Noel made our experience in Tanzania with Access 2 Tanzania an incredible adventure. He was very patient with all of our questions, knowledgeable about the animals and plants and, because he valued accuracy, thorough in his occasional search for correct identification, open to explaining his culture, able to take friendly ribbing, hospitable, and funny, as well as careful and respectful in his driving habits. We were very comfortable with his following the law about not going off-road through the bush; however, we saw other guides who had no compunction about flaunting the rule: one driver chased a cheetah mother and her cub through the high grass so that his clients could get a better look at them! Noel was also very open to our inquiries about how and why he became a guide, his family, and his daily life. He was certainly someone with whom I was happy to spend 12 hours a day. At the end of the trip we practically viewed him as a son and he addressed me with the same respectful greeting that he would his mother.
“I thought it well-run and organized. It is a scary venture, heading into a completely different environment and culture. We never felt lost or abandoned or at any time unsettled or unsafe. And this was entirely because of the on site staff and our guide. This supports the company’s description that while the infrastructure may be managed by folks both in the US and in TZ, the training and support of the staff to care for us and manage our trip was incredible. Even with a minor medical need for antibiotics way in the midst of the Serengeti, our guide was in touch with A2T staff and arranged a stop in at a local remote clinic to get what we needed. We didn’t miss a moment of our adventure and our companion received excellent medical care. We moved around a lot and yet we never had transportation glitches or hotel issues. It was seamless.”