Field Notes Journal Entry
A Tanzanian Safari
A day-by-day account of a Tanzanian safari, written in the field and following the journey as it unfolded
A Tanzanian Safari
This Tanzanian Safari Journal records a journey taken some time ago — a Tanzanian safari in 2022.
The account was written during the journey itself, in lodges and tented camps at the end of each day, in a leather-bound journal and in fountain pen. What appears on the Field Notes site is therefore not a reconstruction, but a lightly prepared version of a record made as the journey unfolded.
What emerged during the writing was not a catalogue of sightings, but something closer to the experience itself: the rhythm of the days, the places, the movement through landscapes, and the wildlife encountered along the way.
The result is a complete journal, now available in the Travel section of the site.
It follows the journey as it unfolded — from the first arrival through to the final days — with each chapter reflecting a single day in the field. Some are dense with observation, others quieter, but together they form a record of the trip as it was experienced, rather than as it might be summarised.
Looking back over it, what stands out is not any single sighting, but the accumulation of them — how the days build, how familiarity with a place grows, and how attention shifts as the journey progresses.
In that sense, it feels very much in keeping with the wider Field Notes work: a record of place, observed over time.
The full journal can be found here:
I expect I’ll return to it in future — there are always details that only become apparent later — but for now, it stands as a complete account of that journey.