18 Jun 2024
Where to start......
We (myself, wife and daughter) arrived to Arusha Coffee lodge a day early to acclimate after the 40 hour trip from Florida to Tanzania. The coffee lodge is beautiful and the staff is amazing.
At dinner on the second night I had to excuse myself and head back to the lodge for an I'll stomach, little did I know that was only the beginning of the actual adventure.
After a long night of vomiting and "other" we were unable to meet with our tour guide John at the reccomeded time. We contacted the coordinator Sellma (from Takims) who was also at the lodge. She helped arrange a doctor to visit us at 7am the same morning who tested my sugar level, vitals and a couple other things (all normal), he also gave me some medicine and electrolytes for the dehydration. I was able to take enough immodium to get me to the first stop and safari drive (all in all about 8 hours later).
That night my wife and daughter also contracted whatever illness I had. John was with us for the entire safari and got us the medical help we needed that night as well.
Each morning we would wake up (if we slept at all), sick and unable to meet at the pre arranged times. Each day John was there to take care if us, Sellma checked in daily with me via WhatsApp or through John.
Unfortunately we were sick the entire time and still don't know what caused it. We didn't drink any unbottled water, washed our hands frequently or used hand sanitizer, but all three were in absolute hell the entire trip.
The good part of the vacation was it was freaking AMAZING when we were able to enjoy it. Each stop and each lodge was ultimate luxury and John was EXTREMELY knowledgeable, he mentioned he had been doing it for 26 years and it showed, he knew literally everything about every animal and plant.
If you're going to Africa for a safari, you already know what to expect, so I'm not going to dive too deep into that. I'm going to emphasize the extreme care and compassion from John and Sellma, they even checked on us once we were back in the states.
Being in another country like Tanzania, and being fully incapacitated, having a language barrier, and being 40 hours from home is a horrible and scary feeling. John, Sellma and Takims went above and beyond to make sure we were not only ok, but to make sure they worked around our "challenge", myself and family are thankful.
John and Sellma deserve way more than I can express and will be eternally greatful. While we likely won't be headed back anytime soon, I will continue to praise John and Sellma to everyone I can.
A company is only as good as its employees, and this company is the best.