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Our Very First African Safari

Audley Clients Share Their Travel Tales

By Audley Travel

May 29^th, 2014

When Dreams come true

Mark and Valentine had a dream: to see the gorillas in Rwanda. However, after a bit of research, they feared securing the permits would be too complicated. Despite considering themselves independent travelers, they decided to call upon the services of Audley Travel to make this bucket list journey a reality.

They came to Audley with three requests for their outdoor adventure: a Tanzania safari, seeing the gorillas in Rwanda, and white-water rafting in Uganda. What they experienced was beyond expectation. Follow along as Mark and Valentine discover Africa, #TheAudleyWay, for the first time.

It happened quicker than expected

Deciding to book the trip with only a few weeks lead-time, our Country Specialist, James, worked diligently to create our custom-trip of a lifetime. He was very detail-oriented and there wasn’t a concern or question he left unaddressed. We were on the phone with him a few times a week confirming details, and before we knew it we were off on our adventure.

It was a trip for just the two of us

We traveled with a personal guide in each country, which was incredible. We had been fearful of being grouped into a larger bunch of people, and losing the idea of a customized trip. However, it was just us and our own tailor-made agenda, as well as the ability to do whatever we wanted each day.

We felt lucky to have so much room for spontaneous activity.

Our African adventure

The highlights of the trip were the obvious big moments we had planned from the beginning – the safari, gorillas and white-water rafting. However, there we so many small moments that we loved…

We forewent a sunset safari one evening

And instead, sat on top of our Land Rover with our guide, quietly watching lions. We then drove over to see hundreds upon hundreds of flamingos in some shallow waters. We all chatted, took photos and were very relaxed.

Sometimes the most luxurious thing to do is cancel plans and just enjoy the moment.

Flying out of the Serengeti’s dirt air strip

in a tiny prop plane was thrilling.

we Were right in the middle of a wildebeest migration

It was in Tanzania, and it was unlike anything we’ve ever seen - to have thousands of them visible in every direction, as far as the eye could see! We stood up with our heads out the window of the Land Rover while we were being driven, and it was the most amazing, awe-inspiring experience.

Accommodation with character

Tarangire River Camp in Tanzania: We spent our first evening here, and early in the morning, we saw eleven giraffes walking past in the distance. It was a great way to begin the trip.

Wildwaters Lodge in Jinja, Uganda: We had to take a canoe to get to the island, where our private hut overlooked the Nile River, and we had an outdoor bathtub!

Dunia Camp in the Serengeti: It took some trekking to get here (through the mud), but it looked even better than it might in a magazine spread! It was so lovely and simple and luxurious, all at once. There were many nights where we sat next to a fire with a cocktail, watching the stars - the evenings at Dunia Camp was particularly memorable.

Valentine's favorite moment

The wildlife made the trip for me. We saw so many lions, some with fresh kill, or with their cubs, and baby gorillas playfully swinging from the trees. We only had one hour to watch the gorillas (as per regulation), but I could have done it all day long. On our first full safari day, the cheetahs were particularly elusive, and a few days later, we were able to pull our truck about five feet from a female basking in the sun.

Mark's favorite moment

Spending a morning hunting with the bushmen outside of Lake Eyasi was extraordinary. We could hardly believe what great aim they had, shooting birds out of the sky with bows and arrows. It was massively impressive. They were also really friendly, sharing a feast of birds and squirrels that they cooked over a fire with us.

We will surely book another audley trip

We don’t typically book with travel companies – we usually book our hotel nights and excursions on the fly, so working with Audley was a treat. We didn’t have to lift a finger, organization-wise, or hail a single cab during our trip. Every single element was taken care of and it allowed us to enjoy every moment. For us, a trip with Audley will be more of a special-occasion, but we know that they had our best interest in mind, as they catered to our desire to feel like independent travelers as much as possible, uncovering experiences that big group tours never would have allowed. They took all the complication out of trip planning and allowed us to indulge in every brilliant detail on the ground.

Footnotes

Photos and quotes are directly from Audley clients Mark and Valentine. Visit audleytravel.com/us to learn more about planning your tailor-made journey to Africa.

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FootNotes

Photos and quotes are directly from Audley clients Mark and Valentine. Visit audleytravel.com/us to learn more about planning your tailor-made journey to Africa.