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 age 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 the highlight gallery reflect key moments in our journey. They present a few of the animals we saw, the bit of 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. The Whole Story pictures show the entire adventure we experienced, each location, each event, all the wonderful animals whose presence we enjoyed so very much.

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.