There are places that, once experienced, remain in your memory forever. Africa is one of them.
In January 2011, after twenty-eight years in the IT world, I retired at sixty. As a gift to ourselves, Lisa and I finally said yes to a long-held dream: an African safari!
What followed exceeded every expectation.
With the help of Africa Dream Safaris, we designed a private journey through Tanzania that remains one of the most powerful experiences of our lives. From September 18 to 29, our journey began at the Mara River in Northern Serengeti, where the landscape feels ancient and alert, moved south through vast open plains, and finished in the heat and dust of Tarangire National Park.
Each day brought encounters we will never forget. Not just the wildlife, though there was plenty of that, but more so the light, the scale, the quiet intensity of being in a place where humans are visitors rather than the main story.
The photographs in these galleries reflect our attempt to hold on to those moments. They present the animals we saw, the land that carried us, and the sense of awe that followed us from morning to night. We invite you to wander through them at your own pace.
After the safari, we spent a few restorative days on Zanzibar, letting the rhythm slow and the experience settle in.
This truly was the trip of a lifetime.
Thank you for sharing it with us.
(Click Photos to View Pictures)
Northern Serengeti
Our time in the Northern Serengeti centered on the legendary Mara River, where we witnessed two wildebeest crossings. Each was a raw, chaotic, and unforgettable moment that felt suspended outside of time. We stayed at both Lemala Tented Camp and Buffalo Lodge, where luxury and wilderness coexist just enough to keep you aware of where you are. Days unfolded with long game drives, quiet evenings under canvas, and a visit to a Maasai village that offered a glimpse into a culture deeply tied to this land. The Northern Serengeti revealed itself not just through dramatic wildlife encounters, but through a powerful sense of place. Ancient, alive, and utterly indifferent to human schedules.
Central Serengeti
In the Central Serengeti, the vastness of the plains becomes almost meditative. From our base at Belila Lodge, we set out on multiple game drives that revealed the region’s extraordinary density of wildlife and its ever-shifting light. One morning began before dawn, lifting quietly into the sky on a balloon safari as the sun rose over the Serengeti, turning the land into a living map of rivers, herds, and long shadows. Seen from above and then later from ground level, the Central Serengeti offered a rare combination of scale and intimacy, a place where time stretches, movement slows, and the rhythm of the wild becomes unmistakable.
Oldepai Gorge
We also made a brief stop at Olduvai Gorge, a stark and windswept place whose importance far outweighs the time one typically spends there. Often called the cradle of humanity, the gorge offers a quiet reminder of deep time and human origins, layered into the exposed earth itself. Standing there, it was impossible not to feel the contrast between the ancient past recorded in the land and the living world we had been immersed in throughout the Serengeti.
Ngorogoro Crater
Descending into the Ngorongoro Crater felt like entering a world apart. The vast caldera, formed long ago by a collapsed volcano, contains an astonishing concentration of wildlife within its steep walls, creating a natural enclosure unlike anything else we experienced on the trip. From the rim above to the grassy floor below, the scale is overwhelming and the sense of abundance almost surreal. It is a place where predators and prey coexist in close proximity, and where the rhythms of the wild feel both intensified and contained, all beneath the watchful curve of the crater walls.
Tarangire
Our journey concluded in Tarangire National Park, a landscape shaped by heat, dust, and the slow movement of elephants through stands of ancient baobab trees. We stayed at Swala Sanctuary Camp, a beautifully situated retreat where wildlife moved freely through and around the grounds, often close enough to remind us that we were firmly in their world. Game drives here revealed a more rugged, intimate side of Tanzania, one defined by dry riverbeds, large elephant herds, and a sense of stillness that settled in as the trip drew to a close. Tarangire offered a fitting final chapter, quieter and more reflective, yet every bit as memorable.
Zanzibar
After the intensity of the safari, we spent several days on Zanzibar, easing into a slower rhythm by the Indian Ocean. Heavy flooding prevented us from visiting Stone Town as planned, but the resort offered a welcome place to rest, reflect, and let the experience settle in. Warm air, gentle tides, and unhurried days provided a quiet counterpoint to the wildness that had preceded it, allowing the journey to come to a graceful close.