The Wild Source — Local services in Golden

We travelled with the Wild Source to Tanzania in July 2021 for our first ever safari, after beginning planning with them in 2019. We had made tentative enquiries with other safari companies, but following our first contact with Annie at The Wild Source we were struck by her depth of knowledge, her desire to craft an extraordinary and unique experience for us, and her responsiveness to our questions and wishes. Once Annie had put together our itinerary, Jordan and Shannon were there every step of the way to help with logistics, including a postponement of the trip from 2020 to 2021, a change in trip participants, and detailed and continually updated advice for traveling during a pandemic. It was this level of support that convinced us that travel to Africa in summer of 2021 was not only possible but, because of the reduced number of other visitors, likely to be extra special.

From being met at Kilimanjaro airport in Arusha to passing back through airport security for our return flight home, we were looked after by The Wild Source in a way I have never experienced before. The highlight of the trip was our guide, Fadhil. We had been drawn to Fadhil's biography because of his expertise as a big cat biologist, but the friendly warmth and gentle humor with which he welcomed us to the country, showed us many of its wonders and taught us about its animal and human inhabitants, was a daily delight. Fadhil's wildlife expertise also exceeded our expectations. The first day driving through Tarangire National Park and seeing the amazingly abundant wildlife there: elephants, zebras, giraffes, impalas, baboons with tiny babies, several species of mongoose, hawks, eagles, vultures, wildebeest, rollers, shrike, buffalo weavers, cheetah and lions it was hard to imagine how we could see more. But after this initial experience of the diversity of the wildlife, as we progressed through the Ngorongoro crater, the Central Serengeti and the Northern Serengeti, we were led to a more intimate appreciation because of Fadhil's deep understanding of animal behavior. He could tell that the lioness was ignoring her cub's pleas for attention because she was in a hunting mood (we saw her catch a Thompson's gazelle 15 minutes later). He knew the leopard would try to sneak down the tree past the hyena, and we watched it slink away and climb another. He showed us not just the wildebeest rushing pell-mell together through the Mara river, but waited with us for half an hour as we all watched three giraffes attempt to cross much more slowly and carefully. We all had our hearts in our mouths when the largest giraffe became stuck and a crocodile slid into the water and swam lazily over to investigate; we were relieved when after 15 minutes struggling against the current and the slippery rocks the giraffe was able to free himself.

And then there were the camps, each of which was spectacular, staffed by wonderful friendly people and serving the most delicious food. The only night sounds were the lions, hyenas and wildebeest, as Winnie at Njozi Camp said, "having business discussions"! The camp staff also shared their many fascinating animal experiences. Njozi Camp, which is operated by The Wild Source, employs wildlife biologists (David and Yusuf), who sit with guests in the evening and happily discuss the local lion prides by name! Yusuf also has an amazing singing voice.

At the very end of the trip (2 weeks have never passed so quickly), at the last minute we ran into a COVID-testing snafu at the airport. I emailed the US staff including Wild Source Co-Founder Bill Given for help, he responded immediately and asked Mariam the Operations Manager in Arusha to come and help. It was 7 pm on Friday evening; Mariam came straight over, found us and helped us get onto the plane. The Wild Source has an exceptional team, they care deeply about wildlife and their clients. Two weeks later, my feet are still not back...

Tanzania I just got back from my second African safari with The Wild Source and they knocked it out of the park again. There simply aren't enough positive adjectives to describe my experience.

The guiding team of Deo, Sosy, Khalfan, and Fadhil made our week perfect. Their differentiator was their deep knowledge of wildlife - and the experience was enhanced by their kindness, humor, and showing us the many layers of the wonderful country of Tanzania. They paid attention to each guest and were so aware of what we needed to have a comfortable and adventurous experience. My highlight of the week was seeing a mother leopard with her baby, sitting criss-cross on a rock, with the sunrise and two hot air balloons in the background.

Bill Given and Shannon Gore took immaculate care in planning the trip - they customized to many different needs of our group - they truly put attention to the smallest details and it makes a difference in the experience.

I also observed several times the level of The Wild Source's integrity and self-responsibility to the people, the animals, and the environment. They take the highest road ethically and being someone who deeply cares about this, I felt very grateful.

With hundreds of companies to choose from, the choice makes a real difference. I left Tanzania knowing a lot more but more importantly with an open heart, and a deeper imprint of this amazing country. Thank you Wild Source!!

