It was a delight to spend 12 days traveling with Joachim. He was consistently friendly, cheerful, prompt, and always trying his very best to make sure that we experienced and saw everything that it was possible to see–which he did with remarkable success. He was infinitely patient with us as we repeatedly pointed out the many birds that we saw and always stopped so that we could take pictures . He was also very good in helping us to identify them, including supplying us with a list of the birds that we had seen at the end of our trip to help us in identifying our many pictures of new, unfamiliar birds. He ensured that we saw every animal that we knew of in Tanzania, including rare leopard cubs, and also some species that we didn’t know about. He used his skills to enable us to see the wildebeast migration across the Mara River, despite our initial hesitation (fortunately all made it across safely, to our relief). Joachim truly was a friend as well as a wonderful guide and ambassador for our trip.
“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.”