About Us

Safaris-R-Us is a registered tour company founded by Richard and Gemma Sisia in order to achieve two dreams:

First, they want to showcase all that Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya have to offer, as there is so much diversity in the cultures, landscapes and wildlife of East Africa. These natural wonders include the Serengeti Plains, Ngorongoro Crater, Mount Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar and the Mountain Gorillas, just to name a few. Richard has over a quarter of a century’s experience taking visitors on safari, and has assembled his own group of professional driver guides for Safaris-R-Us, each with a minimum of 15 years experience.

Second, they want to continue supporting the people of Tanzania through education. Richard and Gemma, his Australian-born wife, founded The School of St Jude in 2002.

The School of St. Jude

The school gives a free, quality education to approx 1800 students as well as employment to almost 300 Tanzanian men and women. For every guest booking, Safaris-R-Us makes a donation of $50 per client (for 2-day and above trips) to the work of St Jude’s. This means you “Double your Experience” when you travel with Safaris-R-Us, knowing that you are also contributing to the free, quality education of Tanzanian children and the future of Africa. You can even Visit St Jude’s if you wish!

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Safaris R us

I can’t stop thinking and talking about our trip

It was a trip of a lifetime and I wanted to thank you and the team for putting together an amazing itinerary. Most of all, the people who made this trip so special were Richard (Uganda), Walter, Taib and all the staff and students at St Jude’s. Walter made this trip very special for me as we tracked down many places from my childhood. Our home visit was also very humbling

Rita

We have enjoyed the trip very much

We particularly loved Walter's care and company on our Safari. He went beyond his duty of care, was incredibly knowledgeable and personable and was everything we could wish for as a guide and driver. It was a most memorable experience to see the national parks with him.Our days in Zanzibar were blissful and we enjoyed a day of snorkeling in the crystal-clear waters of the ocean.

Astrid

This was an amazing experience and the people at safaris-r-us were so kind and informative. Our driver provided us with relative information and was extremely kind. We managed to see all animals up close including a rhino!Read more

Will

Dear Gemma,

We are now settled back into routine after having the most wonderful experiences in your adopted country. I'm sure I mentioned this was my husband and mine 50th birthday celebration. I started saving for this trip 10 years ago and so happy we were cyber introduced! You are definitely my wish granter!!!!!! We can't thank your team at St.Jude's and Safaris-r-us enough for the amazing time we shared in Tanzania. It was so fun to watch Carson teach the grade 5 art class how to make the bookmarks. We showed his teacher and she was very impressed with his patient teaching skills, lol. We appreciate your team organizing that activity. Our driver Edwin was KUSHANQUAZA! He is a sweet soul, Carson was a bit blue after we had to part. I would truly love to return someday and maybe I will have the pleasure of meeting you then. Asante sana, Deidre Lembke

Deidre and family

Hi Gemma and Team,

Thank you so much for sending those pictures through and for providing us all with a wonderful experience, one that we will never forget! We have been meaning to email you for a long time but we just wanted to take this opportunity to say how much we enjoyed our hike and appreciated your team’s support throughout the whole process. Alex and his team were absolute gems guiding us up the mountain, from the chef to the porters, everyone worked so hard to make us comfortable and make each step of our journey as easy as possible. Their lively spirit and endless feeding will not be forgotten for a long time to come. We will definitely be recommending Safari’s R US to all our friends and family! We will share the above on Trip Advisor to ensure future clients know what a fantastic experience we have all had. So from all four us, we can’t thank you enough for providing us with an adventure of a life time! Kind regards, Shreya, Jacinda, Philippa and Emily

Shreya, Jacinda, Philippa and Emily

Very safe, exceeded expectations, holiday of a lifetime!We enjoyed the holiday of a lifetime at St Jude's School and on our 5 day safari with Safaris-R-Us. The holiday exceeded our expectations in all areas - the number and variety of animals we saw was amazing, the accommodation and facilities were fantastic, well above the tents we were expecting! Our driver guide Ole was wonderful, a University educated Masai, a fount of knowledge about the natural environment, animals and culture of the region. We are a couple in our 60's, and we were so well cared for, and any concerns we had about the risks of travel in Africa turned out to be "hakuna matata" - no worries!The food was great - fine dining in an open tent in the middle of the Serengeti! Our safari vehicle was clean, comfortable and reliable, with even power to charge our devices and camera batteries! We came home with thousands of photos to share!Our stay at St Jude's School was a fabulous experience - from helping children with reading, observing classes, eating lunch with the students and staff, handing out awards at Assembly to riding home with the children on the school bus! The accommodation and facilities at St Jude's also exceeded our expectations, clean, comfortable, spacious and western standards. Again, we were very well looked after, with the dedicated Visitor's team and wonderful cooks!Tanzania is safe, with beautiful friendly people, low crime rate, and free from wars and famine. Tanzania has the best National Parks in Africa, including Serengeti, Tarangire, Mount Kilimanjaro and the famous Ngorongoro Crater, just brimming with wildlife! If you have ever wanted to go on safari in Africa, just do it! Safaris-R-Us is the way to go, and you will never regret it! The company is safe, fully licensed, and well-run. You can have a fantastic safari at a great price, and help this amazing charity school at the same time! Thank you so much Safaris-R-Us and St Jude's!Read more