Kenya There simply aren’t words of praise to convey how excellent my Kenya safari experience was with The Wild Source! Bill Given, Shannon and the entire team are knowledgeable, gracious, and client-service oriented.

I was just about to book with another company when a friend recommended The Wild Source. I didn’t expect to change my mind, but one conversation with Bill Given made me know I had to safari with his company. He really, truly listened to what was important to us and designed a trip to do exactly that. He gave us a range of pricing options and we were so pleased with the value for staying in these no-words to describe, amazing places (both a bush house and a tented camp)

They created this custom experience and we had freedom throughout the safari to plan our days based on what we felt like that day. This spontaneity and fluidity delighted me & I felt like I’d stepped into another world, away from technology and brain-numbing decisions of daily life! We kept telling ourselves how lucky we were to be in Kenya with our guide Ping who was the guide to top all guides.

The Wild Source had so many differentiators in the experience. They had excellent, detailed communication throughout the planning process. They offered options when I was unsure what to choose and honest and thoughtful counsel. They mailed me a color copy of my itinerary right before the trip, that included all the details I would need while I was gone.

I love that they are focused on education and conservation and making Africa better; giving back is important to me. All of the Kenyans at the camps were delightful and made our trip so comfortable. When someone truly loves the job they are doing, it comes across in every atom of that experience. I felt like I left behind true friends when I boarded the plane back.

This trip went beyond my wildest expectations! I’ve always been a beach person and I couldn’t have imagined this safari would change me forever. No matter how much I knew in advance, no one could have prepared me for how wonderful the experience actually was. I’m already thinking deeply how I can create another trip in the near future.

The Wild Source made all the difference in...

To sum it up, we could not have had a more magnificent trip in Tanzania thanks to the entire team at The Wild Source. From Bill’s very prompt response to my July 2015 inquiry; to Darcie’s expert guidance in safari planning; to Shannon's more than patient operational hand-holding; to Fadhil Deo's above and beyond superb guiding & friendship, the 4 of us were WOW’d!

This was the second safari for the 4 of us; the first 9 years ago in Botswana. On this trip we traveled through several national parks: Tarangire, the Ngorongoro Crater, the central and northern Serengeti and Ruaha at the end. Unlike Botswana, where we flew from camp to camp, this trip we traveled in our trusty land cruiser over 1500 miles with our guide (flying between the northern Sergengeti and Ruaha due to distance). Our days were long, but magnificent. Wild Source is dedicated to really seeing the environment you are in; more than lounging in camp. (This is not to say our selected camps were not fantastic. Our favorite was Dunia in the central Serengeti, which is now run by an all female team. Fun, well run, great service, full of heart and a very comfortable camp. You are made to feel very special.)

Our memories are so wonderful that it is hard to figure out what tops what, but I will highlight what a difference we all believe Fadhil, our guide, made to our trip. The fact that Wild Source utilizes trained wildlife biologists as part of their guiding system certainly impressed us. And these biologists are also involved in Big Cat research that Bill Given & Wild Source conducts. There was simply nothing Fadhil did not know about in depth. Of course there were the cats, of which we saw 79 lions; 10 leopards; and ~6 cheetahs, and more than one civet, genet, African wildcat, and serval. But we reveled in each and every sighting, however big or small - - the birds, oh my the birds, the very rare mama rhino and her baby, 2 wildebeest crossings on the Mara River, vast numbers of elephants, the zebras, the cape buffalo, etc. Well, you get the picture! And this was not just "oh there they are in the distance", but very close and respectful observations that allowed us to revel in the animal's behavior.

I guess you could have seen all of this with another guide, but over the course of our 12 days together, we grew as a little family. Fadhil is impressive in his knowledge, but also in his human-ness. He was kind enough to share his culture, his country’s history, and his personal history, with a warm heart. I hope we reciprocated in kind. And we did have a great deal of fun. He was a good sport putting up with our teasing & questions and great fun to be with over our 1500 miles together.

I suppose the biggest compliment we can pay is the fact that we decided on day 2 that we must return for another trip. Going in we thought we were done with our travels in Africa!

You will be in good hands with The Wild Source. The entire team is solid and focused on you having a wonderful experience. Planning and operational details are extremely well managed - - we did not have a single hitch in over 3 weeks. It is the quality of the people involved that can make or break a trip. The Wild Source is not so big that their very personal touch is lost, but big enough to ensure you have the time of your life. We feel like we are part of the family now!

All 4 of us have traveled much in our lives, for work and pleasure. I don’t think it is too much of a stretch of the imagination to say this was our...