provided directions to some of the other guides. He did not use a map or GPS due to his many previous trips and experience. He spotted things that we would have missed. He predicted the animals behavior and we were very lucky to have him.
(2) You need reliable transportation. Most of the vehicles are Toyota land cruisers that have modifications like an increased wheel base and of course the raised roof so you can stand and see/photo the animals. We noted several vehicles with problems. Our driver felt a problem in the drive train and took a slight detour to have the vehicle checked and adjusted. A delay of an hour. He was making sure the vehicle would be ok for the trip to the northern Serengeti. He knew what he was doing and made every effort to make sure the vehicle would be reliable. I am amazed that these vehicles can take the punishment as the roads are very rough....rough from the standpoint of ridges across the road like thousands of little speed bumps. The driver/guides do not go slow they just charge on at normal speeds. So ask the age and condition of the vehicles. Also ask if the vehicles are open air instead of the raised top type. IF open air....you will be eating a lot of dust.
(3) Going to the bathroom. Being a guy this was of course no concern for me. However I was traveling with three women. I was pleased to find all the parks (except for the northern Serengeti part) to have good bathroom facilities. The need for a bathroom was never an issue. In the northern part of the Serengeti we did have to "check the tires" and the women adjusted well to this. This was also no real issue.
(4) Money issues: Once you leave Arusha do not expect to find an ATM. However in Arusha there are many ATMS. Bring cash in US dollars (I am American) but other currencies are also accepted. However the US dollar was widely accepted everywhere. You can also use the local currency you take from the ATM. But you have to guess how much you will need or take a hit when you exchange it back to your currency. Once you leave on Safari you only need cash for non-included meals, drinks (cokes, wine, beer) and any stuff you desire to buy. You also need to plan to pay (tip) the guide about $20 to $25 (USD)per day and the camps about $7 per day. Don't go half way around the world if you are going to cheap out on this....they earn these tips.
(5) Packing: You need to pack for half the days you will be traveling. For example for our 10 days we took 3 to four outfits. Bring some concentrated soap and wash your socks and underwear...wear some clothes more than once. Bring toothbrush, your meds, a hat, bug spray, stomach med, camera gear and a battery powered alarm clock. Bring a flashlight, light shoes (flip flops) to wear at night when you get up to use the bathroom. Leave all the "I might need" at home. Bring wet ones or similar towelets.
(6) Camera Gear. I left the heavy full frame Nikon at home. I used two camera bodies (Panasonic micro 4/3) so I did not have to change lenses in the dust. One camera had a 35 - 100 2.8 and the other had the Panasonic 100 - 400mm. The photos are outstanding. You need your chargers for the batteries and a blower for the dust. I brought a 42.mm f1.2 that I never used. I took about 6000 photos of which 25% are keepers.

While in the Serengeti ETrip arranged for a Bush Breakfast via the Nieleze Camp. This was an awsome experience.

ETrip arranged nice hotels at the start of the trip concluding in tent camps. This was a nice progression and the tent camps were fun and part of the adventure. A bucket shower is filled with hot water before dinner time. If you shower in the morning...it is going to be a cold shower. There is bottled water for drinking and brushing your teeth. The beds in the tents are comfortable. Hearing the animals at night (including a lion roaring in the distance) was part of this great experience. One morning we woke up to see elephants passing by our tent.

ETrip has a guest house that allows you to rest and shower before your flight. This is a wonderful place and another advantage that Etrip offers over the other companies.

We spent several days on safari and you would think it would get old after a while. We were out in the bush from about 8 to 6 PM. Every few minutes was something new and we never got bored. We were lucky enough to see two river crossings. The second was a little disturbing as the wildabeasts (about 5) got their foot stuck between rocks and were easy pray for the crocs. They just took their time and picked them off. One was very sad as it finally got loose but could not get ashore due to the weight of the croc holding on to its hindquarters. This is part of the life cycle in the wild.

Box lunches were ok...not great...but good enough to do the job. Dinners were excellent except in a few cases (Rino Lodge was ok but not as good as the other places).

The trip planning by Etrip (Ben Jennings), implementation (David) and overall experience was nothing less than outstanding. We will be talking about this trip for a long time...and the above does not even scratch the surface in describing our experience. Up to this trip a previous trip to Egypt and Cambodia were my top trips. This trip with ETrip easily tops them.