Safari Njema! (Bon Voyage! in Swahili) So you re thinking about Africa? Me, too. I ve been thinking about it as long as I can remember. As the son of zoo founders Larry and Nancy Jane Tetzlaff, a.k.a. Jungle Larry and Safari Jane, I grew up surrounded by lions and leopards, alligators and apes, tigers and toucans. Yet as extraordinary as my childhood was and as fulfilling as my career has been, there is something wondrous about setting your own feet in a place like Africa. It s an experience that will truly change you - whether you re a nature enthusiast or not. After you sign on, we ll meet a few months prior to departure at an evening gathering at the Zoo to go over everything you ll want to know about traveling to Africa from bumpy roads to bottled water. We ll enjoy excellent accommodations, but you ll be sure to have fun moments of adventure to share with your friends back home. And you can relive your memories with our fellow travelers at our reunion party and exchange images! Best of all, we have Tauck s professional guides. They insure accommodations and daily arrangements are in order so we can enjoy the time together from morning game drives to perfect sundowners. Doug and I look forward to sharing stories and photos after each day s activities over dinner and drinks. You ll also be working with my friends at AAA Travel who ve been our local connection to Tauck for all our safaris and make sure your travel to and from Africa is the best it can be. I hope you will consider joining us for this African safari. I ll be glad to talk to you or e-mail you if you have general questions. I can be reached at tim@napleszoo.org or via phone at 614.478.3756. For specific questions about this departure and to arrange booking, call your AAA Travel Professional. Best wishes, Tim L. Tetzlaff tim@napleszoo.org Director of Conservation and Communications Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens 1590 Goodlette-Frank Road Naples FL 34102-5260 P. (239) 262-5409 F. (239) 262-6866 www.napleszoo.org A 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization Printed on Forest Stewardship Council Certified 100% Recyled Paper Delighting guests with the natural world to inspire the conservation of our planet's remaining wild areas and their wondrous inhabitants.
Meet Tim & Doug:Your Naples Zoo Hosts!
Douglas Rickenbach Naples Zoo Chief Operating Officer I was born and reared in Mechanicsburg, Pa just 10 miles outside of Hershey, Pa and this was certainly how my love of theme parks started. I have live in a variety of locations in the Mid-Atlantic region in my years working for the Six Flags theme parks before moving to Florida. I love all sports and was a college athlete in both football and wrestling. I coached high school football after college. My degree is in history with a focus on US military history. I enjoy visiting battlefields, museums and airshows! Growing up near Gettysburg, (one of my all-time favorite places), I had countless trips as a kid growing up and I think that s why I fell in love with history. I ve spent 20+ years in the theme park business (Six Flags & Cedar Fair) prior to arriving at the Naples Zoo. I am a theme park addict and love to visit and ride. One of the first dates with my wife was to an old amusement park by my house to ride a roller coaster they were shutting down. I have upgraded her now. We now have Disney Annual Passes. My current hobby is photography. From shooting at Walt Disney World to the Zoo, I love taking photos. My wife and I love traveling. We are huge fans of cruising, especially the Disney Cruise line wherever they are going and the longer the journey the better. We have traveled to the Baltic, Mediterranean, Panama Canal twice, Alaska, and Hawaii and enjoyed our first Trans-Atlantic Crossing in 2014. For me these trips are a great way to visit history and unwind after a long season at the Zoo. This will be my fifth trip to Africa and I look forward to sharing this adventure with you.
Tim Tetzlaff Naples Zoo Director of Conservation I first heard about Ngorongoro Crater when I was four years old. As the son of zoo founders, my first experiences of East Africa came through my father s movies and stories. I am so grateful that I have been able to experience these stunning landscapes myself later in life and to have set my feet on Mount Kilimanjaro - something you can choose to do on this departure! I serve on the boards of two wildlife conservation organizations: one that works in Latin America and the other in Madagascar. I am also on the Field Conservation Committee for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and have previously served on the AZA s Conservation Education Committee, Public Relations Committee, and other ad hoc committees. I coordinate the Zoo s conservation efforts from my office in Columbus as well as visits to Naples once or twice a month. Growing up as I did, I was blessed with a solid grounding in conservation and given the opportunity of caring for some of the world s most amazing creatures. By the time I started presenting shows, my family had audiences of up to a million guests each summer at the Cedar Point theme park in Ohio in addition to the zoo in Naples. I took breaks from Zoo life to earn my degrees from The Ohio State University and to meet my wonderful wife. I delight in meeting people from other cultures and have also enjoyed many friendships in the refugee community here in Ohio including helping people from Congo, Bhutan, Rwanda, and Sudan. I greatly enjoy nature from whitewater rafting to hiking a love that was tested and proved following bushmen trackers in the sun and soft Kalahari sands a few summers ago. (Tilley hats and merino wool socks are worth every penny!) I look forward to sharing my experiences and getting to know you as we travel together.