Our safari with Gosheni was OUTSTANDING. They're currently rated as #3 of more than 2,000 for a reason! My husband will be posting details about just how AMAZING Gosheni is, most importantly its CEO Peter and amazing manager Rachel. You will be able to find his review (Lyman G).
I'm going to focus this review on our guide, Steve. Steve is the absolute rockstar of safari guides! When you think of someone who is a genius... a rockstar in their profession… who do you think of? Well, if you’re looking for the equivalent in a safari guide, Steve, is it!
I know safari is a once in a lifetime experience for many… We have been lucky to experience it several times… And it is challenging to decide who to trust with such a major investment and experience. But look no further! As we have baselines for comparison, we can emphatically say: there is no comparison!
And your GUIDE IS CRITICAL TO YOUR EXPERIENCE IN TANZANIA. If you *have* been on safari before, you might have experienced a model quite common in southern Africa: You transfer from lodge to lodge, and each lodge is self contained, with its own guides and activities. You get a new guide at each stop. In Tanzania, it's more common to HAVE A GUIDE WITH YOU FOR THE ENTIRE TRIP. They take you between lodges, AND act as your guide every day. So a guide can make or break your trip.
We took a nine day private safari with Steve--a custom itinerary (thanks Rachel!!) covering, five parks and hundreds of miles of gorgeous terrain in Tanzania.
To our great luck, Steve was a perfect match for us. As other reviews testify, Steve is a first-rate human being, with a heart of gold that shines through. He's chill, is passionate about his work, and deeply connected to his guests. His English is also... flawless. Never had a moment in nine days where his conversation or expert discussion of what were experiencing wasn't clear as a bell.
What's the first thing you want in a safari guide? Probably it's someone who can help you spot, experience and understand wildlife. Steve’s many years of experience has made him an absolute ANIMAL WHISPERER. He is able to read animal and herd behavior in ways that were clearly better than many of the guides we saw leading groups around Tanzania.
FOUR EXAMPLES:
1) The expected part: We were in Tanzania during high season to see the migration of wildebeest and crossings of the Mara River. There are a lot of other adventurers there at that time. So, when there's something interesting to see, you can often guess by spotting a cluster of safari vehicles pulled off the road. Whenever we saw signs of something interesting, Steve made sure we had the opportunity to check it out--no "FOMO" of seeing action in the distance and wondering what was going on. [though eventually we trusted him SO much we skipped some clusters knowing we'd see better!]
BUT then there are the (many) things that made Steve really stand out as a guide and animal whisperer:
2) The incredible part: Steve could spot animals from such a distance that we were often the FIRST VEHICLE on the scene. His "spotting" was mindblowing. We'd spot activity, enjoy it, and everyone else would catch up.
3) The amazing part: Steve was so good at reading animal behavior that, after we'd gotten our fill of the activity (that many other folks were joining), he'd say, "Do you trust me?" The answer was always "yes". And he'd move us away to another location--sometimes nearby, sometimes a short distance away. He had read the animals' behavior so well that he knew where they would go next, or what they'd do next. And we would have private, intimate, INCREDIBLE experiences with these animals that others were not experiencing. Happened. Multiple. Times. We absolutely had experiences that most other guides simply weren't able to share with their guests.
4) The best part: We went to Tanzania with one primary goal, to see the great migration, and to witness a crossing of the river. Thanks to Steve’s knowledge, we saw SEVEN river crossings in three days!! He could read herd movement and behavior in ways that, again, most other guides simply weren't able to do. Please don’t hold him to *that* level of expectation in the future (7 crossings!), but you’re better off with Steve than anybody else!
NOW, WHAT ELSE MUST YOUR GUIDE BE? So you think your Safari guide just needs to be good at finding animals? No. They need to be able to understand you, as a traveler, your needs and your expectations. Steve did this incredibly well and was extremely flexible to ensure we had the best experience possible. In our case, we wanted to experience wildlife above all else. So Steve generously arranged for us to leave early in the morning and come back late in the evening for long, full, amazing days of wildlife experience! He also was flexible enough to balance our diverse needs. I wanted to take photos, but also really wanted to learn and absorb, so he taught me so much about the species, the ecosystem, Tanzania as a nation, and its people. My husband was passionate about videography, so Steve also ensured he had time to capture great shots, helping to position the vehicle for just the right light, angle, and behavior. We both got everything our hearts desired and far more than we expected.
You also need your safari guide to be an absolutely expert driver, which Steve is! And someone who can respond in case of inevitable surprises and emergencies on the road. Steve not only helped us avoid emergencies, but was generous with his time and mechanical skills, helping other guides and groups out of sticky situations including a dropped transmission in the middle of nowhere. We called Steve "Andretti of the Serengeti"--he's an EXPERT driver. Felt so safe, at all times.
My only regret is that I wasn’t able to post this review faster due to personal circumstances, because I feel like I owe Steve so much in gratitude for the incredible experience he provided!
We are still selecting photo, highlights, and assembling videos, which we will post later, so that you can experience some of what we did. I’ll attach a few as a teaser.
If you've read this far, let me summarize in a way you will thank us for later: Book. With. Steve. And Gosheni. You are in impeccable, passionate, and high-integrity hands with Steve, Rachel and Peter. You’ll have a first-class experience at a great value, and you, like us, will be looking forward to returning as quickly as possible.