The photographs in this Highlights gallery are drawn from moments that still feel vivid, even after so many years.
Not because they were the most dramatic, but because they carry the feeling of being there: the hush before sunrise on the plains, the weight of heat and dust in the afternoon air, the long amber light at dusk when the land seems to pause and catch its breath.
There are river crossings, predators, and elephants moving through baobab shadows, but what stays with us is something quieter: the immense scale of the Serengeti and the sense that life unfolds here on its own terms, and the realization that we were guests in a world that does not center on us.
This small collection is not meant to catalog what we saw. It is simply a handful of images that, for us, still hold the atmosphere, the light, and the feeling of that extraordinary place.
Enjoy.
Lisa at 1st Wildebeest Crossing (Photo by Alex)
Masai Giraffes (Photo by Lisa Drake)
African Elephant (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Marabou Stork with Vultures (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Jeff & Lisa at 1st Wildebeest Crossing (Photo by Alex)
1st Wildebeest Crossing (Photo by Lisa Drake)
1st Wildebeest Crossing (Photo by Lisa Drake)
1st Wildebeest Crossing (Photo by Lisa Drake)
1st Wildebeest Crossing (Photo by Lisa Drake)
1st Wildebeest Crossing (Photo by Lisa Drake)
1st Wildebeest Crossing (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Lisa at our Lemala Tent (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Lemala Camp Bar (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Our Buffalo Camp Tent (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Our Buffalo Camp Tent (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Buffalo Camp Welcome (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Our Tent at Buffalo Camp (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Masai Ostrich (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Cheetas (Photo by Lisa Drake)
dik-dik (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Cheetah Brothers (Photo by Lisa Drake)
2nd Wildebeest Crossing (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Lobo Lion Pride (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Morning Glory (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Buffalo Camp (Photo by Lisa Drake)
African Elephants (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Buffalo Camp Farewell Cake (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Jeff and Lisa with Gifts from ADS at Buffalo Camp (Photo by Alex)
Maasai Child (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Maasai Singing (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Lisa Dancing with Maasai (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Lisa with Maasai Singers (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Jeff and Lisa with Maasai Warriors (Photo by Alex)
Maasai Warrior Brothers
Maasai Mother and Child (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Maasai Jump Dancing (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Warthog (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Lisa with Serengeti Sign (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Our Patio View at Belila Lodge (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Our Bedroom at Belila Lodge (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Baboon with Babies (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Jeff and Lisa at Retina Hippo Pool (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Mother Hippo and Baby at Retina Hippo Pool (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Retina Hippo Pool (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Baboon Family (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Serengeti Balloon Safari (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Balloon Safari Take-off Position (Photo by Balloon Pilot)
Jeff and Lisa on Balloon Safari (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Balloon Safari Celebratory Breakfast (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Lisa at Serengeti Balloon Safari (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Jeff and Lisa at Oldupai Gorge (Photo by Alex)
The Castle at Oldupai Gorge (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Leopard in Tree (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Black Rhino (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Black Rhinos (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Old Ngorongoro Lion (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Our Lemala NgorongoroTent (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Ngorongoro Crater Rest Stop (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Jeff at our tent in Swala (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Jeff and Lisa at Swala Camp (Photo by Alex)
Jeff at Swala (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Swala Goodbye Dinner (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Lisa and Swala Baobab Tree (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Lisa at our Swala Tent (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Lisa at our Swala Tent (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Lisa at Tarangire Park Sign (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Leopard in Tree (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Breezes Resort Zanzibar (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Breezes Resort Zanzibar (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Jeff at Breezes Resort Zanzibar (Photo by Lisa Drake)
Lisa at Breezes Resort Zanzibar (Photo by Jeff Drake)
Jeff, Alex and Lisa at Arusha airport (Photo by Unknown)
Breezes Resort Zanzibar Sunset (Photo by Jeff Drake)