African Chitah

Unprofessional and thoughtless safari operator.

For anyone thinking about using African Chitah for their Tanzanian dream Safari I would think twice. Below are some of the highlights, or I should say "lowlights" from our recent safari in Tanzania.

1) When we arrived at Kilimanjaro Airport there was no one there to meet us. After a half day of flying, to emerge from the airport with luggage in hand and no one there to meet us was most disconcerting. The driver did finally arrive 20 minutes later, but this was 20 minutes of un-necessary anxiety. The driver apologized with the excuse that there was "traffic." While that may have been true, there were literally hundreds of other tour operators at the airport holding placards with their guest's names. Why did these hundreds of other operators manage to arrive on time but not our driver?
2) On the first day or our tour, the driver arrived at our hotel very early. He asked us to finish our breakfast quickly as there were three other groups to pick up. When we arrived at the first pickup the driver asked us to sit in the car while he retrieved the guests. After 20 minutes no one returned. I found the driver waiting in the lobby and asked him what was going on. He told me that these other guests were still eating breakfast. I explained to him that this was not a private tour and we were sitting in a hot car waiting while someone else was casually eating their breakfast. He told us he would go and get the other guests and I returned to the car. Another 10 minutes passed and still no one had returned. I returned to the lobby and found the driver still sitting in the lobby. I then insisted that he come with me and get the other guests which he finally did. If I hadn't been so insistent, who knows how long I would have been sitting in the hot car while the other members of the group tour casually enjoyed breakfast and coffee. And he didn't even apologize for this at all.
3) Twice we were given hotels of noticeably lower quality than what we were promised on our itinerary. If we had been equivalent quality hotels it would not have been an issue. However, when we complained to the company about this they utterly dismissed our complaints. They did not offer to change the hotel to one of similar quality nor did they offer us a refund. While it may not have been the operator's intention, the outcome left us with the feeling that we had been hoodwinked in a "bait and switch" scheme.
4) The vehicle appeared to be noticeably older than those of other companies. We spent 20 minutes having to repair the door as it would not open properly.

Given the above I would normally give "1" star. I have generously given "2" stars due to the quality of our driver Steven. He was knowledgeable and helpful and went above and beyond to make sure that all the guests had an enjoyable safari experience. And perhaps most importantly, he was a skillful driver which cannot be discounted given the challenging and punishing terrain and roads.