Learn how we keep time to the heartbeat of wild Africa

It's an ancient tempo that's measured by the passage of the sun and moon, keeping pace with their rising and falling, marking the beginning and ending of both day and night. Some call it Mother Nature's metronome, but here at Nimali we like to think of it as Africa's heartbeat - the constant pulse of the wilderness that shapes our lives and the experiences of our guests. So come with us as we share the unique cadence of life on safari...

It starts almost imperceptibly... The promise of light in the darkest hour just before dawn when the wilderness begins its journey from night to day. There's a curious, deep velvety quiet that envelops everything as the temperature begins to rise and dew begins to form. Somewhere far off a spur fowl calls, heralding the approach of the light and life begins to slowly stir. It's time to wake because another day in magical Tanzania is about to begin.

Your cellphone alarm goes off, dragging you from your slumber and your warm bed as night sheds its rich black cloak, replacing it with a mantle of pale, ethereal grey. There's time to freshen up and prepare for the morning's adventures before leaving your tented suite, lured by the tempting aroma of freshly brewed coffee and the chance to banish what's left of the early morning fog from your brain.

The mug is warm in your hands as you take in the magnificent sight of dawn over the vast wilderness around you. There's a soft orange glow on the eastern horizon which gives the savannah a bronzed patina, creating mysterious silhouettes as it intensifies with every passing minute. Birdsong fills the air as you breathe in the earthy fragrance of morning released by the newly formed dew.

Climbing on to your open safari viewer, your guide at the wheel, your adventure begins, filled with endless possibility and a wonderful sense of anticipation at what waits along the road ahead... Your heart is full and your senses primed as you inhale deeply, trying to capture the essence of Africa and hold it deep inside, where you can retrieve it in the months to come when your safari is nothing but a memory.

As the sun finally breaks free of the horizon, Africa puts on her coat of a million colours and spreads her arms in welcome. The magical light of the fabled golden hour chases the shadows away, revealing the unfiltered untamed glory of life in abundance. It steals your breath away as you try to immortalise it with your camera, but no artificial lens will ever do the experience the same justice as your own eyes can.

You stop for coffee out on the plains, climbing down to stretch your legs and you become more aware of the planet beneath your feet than you have ever been before. You are the only humans for hundreds of kilometres in this unending land that stretches away from you towards distant horizons where land and sky collide and seem to blend into one another. You suddenly feel the connection and it's life-changing. You are part of something incredible, not separated from it.  

Returning to the lodge for breakfast, you have time to reflect and digest everything you've seen and felt, sorting through the incredible experiences as you relax and rest... Spending the heat of the day next to the pool or in the shade, enjoying a leisurely lunch and adopting the habits of the creatures that inhabit this incredible wilderness without even realising it. Your body clock slows down as your circadian rhythms adjust to African time. It feels good, like everything natural should.

As the sun begins its slow descent towards dusk you head out once more into this wonderfully wild place, filled with a sense of expectation and a deep, abiding love for everything you see. The afternoon golden hour is softer than the morning's, as the sun sits low in the sky casting long shadows.

You soak it all up with a sense of gratitude and privilege and when the time comes to stop for sundowners, your toast to the setting sun pays homage to the ancestors and the ancient peoples who so revered and worshipped nature, and understood it more than we know, long before civilisation separated us from it.

The end of the day comes with another ritual - that of eating beneath a starlit sky, with the campfire's flames dancing in the darkness. Glasses are raised and oaths sworn and somewhere in the wilderness a lion roars, announcing its presence and sovereignty. By the time you slip once more between your soft, cotton sheets the moon has begun her ascent, casting a soft, silver glow over the plains. You whisper a prayer to Africa as sleep takes you. Tomorrow is another day.