Trish & Stan

The trip of a lifetime

I cannot say enough in praise of Safaris-R-Us. Everything was perfect. Every detail arranged, and nothing fell through the cracks. There were also electronic chargers in all the vehicles.The guides were all amazing, interesting and informative. They were interested in our lives, and willing to share information and beliefs about their lives. They were knowledgeable and interested in the animals, birds and plants, carrying books that they would hand around for more information. They had a great sense of where the elusive animals might be hiding, and on the Serengeti, Walter put us right in the middle of the migration.The accommodations were beyond expectations- wonderful!In the cities and towns , nothing was too much trouble. Anything we wanted to do was organized. One guide even went back to the market with one of us who had been sold 2 stained pieces of fabric.Again- a most wonderful experience. Thank you

Elizabeth

Great little trip on one day Safari to Arusha National Park

Had a great little one day safari in Tanzania thanks to Safaris R Us. I only had one day for an excursion prior to my climb of Mt Kilimanjaro, so I reached out to Gemma for what might be a way to see some other aspects of Tanzania. She recommended Arusha National Park for a 1 day drive with a guide

Hank

The safari has been amazing. Our companions have been blown away by the amount of animals, how welcoming the people are the beauty of the landscape, the wonderful accommodation and Walter is a delight! We’re happy little campers. Asanteni sana to everyone at Safaris R Us.Read more

Sheryl

My husband and I and our 4 teenage sons have just returned from a 5 day safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro, with Walter as our guide. First up, I have to say that Walter was amazing! He is a very knowledgeable and the perfect guide. Whenever we asked him a question, it was never a yes or no answer -we got a whole story! Loved it! He was awesome at spotting the action from so far away and we managed to see every animal except for a leopard, which didn't bother us at all -I think we were so grateful for the amazing things we did see. The cars were very comfy (even on some of the very questionable tracks!) and our packed lunches were great. Walter also had cold drinks on board, as well as wipes and several pairs of binoculars. Our family discovered so much more than we ever bargained for and have come home filled with wonderful stories and experiences. Thank you so much, Walter, for being the perfect guide and friend to our family.Read more

Sandra

Hello Gemma

We have been back home in California now. My parents, wife and I still fondly recall the safari experience. Thank you for making it special. Walter was wonderful and took special care of my parents. They appreciate and thank him profusely. Walter is a fountain of knowledge and a perfect travel companion. We were hoping to talk to you or meet you briefly and thank you in person during our time in Arusha. Regards and best wishes Sesh

Sesh and Family

Simply the best!

If you want to travel with a huge massed produced safari company then Safaris-R-Us is not for you. But if you want to travel with a small personalized professional organisation then jump aboard. My son his partner and I went on a 4-day personalized tour last week that was outstanding. Start with the Driver/Guide Walter. The smile never leaves his face and his brilliant personality coupled with his knowledge, not just of animals and terrain, but life in Tanzania in general made for a great education for us. Walter was an absolute winner. Yes, we saw all the animals and the accommodation (mid-range) was brilliant. I can highly recommend this company.

Paddy

Trip of a lifetime, amazing experiences and animals!

I had the most amazing experience in Tanzania, a short stop in Arusha and School of St Judes was well worth the visit. Our guide Walter went above and beyond to ensure our Safari was just awesome. The organisation was amazing, we didn't have to think about a thing. The animals just came out of nowhere and Walter always ensured we saw as much as we could and knew the best spots to see certain animals.

Hanna

Hi Gemma,

We are still in awe of what an amazing and fantastic tour package you and your wonderful team provided for us!! It was way beyond our expectations. We are so grateful and thankful for such an amazing African Adventure. Please pass onto Edwin, Walter and Neema our thanks for such a professional and enthusiastic service. We feel we will never have a better holiday experience again. Such high benchmarks now!! Edwin especially went above and beyond on our safaris to make sure we witnessed all animals even the rhino!! We thoroughly enjoyed his friendship and company and I hope one day we meet again!! We were also so happy that we spent time at the School of St. Jude to see the wonderful work you have achieved. It is one thing to hear about it but to actually witness it is another!! Your dedication and passion is infectious Gemma!! Just remarkable. Affiliated companies and guides in Victoria Falls, Uganda and Zanzibar were exceptional - professional and enthusiastic! Thank you once again for our lifelong memories of Africa. Just spectacular!!

