ARUSHA, TANZANIA — It was close to sunset in southern Tanzania when the impalas started talking. My husband and I knew we’d come to some place special, but this was unlike anywhere we'd encountered before.

DAR ES SALLAM, TANZANIA - If this city’s notorious traffic jams are feeling forgiving, it takes just 45 minutes to travel from the bustle of Tanzania’s largest city to tropical island paradise. It’s called Mbudya Island, and it’s a destination most travellers see for only the briefest of moments as they take the requisite ferry trip from Dar to Zanzibar.

THE ROOF OF THE WORLD – As dawn breaks over the carpet of clouds obscuring the Serengeti Plains kilometres below, I let out a whoop of joy. I’m on top of Africa.