Our Flawless trip via Metamo! This trip was flawless in terms of logistics, activities, food, hospitality, and friendships made. As someone who travels often, I had no idea a trip could be planned and executed so well. From start to finish, every hour was accounted for and mapped out. We did not have to worry about any logistics. All of those hours were filled with unique activities that only someone who has lived in Africa would be able to coordinate. Kilimanjaro: Hiking Kili is a memory I will never forget. The guides were incredible, had answers to every question, as well as advice for every aspect of the climb. They were determined to get us to the top (we got to the top!). I was blown away by the hospitality and food! As someone who backpacks often, the food we ate on our hike compared (and was better) to food I cook at home! I'd recommend trying the Tanzanian chili ketchup! We built strong relationships with the guides who were so kind as to teach us Swahili and I'm still messaging a few of them! Sawa Sawa The list Metamo put together of what to bring was a necessity. I spoke with folks on other tours and a lot of them did not bring appropriate clothing and struggled with the cold temperatures on the last day. We celebrated with a ceremony, champagne, and cold beers at the bottom of the climb, which was amazing after 7 days of hiking. Safari: We saw the big 5 and more! We walked into the lodge and there were Zebra's walking around about 10 feet away from us, which was quite a way to enter the lodge. The guide that Metamo connected us with was a pro among pros! He was determined for us to see the Big 5 (and a lot more). We even saw Rhino's twice, which is unheard of. The food, hospitably, and accommodation were fantastic! Certainly one of the coolest bar's I have had a drink at. Not to mention the lodge is 100% off the grid and sustainable, which is something important to me. All the food is grown there! Anyway, Metamo absolutely killed it and I will certainly be planning more trips with them! Well they will be doing the planning :)

Our family trip to Rwanda and Kenya… Our family trip to Rwanda and Kenya with Metamo was spectacular. It is a totally different world over there. These experiences allowed me to fully understand just how large and diverse our world really is. A definite highlight for me was spending the magical time with the gorillas in Rwanda. I also enjoyed working with all of the children’s home and at a school which was one of the most amazing and influential experiences of my life! There were funny moments the entire trip but I think going on the safaris with all of the other kids on the trip had some of the funniest moments. Seeing the family of cheetah's attack the wildebeest is definitely something I will never forget! An adventure with Metamo is the best!

Kilimanjoro is way better than you'd imagine Before leaving for our adventure, we anticipated the best part of the trip would be the feeling of accomplishment from summiting Kilimanjaro. Though we did summit, the highlight was the being unplugged from civilization in the vast openness of Africa's tallest mountain, meeting new friends and learning from our guides and porters about the land and the people we were among. I traveled with my adult son and life long family friends. Metamo's team handled every detail of our twelve day stay in Tanzania (picked us up at the airport, arranged first class pre and post climb accommodations & dining in Arusha, handled everything involving our Lemosho route climb, organized a post-climb coffee plantation tour, drove us to the airport, and so on). We'd do it all over again in a second and without changing a thing. We recommend that anyone thinking of visiting Tazania, Arusha or Kilimanjero contact Metamo.

Metamo made it life-changing. Our trip with Metamo was nothing short of life-changing. I always tell people that the animals were incredible but the people are what make me want to go back. I came home with a different view of my own world and community. Every day offered something incredible to remember but what we all remember the most is tea with a Joyce, a local woman who lived near Red Rhino Orphanage at the time. A complete strangers to us and speaking no English, Joyce showed us the true definition of hospitality. One of the safari trips that remains in my mind involved a lioness on the hunt. It was hot but just starting to rain. We watched her miss her kill, then walked straight to our window and pushed her head right to the window. She was angry about missing the kill and we were all very happy that everything was closed on our vehicle. The lioness stalked away and the rain created beautiful colors in the fields. I can still see that image in my head. After interacting with the people of Kenya, I realized very quickly how happy they all were. I also saw how little they had in terms of personal possessions. It seemed clear to me that we clutter our lives with "things" in our culture and it does little to make us happier, if not the opposite. I am forever mindful of this on a daily basis. There was a level of personalization and intimacy to our trip, and halfway through we tried to think of ways to get our driver to visit us in the US. Enough cannot be said of the experience altogether and we are just waiting for our kids to be old enough to share in a repeat trip with us.

Traveling with Metamo allowed me to… Traveling with Metamo allowed me to meet new people and see a part of the world, that I never imagined going to. Between the African locals, nice hotels, safaris and hospitality I have a new perspective on the world.