Katrina and Stephen

Gemma,

Good to catch up with you as well and is great to see how the school continues to change and develop. The safari went really well, I couldn’t believe how green it was, very different to all my other visits. We saw everything except a leopard, including 10 Black Rhino - bloody awesome. The whole group were blown away by Ngorongoro. The lodge was awesome, good food and great rooms.

Chris

Another amazing trip to Tanzania!

I have just returned from my fourth trip to Tanzania in four years. All of my trips have been booked through Safaris-R-Us and once again, they have outdone themselves. The first trip was with a group of four adults and included visiting Nairobi, an elephant orphanage, a Kilimanjaro climb (Yes!! We all summited!!!), a 5 day safari visiting the Serengeti, Tarangire and Ngorongoro Crater, gorillas in Rwanda – highly, highly recommend everyone visit Rwanda, school of St Jude (THE most amazing place run by Gemma Sisia - a living saint – This school is another MUST. A unique opportunity to witness transformation at work.. SO uplifting) and activities around Arusha. An amazing trip.I have since been back another three times, each time with a large school group made up of 18 teenage boys (Yes. 18!) and three teachers. Organising and catering for such a large group is a task in itself, but the team at Safaris-R-Us and The School of St Jude make it look easy and effortless. Everything is thoroughly planned, our every whim is catered for and nothing ever seems too much to ask. Felix, who works in the visitor centre, is the most amazing human being. He is an absolute ray of sunshine and the grad volunteers working in the visitor centre, Wencelas and Innocent are absolutely amazing. Our boys loved them. Our school group stays at the School of St Jude while in Tanzania, which is such an amazing place to be. Peter the cook ensures we are well fed and always caters expertly for special dietary needs. Some highlights while staying at the school are playing with the kids, home visits, bus rides, visiting a Maasai Boma, Shanga, visiting the Smith campus, orphanage visit and according to our boys, eating as much goat as they can, whenever they can. Khan’s BBQ is a perennial favourite.Going on Safari is always a highlight, especially Ngorongoro Crater, which is like visiting the cradle of life. Our guides Ole, Edwin and Walter are kind, friendly, but most importantly, knowledgeable! They have an amazing ability to spot animals and have a deep knowledge about the history, geography and wildlife we encounter while on safari. On top of it all, they are really lovely people.This trip is life-changing experience for the boys and they return to Australia viewing life through a new lens and a much deeper appreciation for all the opportunities we often take for granted. Thanks to the St Jude and Safaris-R-Us team. You are all amazing and…We’ll be back!!

Mark's Group

We had African good time in Tanzania and Zanzibar!!!

Safaris-R-Us organised our 2 week itinerary from start to finish and they exceeded our expectations. My family and I knew we wanted to visit the School of St Jude and go on safari as well, but that was the extent of it. We didn't know much about Tanzania but booked this holiday as a gift for my Mum's 50th and my Pop's 80th. I informed Safaris-R-Us that my grandfather would be travelling with us but he is quite capable to do most things. They kept this in mind the whole time and it made our experience as a family and for my grandfather truly amazing.On our trip we spent time at the school with the students, visiting a secondary school, visiting a village as well as other tourist attractions. We then went on safari with the best guide there is, Walter, getting us eyeball to eyeball with the most amazing animals in their natural habitats. We then flew to Zanzibar to experience another aspect of East Africa and spend our last couple of days relaxing by the beachside pool.Safaris-R-Us informed us of appropriate things to pack with our clothing being comfortable and breathable with enclosed shoes for safari as well as swimmers, sunscreen and camp grade insect repellent. All accommodation had mosquito nets when necessary and provided bottles of water complimentary. Walter had plenty of extra bottles of water and soft drink in the safari car and the places we stayed gave us a packed lunch each morning. We had no concerns about the quality of food we were eating and with some common sense, having our wits about us and our guides we felt very safe everywhere we went.The whole Safaris-R-Us team are exceptional and we cannot thank them enough for organising such an amazing holiday that we look back on with great memories forever.

