My wife and I had the pleasure to spend 9 days on safari with Cornelius Mukus. Thanks to Cornelius, we had the trip of a lifetime and along the way found a new friend in Tanzania. We can not say enough about his knowledge, skill, and simply being very professional and always a gentleman.

Cornelius is a great representative of your company and since the trip we have told many friends that if they want a true safari experience that Nomad should be seriously considered.

We consider ourselves fortunate to have had the opportunity to be with him for our trip and we ask that you convey our thoughts and best wishes to him.

As usual I am writing a report on our most recent trip to Africa – our sixteenth with Africa Exclusive!  The first thing to say is that all the arrangements went like clockwork – the sign of a meticulously prepared holiday, and one for which we are both grateful.

Our first night was at the Arusha Coffee Lodge, and I cannot think of a better place to break the journey.  No doubt thanks to your good offices we had the Plantation Suite, which was extremely comfortable.  The staff were welcoming and helpful and the food good, which reflects great credit on the place, given that the vast majority of their guests must be one nighters.

We then moved on to the Nomad mobile camp in the Serengeti.  This is a wonderful place, with a very special magic of its own.  Yes, it might be rustic – long drop loos [actually we have eco-flush loos in all tented camps - MD] and bucket showers, but it is exceedingly comfortable, the food is first class and the staff would do credit to a five star hotel.  They are always available, always smiling, and have the knack of anticipating your every need.  We really cannot speak too highly of the camp, and the greatest pat on the back must go to Laurence, the camp manager.  Neither of us will ever forget our last night, when he had arranged a surprise sundowner stop at the most beautiful spot in the reserve, with permission from the rangers to remain out after all the other jeeps had left.  It was a fantastic gesture, and one we are so grateful for.

Of course the main event in any safari is the game viewing experience, and I think it is fair to say that we were well and truly spoiled!  Rowland is a superb guide (and a lovely man as well), but I think even he was surprised by how much we saw.   The extraordinary afternoon of five kills, the two hours we spent with the cheetah brothers who had just brought down a wildebeest – when we arrived the carcass was untouched, and when we left the cheetahs were pot bellied, the vultures were happy and there was only a skeleton left – and of course the migration.  This year we saw it in all its majesty and glory:  the plains were black with countless (literally!) wildebeest, snorting, munching, ever moving, followed by so many young.  It was what we had dreamed of seeing, and thanks to you, Rowland and Nomad our dreams were realised....

... We both so hope that Nomad can resist the increasing demand (mainly transatlantic) for smarter, glitzier camps, and keep the mobile camp just as it is:  for us, it is perfectly in keeping with the bush, and added immeasurably to our enjoyment.On the way back we had a day room at the Kia Lodge in Kilimanjaro.  Perfectly adequate (although the rooms seem a bit Spartan) and with surprisingly good food.  A blessed break on what was a very long journey back – twenty-nine hours from leaving the camp to getting home!

As you have probably gathered, we absolutely loved our latest trip.   Heartfelt thanks to everyone concerned in making it so special.    The love of Africa still burns bright.

We were privileged to be able spend such a wonderful 4 days here.  Apart from the last night we had the Lamai camp to our ourselves.  Sacha and his team were great hosts and there was nothing that was too much trouble.  Our room (no. 2) had simply stunning views across the plains toward Kenya and you could have sat there taking in the scenery and wildlife all day and not got bored at all.  Our guide Gabriel who we had met before at Katavi (another Nomad Camp) was simply great and so knowledgeable.  We told him that we had the best experience of our all our trips to Africa in those 4 days.

The food and overall standard of service was simply excellent.

I can't think of any holiday where our 8 days away seemed like 3 weeks!  Lamai is a destination that everyone who has a passion for East Africa should go to.  It's positioning high above the plains provides a really special location with unrivaled views.

Going 'out of season' had the benefit of few visitors but with great wildlife experiences - only the masses of wildebeest were missing but we saw those in the south in the first 4 days

In February 2012 we took our first safari. We fell in love with Africa but vowed to find a less congested alternative to the crowded northern Tanzania safari circuit. Thankfully, we were introduced to Nomad by Bill Given at The Wild Source. We were soon on our way back to Africa and the remote Tanzanian National Parks of Ruaha, Katavi and Mahale.  We arrived at the end of the dry season (October 2012) when wildlife was concentrated near the few remaining sources of water. Animals were everywhere.
    
Chada Library Tent

At Chada, our guide (Anaphi) took us on game drives where we rarely saw another person. It was truly awesome. We spent hours – just the three of us – observing the Chada and the Katisunga lion prides feeding on zebra, buffalo and elephant. At day’s end, camp managers Jackie and Justin were always waiting to welcome us back to camp and to make sure we knew our bush showers awaited. Our tents were far more comfortable than we ever expected. The food was absolutely first rate. Unfortunately, our four days passed too rapidly and we were off to Mahale.

“M” Group Chimps in Camp our 1st Day

After landing at Mahale, we cruised down Lake Tanganyika for 90 minutes to Greystoke. Robert, our guide, came prepared with a wonderful picnic lunch and cold drinks. The picnic was our introduction to the culinary miracles our Greystoke chefs would produce on a wood burning stove. Truly amazing!

We barely settled into our banda when a group of chimps led by Primus, “M” Group’s alpha male, entered the camp. We were able to observe them on the ground and in the trees for a full 30 minutes. We would see chimps every day at Greystoke. What a thrill.

Suzanne, Bas and the entire staff at Greystoke took the most wonderful care of us during our stay. One must understand that Chada and Greystoke are quite literally in the middle of nowhere (hallelujah). Many essentials must be flown in on the same planes that carried us. Even so, these wonderful young people (whom Suzanne refers to as her “colleagues”) are so genuinely creative that we never lacked for a single thing. We want to thank everyone at Chada and Greystoke for the most thrilling trip of our lives.

This is the safari which has set the benchmark for excellence against which all our future safaris will be compared. It was that good. Thank you, Nomad. We will return. I found remote Tanzania and its name is Chada; Beth found Shangri-La and its name is Greystoke Mahale!

In the event any of your readers would like to read about our adventure and see our 400 on-line photos, they can find our blog at:

http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog/leomcyr/3/tpod.html