Our tour was in Mid Sep. We were very pleased with our 11 day tour. The lodges were all beautiful. Rooms were exceptionally large and clean. Staff were always friendly and wanting to ensure a pleasant stay. Seems most Tanzanians speak English. There were some minor inconveniences. As most places are run by generator. Lighting was not bright in the bathrooms. One pool, the bottom was slick from what we surmised was not suctioned. Expect the water in all pools to be cool. As the temperature drops a lot in the night. Not all of them have clocks. You may want to take a battery operated one. Had shirts and pants pressed in a few hours. Cost between $2-$4 each. Campground. Was really impressed on how they handled the logistics of it. The rooms were comfortable and clean. All had bathrooms. Showers were supplied by your tent attendant. We enjoyed the food at the campground most. We felt safe in the outdoors. Heard it was more central to getting to all the locations in the Serengeti. A big plus. As the dirt roads can be tiring. Luggage. Tanzania only, no internal flights. You can take a duffle bag holding up to 50 lbs and a backpack (try to keep size down for inside Land Cruiser). Duffle bag needs to be soft sided. But, one side for wheels and handle are acceptable. My wife got those cubes for the duffle bag. Wish I had gotten them as well. As it was difficult keeping it organized. Myself and others repacked a number of times. Dollar is acceptable. Make sure all your bills are after 2006. As they cannot use. We took a variety of bills ( 1, 5, 10, 20). Another person on our tour said they like $100 bills. Although, it says tips for most things are included. We did a number of $1 tips. As it appeared no one there had much. Which probably went a long way for Tanzanians. We went a day early. Cab fare for the two of us was $50. Which was posted at the airport. Speed limit on highway 30mph and took about an hour. The African Tulip was not available. We reserved a room in advance 1/2 mile away , Kibo Palace. Nice hotel. There was a duo singing and playing on Fri. night at the pool with a large buffet. About $50 for two including wine. The duo were really good. Check-out time 10 am. African Tulip the next day was gracious about letting us check in early. Took them about 30 min. to prepare our room. Safety. On the safari the guides did an excellent job ensuring our safety. At the campground, Lions , elephants, baboons, giraffes may pass through at night. The guards would chase them away. You may hear them brush by your tent and/or make noise. There was a problem with one elephant getting into one tents water. Insects were minor. Suspect it was due to being the end of the dry season in September. TseTse flies are a nuisance. Got a couple bites. But, not as bad as described. Some people did not follow guidelines of not wearing Blue and black. As well as short sleeves and shorts. They did not seem to be bitten that much in mid September. Bad areas driver/guides would warn and try not to stop. ie, the flies would fill up the vehichle. Gate1/guide/hotels were generous in supplying bottled water. Use bottled water to brush teeth. Guide/Driver. Very pleased with our driver/guide Roderick. Very knowlegable. He also was considerate about the dust from the other two vehicles and kept a distance. He was unbelievable in how well he spotted the animals. As well as having a sense of where they would be traveling to. Safari Roads. The road to Tarangire was paved. Soon after we were on dirt roads. They are rough, some big dips and dusty. You will be traveling some days on long stretches to get to places. Bathrooms. Bathroom breaks were 2 to 4 hours apart. Supplemented by the bush bathrooms. No fault of Gate1 or guide. As facilities are not that common. The bathrooms were surprisingly good for remote locations. Probably better than most U.S. park bathrooms. Most had sufficient toilet paper and hand washing. Air dry hands. If possbile. Don't wash hands at Ngorongoro hippo pond. The water comes from hippo pond. Containing parasite. Gate1 supplied us hats. I did not wear one very often. As the pop up top protected us most of the time. Some mornings and evenings, we needed sweater/windbreaker.

This trip exceeded my expectations and the accommodations, expertise of the guide and the food were all excellent. The experience of seeing "the Big Five" was awesome and so rewarding. I would recommend this trip to anyone. I encourage people considering the trip to research and go prepared with duffel bags, insect repellants and appropriate color and kinds of clothing for safari. Happy adventures!

The package itinerary was different to the reality, it was only the guide putting himself out together with his colleagues and driving miles out of his way to see wildlife that otherwise we would have not seen. The itinerary was exaggerated in terms of the volume of animals seen on a daily basis. Also why is it that the guides cannot be accommodated at the same hotels as the guests, since I am sure Gate 1's profit margin covers their accommodation and meals. many of the guests were annoyed that they could not stay there, as it builds a good relationship between them and the guides! Also, the standard of food was not the same quality as other trips, but understand that some was in the bush and that was difficult for cooking facilities, but that should be a work In progress considering the money charged for the trip.