Little of safari pre-planning makes as much difference in the end as your guide. More than everything else, he determines the quality and character of your experience.

I want to give well earned credit to Willium “Willy” Mollel, our guide throughout our adventure. He is a remarkable young man who earned our respect many times over. He had a genuine concern that our experience be as good as it could be, and that we were comfortable and safe throughout. He really wanted us to see it all, and took great pains to make that happen. When a chance to see something was missed, he was more upset than we were.

His knowledge of the environment is encyclopedic. He could give you the names of any plant you saw. His knowledge of the animals is enormous. For example – and this happened more than once – he pointed out a bird in a tree as being an immature male specimen of some variety. I, having done enough reading to be primarily dangerous, argued the point, insisting that it was a type of eagle. Willy would pull out a book, flip through the pages and point to exactly the specimen we were viewing. He was always right.

And his eyesight! He could spot things that I using binoculars would struggle to find even after he told me where to look. It made all the difference.

He is a man of intelligence, good company, a charming, trustworthy human being, with a clear, ethical sense and concern for his country and its assets. His wife is a teacher specializing in early childhood education, and he is very proud of his 5-year-old son Roy, a budding tennis player.

I give credit to the folks at Access 2 Tanzania for having Willy as one of their representatives. He does them proud.