Krissalee-
The safari was very cool. We met our guide & the other guests at the concierge lounge then we all were led into the staff only area of the savannah. We boarded an 8 passenger van with a roof that raises straight up like a canopy so you can stand up to better see/take pictures/video.
We visited all the savannahs surrounding the hotel & were given quite a bit of insight from our guide. She discussed the care & breeding of the animals, what cities/backgrounds/organizations they were obtained from, their behavior and natural lifestyle/habitats, and most interestingly she gave us lots of specific info on each animal including their name, lineage, personality traits, interactive habits with the others, who is naughty/nice/mischievous, etc. It really was a leisurely and informative ride and we got tons of great up close pics of the animals and some great views of AKL itself.
Dinner at Jiko was handled like a "chef's table" kind of affair. We dined with the other safari tourists and were treated to a sampler menu with wine pairings. Chef Dennis visited our table to introduce & describe each element of each course and our waiter did the same with the wine. Each course was served family style for us all to share and the platters contained a portion for each of us of 4 or 5 menu items in that category (the portions were predivided and were smaller than full size but definitely ample for a meal when you had 4 or 5 at each course). We found everything on the menu and the service to be exceptional. They have some very ethnic items on this menu and it was exciting to try some things that were new to us and some cooking methods that were new to us. Our dinner mates were good fun and we all enjoyed the entire experience immensely. If you have specific questions, feel free to post back & I'll do my best to answer them.
Simba's Mom-
California Grill was excellent. We had a PS ressie & were brought up to the restaurant floor & seated right away. Our waiter was impeccable and the service both he & the fellows assisting him provided was top notch. This is definitely a service oriented restaurant with well trained staff. It seemed to be a full house when we were there, but you didn't notice it when seated at your table. It was crowded on the deck for the fireworks but once everyone went back to their table the crowd wasn't an intrusion at all.
As for food, we had the tuna sushi sampler and the four cheese flatbread as an appetizer. My husband had a salad (an interesting fall kind of salad with apples & field greens) and the filet. I had the squash soup and the pork tenderloin. For dessert we both had the Valrhona chocolate cake. Everything was just excellent (especially the cake...I about fell out of my chair even though I knew it would be good if it was made with Valrhona chocolate).
Hope that helps, let me know if you have any specific questions I can answer.