Reunited with Rae Rae
When six-year-old Emily left Rae Rae, her stuffed bunny, behind while on safari with B&R, she worried he was gone for good. But as Emily’s mom Amy explains, a little magic resulted in a rabbit being pulled out of a… well, a paper bag, actually.
By Amy Ramos, B&R Traveller
When we booked our trip to Tanzania, six-year-old Emily began preparing her stuffed animal “Rae Rae” for the trip of a lifetime. We encouraged her to leave the well-loved rabbit she has had since birth at home, but she insisted Rae Rae wanted to see an elephant, so the “lovey” made the trek to the Serengeti. Unfortunately, Rae Rae “hopped” back to bed the day we left the private mobile camp in the Serengeti and didn’t make it into our luggage.
A two-hour drive and 45-minute plane ride later we realized the mistake. Emily (and my husband and I) were devastated. Rae Rae is, after all, a member of the family, and we had no idea how a small stuffed rabbit could possibly be found when lost in the Serengeti. We began preparing Emily for the fact that Rae Rae may be gone forever. As you can imagine, that conversation did NOT go well, so in a long-shot effort to right the wrong, we placed a call and follow up email to Brad Crockett with Butterfield & Robinson.
“B&R turned what was about to be a ruined trip for a six year old into a magical experience. If they can do this, they can clearly do anything.”
Brad took the problem in stride, and with a kindness and flare that suggests he rescues missing stuffed animals in every far flung corner of the world. He set things in motion to get Rae Rae back to Emily. Within six hours, we had word that they hoped to reunite Rae Rae with our family in seven days when we arrived back in Arusha. You can imagine our complete shock when we arrived at the Ngorogoro Crater Lodge two days later and discovered a simple brown paper bag sitting on Emily’s bed. Inside was Rae Rae.
We have no idea how the outstanding team at Butterfield & Robinson managed to get word to the Serengeti, find the elusive Rae Rae and get it to us at the Crater Lodge—which obviously wasn’t a quick or convenient side trip. But they did. And in the process they turned what was about to be a ruined trip for a six year old into a magical experience. If they can do this, they can clearly do anything.
We are truly grateful for their kindness and can’t wait to travel with the Butterfield & Robinson team again!