Gemmaellul

I lived in Tanzania 34 years ago and I always wanted to take my family to see Tanzania the beautiful place it is. We were about to book with another company but we talked to Gemma about what Safaris -R-Us could do. WE WERE BLOWN AWAY. From picking us up at Kili airport to dropping us back at the School of St Jude, everything was organised to make our stay as comfortable and as scenic as it could be. We stayed in the Masai village, we visited the Hadzebe tribe , the metal making tribe and the mosquito town tribe. We met and spoke with local people.We visited Tarangire , Lake Manyara, Lake Eyasi, Ndutu, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. Our guide Walter is now a friend for life. He did everything in his power to make us comfortable, to see all of the big 5 , he cleaned the car every day, he had fresh water ready, his knowledge of animals and their behaviour was un surpassed. When challenged by a huge elephant 4 m away on the road, he held his ground, despite the fact we all thought he should back up. He knew what he was doing and it was a privilege to see Tanzania through his eyes.Would I recommend Safaris-R-Us, yes of course. I would go with them again tomorrow if I could. They are a lot cheaper than other companies to and they have nothing but quality staff.The school of St Jude is also a must. What an honour to be able to go and be part of this organisation for such a short period. The home visit was very moving, the secondary school- it was just a privilege to be there and sit along side the students, thanks Anita, Anna and Bockee. And finally thank you to Wence and Irene for such a great time on Saturday, you both are Fanta and I hope friends for life.Read more

Stephen

Fantastic Experiences with a Professional and Caring Company. As a family of 6 (with 4 kids 14, 16, 17 and 19) travelling to Tanzania/Rwanda we needed to have complete confidence in our agents. We selected Safaris 'R" Us as my daughter had visited The School of St Jude's (SOSJ) with her school and we had met Gemma on one of her promotional tours in Australia.Our expectations were exceeded. We chose pretty much every "add-on"... Nairobi, Gorillas in Rwanda, 8 Day Kilimanjaro Climb, 5 Day Safari, SOSJ, Zanzibar, and just for good measure I added in my own, a stay at the Maasai Lodge. Gemma was amazing from my first contact. She organised everything, was communicative and responsive and ensured the itinerary was exactly what we wanted.Every driver/guide was there on time, waiting for us, and was courteous friendly and helpful. All our travel arrangements went smoothly, the accommodation exceeded expectations and we felt safe and comfortable at all times. Olly (Nairobi), Didier (Rwanda), Alex (Kilimanjaro), Walter (Tanzania) and Taib (Zanzibar) were all exceptional, not only professional and knowledgeable, but just all round great guys and personable. They were happy to chat and share some of their own stories with us, and we loved learning about Africa and the people from them.The Gorillas in Northern Rwanda were an obvious highlight. We were fortunate to see the famed Susa Group with their 3 day old baby. However Rwanda itself surprised us. A stunningly beautiful and fertile country, the way the country and its people have embraced the unimaginable horror of 1994 and emerged as a unified and proud nation that has used international aid money to introduce progressive social educational and infrastructure programmes is remarkable. Safe, clean and progressive we found Rwanda fascinating and Didier was open honest and a wonderful guide.Whilst our Kili climb didn't go as planned (due to illnesses) and only one of our family summited, Alex and our crew of helpers were awesome. As well as being knowledgeable and very experienced, Alex our guide dealt with our ailments and made the right (though hard) calls when they needed to be made. He monitored us and kept us safe. He ran a tight ship and our 5 star treatment (unbelievable food, accommodation, flushing toilet ...) continued until the end. He even accompanied me to hospital with one of my sons who became unwell (as did Gemma). He ensured good accommodation was organised for my daughter and I when we returned early from the mountain and called us from Kili so we could keep in touch with other family members still on the mountain. Above and beyond. I couldn't have asked for better care and treatment of my family and I am so grateful for this.Walter, not only animal spotter extraordinaire ensuring everyone saw what they particularly wanted (the black back jackal ..... the big 5 with a leopard which then went on to kill a baby warthog), I'm pretty sure Walter is also a Superhero. When the bridge on the only road to the Serengeti collapsed into the river and traffic and Safari trucks were backed up and going nowhere anytime soon Walter went to "investigate". He came back with Plan B, a challenging but doable river crossing 300m upstream. So whilst the other Safari trucks waited, we picked our way across the river and cheered from the safety of the bank as Walter manoevered our vehicle down across and up the other side. News of a successful crossing spread fast as as we headed on our way to Safari the other safari trucks were lining up on both sides of the river to follow "Walters route". Then 5 days later there was the French group whose Safari truck was bogged in the Serengeti. Another group had tried to help, but clearly it needed Walter.... he successfully rescued them and we all headed on our way!Zanzibar - fascinating, different and beautiful and Taib was once again was the perfect guide to show us his beautiful Island.I could go on.... but as a final word, if the personalised service, amazing acommodation , great guides and the absolute confidence I had in the company to take care of my family wasn't enough, the company also supports the School of St Jude's (Gemma, half of the husband/wife team of Safari's R Us is the founder). SOSJ is a destination in itself. To see the amazing job being done here in educating the poorest and talented students in Tanzania is an absolute privelage. Read more

Miranda Family