Unforgettable Kilimanjaro adventure and safari! My dad, husband and I just recently returned from a 2-week trip to Tanzania, all organized through Oreta. Let me start out by simply saying how AMAZING Oreta and our trip was!
Lema and Renalda (the owners of Oreta) were extremely responsive from day one and ensured all our questions were answered before we arrived. Oreta Adventures is a locally owned and operated company (meaning 100% of their revenue supports their local economy) and they are part of KPAP - an organization that supports socially responsible Kilimanjaro expeditions (e.g. fair wages for porters). These were two main reasons we chose them and I am so glad we did!
For our Kilimanjaro climb, we chose the 7-day Lemosho route. We had 14 people supporting the three of us all the way: our two amazing guides Beatus and Peter, our outstanding cook ManX (I have never eaten such delicious soups in my life!), and our ever-so-strong and friendly porters Julius (also our waiter who ensured we had whatever we needed), Johnson (our camper who ensured we got the best camp sites by starting out earlier than the rest), Pius, Amadeus, Abel, Erasmus, Godfrey, Yuda, Hatibu, Hamza, and Bamo. Our crew honestly made our trip! We got to know so much about Tanzania, their culture and local customs, and they were the most supportive, friendly crew you could ever ask for! We went during the dry season but got unlucky with the weather whereby it rained or snowed 5 out of 7 days (be sure to bring rain gear and gaiters even if you are going during the dry season!). But, they never stopped smiling and encouraging us all the way! All three of us made it to the summit without any problems thanks to the amazing food and support we received. They are also very safety conscious and every night they checked our oxygen levels and heart rate and had us fill out a quick form to keep track of how we were doing each day. Despite it being much colder and wetter than any of us had anticipated we had a phenomenal time and were able to tick this great achievement off our bucket list!
For our safari, we chose their 5-day trip. At this point in time my mum also joined us, and we had another fellow traveler come along who had just done the Kilimanjaro hike. For the five of us we had our two safari guides Kazi and Dickson and our chef George. Once again, the food was outstanding, and our guides were so knowledgeable and friendly. We saw so many lions and other wildlife up close. At one of our camps the hyenas and zebras even walked right past our tents while we were going to sleep! The only change I would make is that I wish we had spent two nights at each of the camps to make it a little more relaxing after our Kili hike.
We are definitely hoping to come back one day to plan another trip with Oreta – and to hopefully see some of our porters have fulfilled their dream of becoming a guide themselves. Thank you Oreta!