Dream guide
He was a fantastic guide for us. Raymond seemed to have eagle eyes, he could drive and spot animals that we could barely see! Once he used his binoculars to verify the animal, he would give us landmarks so we could find the animals with our binoculars. Sometimes we could drive closer to view the animals. He was good at explaining to us what his strategy was going to be when we would be caught in a safari vehicle jam like watching the wildebeest crossing. He knew where to drive to find animals. The advantage of the day long drives was that we could find more animals in their natural habitats without experiencing the safari jams by driving farther away from our hotels/camps. He arranged our meeting times for the next day after dinner. We had plenty of food in our lunch boxes to eat and cold beverages in the car cooler to drink. When I expressed my concern about our lunch entrees not being refrigerated to minimize stomach problems, he made space for them in the cooler. He made sure we had periodic toilet stops throughout the day. He cleaned the vehicle daily. We appreciated having double cushions on our seats when the ride was rough. He had toilet paper rolls on the tray so we could bring our own toilet paper to the bathrooms.
“Every detail was meticulously planned and perfectly suited to our needs. It was obvious that Karen paid careful attention to how we prefer to experience travel and matched us with a guide who perfectly suited our style. Barney was incredibly professional and let us set the tone and pace. He is an outstanding guide in so many ways; he quickly read us and we bonded immediately. Throughout the journey it was obvious that Barney is well respected by the other guides and they often follow his lead because he knows where to go and how to find the animals. He is also an incredible photographer–I got to a point where I just handed him my phone and he meticulously captured our trip. With no exaggeration, our 8 days with Barney were life changing and we think of him each and every day.
While we requested clean and comfortable accommodations with private baths, every place we stayed far exceeded our expectations. Nyikani and Mara Mara were the standout favorites. I have spoken with folks who were unsure and had reservations about the food that would be provided. We ate incredibly well–food was more than plentiful, very good to extremely delicious, and the soups were the best I have ever eaten. Service was consistently exceptional.
Honestly, we can’t say enough positive things about our experience and have been recommending Access 2 Tanzania and Barney to all we can.”