by Betsy Herbert

As I stood on the border between Tanzania and Kenya in east Africa on September 1, the first day of our 15-day photo safari and tour, I had no idea how wild things would get. . .

Our tour group and guide. The tour was organized by Overseas Adventure Travel. When I arrived at the Kilimanjaro airport on August 31, I went directly to our hotel, the Kia Lodge, a collection of comfortable mud-walled, thatched-roof bungalows. It's only 5 minutes away from the airport. When I arrived, I was welcomed by smiling faces and endless greetings of “Jambo, jambo!”, meaning “hello” in Swahili.

Soon I met the other seven members of our tour group, who were gathering for the first meeting with our guide in the open-air dining room. As we all introduced ourselves, I was confident that I would be comfortable traveling with this group.

Our guide, Boniface Faustine, was a stocky, dark-skinned Tanzanian with a booming voice and an air of authority, but with an engaging smile and a ready laugh. As he began speaking, I felt lucky to have him as our guide.