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.
“Karen was very helpful in designing our trip and helping with planning: there was hardly anything for us to do in preparation! And our guide Said was a skilled naturalist as well as a capable driver. We came across washed out roads twice in our trip, and Said had no trouble getting us through AND helping others who got stuck!”