Most Inspirational Moment
The black rhino in Ngorongoro was really great to see, especially since there aren't that many of them left. The leopard cub in a tree was an unexpected (but very welcome ) viewing. The end of the migration in the Serengeti was one of the sights that I wanted to see and I was not disappointed.
Thoughts on Group Leader
She was alright but not in any way exceptional. When I asked why all the wildebeest we saw in the Serengeti were males she came up with some weird and (not so) wonderful explanation that all the females died giving birth!!!!! If that was the case then who raised the calves?? Surely the species would die out within a few years. My theory - while not neccessarily correct - that the females followed on when the younsters were a little stronger made much more sense.... She was good at spotting the animals as we were driving along but not always so knowledgeable when questions were asked.Also we were not made aware of where and when we could do laundry until we specifically asked to be told at every opportunity.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Don't stick too closely to what is said in the trip notes as they are not always correct. Do take mossie repellant, toilet rolls, a blowup pillow, binoculars (though you don't always get chance to use them due to the constant movement), a camera with a good zoom - I took a compact with a good zoom and it was perfectly adequate - you don't need to tote along massive lenses, a good head torch is essential and spare camera batteries as you can't always charge them, though most of the time recharging is available on the truck. Also make sure you have a good memory card or two as you will take hundreds of pictures and you don't want to be running out of memory or battery at that vital moment. You don't need a 3 season sleeping bag as the trip notes say but a good 2 season with liner is perfectly adequate. Also it does not get too cold in the mornings or evenings requiring coats etc but you will need a good fleece to ward off the chill on occasion though one is all you will need. It doesn't matter whether you wear bright colours or not as you are in the truck for pretty much all the game viewing, and besides, all animals except for birds, fish and apes are colour blind.You do not need to search out biodegradeable hand washing deregent with you as you don't really get the chance to do any washing and I just did mine in the shower with me. Likewise with shampoos - there are shower blocks everywhere so you do not have to get your water from rivers or lakes (even if these were available which they are not). A sun hat to me is an absolute must as the sun is very hot when walking round local markets. A large sarong or equivalent is a good idea as there is often nowhere to get dried after your shower so I just wrapped myself in my large sarong and went back to my tent to get dry instead of trying to hop about on one foot getting dressed in the cubicle while not getting your clothes wet.