We fulfilled a long-held dream this year by going to East Africa for a Wildlife Photo Safari, and it was, perhaps, THE most amazingly memorable trip in all of our thirty-plus years as travel writers! We chose Abrojaley Africa Ajabu Company as our travel and safari planners, and Abdul Meena, founder and owner of the company, took complete charge of the planning for this exciting experience. Abdul grew up in Monduli, Tanzania, and is a well-educated and prosperous descendent of the Chagga tribe, which originated on the slopes of Kilimanjaro. He knows all of his country thoroughly from many trips throughout. He has traveled extensively around the world, speaks several languages fluently, and is an experienced travel arranger, as well a having a thorough knowledge and experience of being in the wild bush of Africa, sleeping under the stars and hiking mountains, rivers, plains, and valleys on foot. This extensive knowledge gives him the ability to plan African trips and safaris of all kinds for others in the most expert way.
Abdul explained that he named his company Abrojaley, a derivative of the names of his family members, and Ajabu, which is Swahili for “surprise, wondering.” We asked Abdul what type of photo safaris he could arrange and outfit thoroughly. He explained: “We at Abrojaley Africa Ajabu are located in Arusha, Tanzania, a city of about 400,000 near Mt. Kilimanjaro. Our country is our specialty, but we can make all the arrangements for any type of safari our clients desire, not only in Tanzania, but also anywhere in Africa. We make plans over the Internet, by email, by phone, or by Skype, for clients all over the world, for any time of year.”
After carefully perusing his website, AbrojaleyAfrica.com , we selected the photo safari tour for Northeastern Tanzania, but we decided climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro was a little too strenuous for us (although his team has helped people older than we to reach the over 19,000-foot summit successfully.) We left the specific planning and execution entirely up to him, as long as he stayed within our designated amount of money for the trip and planned it for the dates we could go.
When we arrived at Kilimanjaro Airport we were greeted by his driver who took us to our special guide, Manase, who would become our expert leader and lifelong friend during the next exciting eight days and nights. A little later we met our chef/cook, Fulgence, who also traveled all week with Bill and me in the Toyoto Land Cruiser, specially built and equipped for African safaris, and became our special friend also.
When we met Abdul Meena, he greeted us warmly and explained how he had planned our trip. ” We can plan and outfit any kind of safari for one to eighty people for any length of time. We can arrange the grand safari lodges and tent-camps for the most pampered and expensive stays, but these are outside of the National Parks and you don’t get the real African experience. You write Real Travel Adventures.com, so I’m going to send you on a REAL TRAVEL ADVENTURE that you will remember forever. Although this is the kind of safari that budget travelers can experience, it is the most exciting and, we believe, the most authentic way to know Africa. We will tend to your every need while you take pictures and memories to your heart’s content. You will enjoy the incredible African skies, day and night, and you will see the animals up close. You will have excellent meals, all individually prepared from fresh ingredients, specially cooked for you and according to any dietary needs or preferences you have. We guarantee the trip of a lifetime for you, and for all our clients. We have planned for you to go to five National Parks in Northeast Tanzania: Arusha, Manyara, Tarangire, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater National Parks, and to the Oldavae Gorge where the Leakey’s discovered humanoid remains from about 3.5 million years ago, and to the Conservation Area where you will visit an authentic Maasai village.”
Wow! we could hardly wait to get started. For the next few months these articles about Tanzania will tell all about these wondrous places we experienced. The first president of Tanzania, Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere, recognized the importance of Africa’s wildlife, not only for the future of all Africans, but also the rest of the world. In September 1961 at a symposium on the conservation of natural resources, he gave a speech that has become known as the Arusha Manifesto.
‘’The survival of our wildlife is a matter of grave concern to all of us in Africa.”
“These wild creatures amid the wild places they inhabit are not only important as a source of wonder and inspiration, but are also an integral part of our natural resources and our future livelihood and well being. In accepting the trusteeship of our wildlife we solemnly declare that we will do everything in our power to make sure that our children’s grand-child will be able to enjoy this rich and precious inheritance.
The conservation of wildlife and places calls for specialist knowledge, trained man power and money .And we look to other nations to co-operate with in this important task, the success or failure of which not only affects the continent of Africa but the rest of the world as well’’.
VISION
To ensure sustainable conservation of National Parks’ resources and values for the benefit and enjoyment of the present and future generations of mankind’’
MISSION
To sustainably conserve the park’s resources and values for the benefit of all mankind through:
Protecting and regulating use of areas designated as National parks.
Selecting and recommending for gazettement areas of ecological, cultural and significance
Strategically managing a National system of parks that protect outstanding example of key ecosystems in collaboration with local communities.
Developing, managing and promoting tourism and other revenue generating activities for the benefit of all Tanzanians, the Africa continent and to the world at large.
Conservation for sustainable Development
Real Travel Adventures 