“Not one American in fifty thousand has any idea of the potential strength of Africa.” Eugene White

A visit to Africa can change your life. It has certainly changed mine!

I grew up on a farm in the rural Midwest. Over the years of my childhood, I was constantly immersed in the great outdoors. I had many animal companions during this time, everything from dogs to horses, and developed an early love for animals and an appreciation for nature that has become an inseparable part of my core.

After high school, I went on to study in Manhattan, KS and graduated at the top of my class with an Engineering degree from Kansas State University. Immediately after graduation I went on to attend and graduate from Trane’s prestigious Graduate Training Program in LaCrosse WI. Over the next several years I became very focused on building a successful career and climbing the Corporate ladder. I traveled extensively and met many interesting people. On the surface I was successfully navigating through the fast-paced corporate environment, but at a deeper level was having some difficulty connecting with my work.  *Something* seemed to be missing. Well, I’m happy to say I found *it* when I went to Africa!

When I first stepped foot in the Serengeti, something clicked. I was inspired beyond measure by the vastness of this authentic wilderness, and completely captivated by the profound beauty, inherent peace and sheer magnificence that I found in this place. I promptly walked away from the tedious Corporate world of my previous life to pursue my passion for Africa.

The rest is history! I have now been back to Tanzania on several intensive research safaris and developed close working relationships with various conservation professionals, including the world-renowned Serengeti Lion Project. Writing and photography are my other two passions, and I have found sheer delight in applying them both to my travels to Africa. I am also a published author, spanning a wide range of audiences with a variety of work from children’s books to essays about the Serengeti, Lake Manyara and Tarangire ecosystems. I have also been privileged to teach continuing education classes about East Africa at JCCC College. My favorite animal is the cheetah, and it is a real passion of mine to help ensure this graceful cat continues to live and thrive in its natural habitat in the wild. When I’m not traveling, behind my camera or at my desk, you are likely to find me outside riding my horses or running with my two collies.

I have been fortunate enough in my lifetime to visit many beautiful places in this world, but nothing rivals my experiences in Africa. Over my years of travel within Africa, my passion for this place continues to grow and develop. It started out with my falling in love with the beauty of Tanzania’s wildlife and people, and with the desire to be immersed in Africa myself. But this passion, although still very present and constantly burning, has also matured into an overriding desire to share my Africa with other people. Africa is not just a place on the map, it is an experience.  And it’s not just any experience… it’s a profound, earth-shaking, mind-blowing, life-changing type of experience.  You’ll see!

“I know this all sounds a bit much, but if I have ever seen magic, it has been in Africa.” John Hemingway

Dawn Anderson

Email:  dawn@africadreamsafaris.com

Direct Toll Free:  866-457-9977

I was born to a family whose European roots were planted in Africa over 400 years ago and I have spent most of my life in South Africa growing up in two major cities: Johannesburg and Durban.  Throughout my life I have been captivated by the animals and beauty of Africa and in 2010 I achieved a lifelong goal when I graduated at the top of my class as a certified wildlife guide with the prestigious Field Guides Association of Southern Africa (FGHASA). I also recently passed The Advanced Course in Behavior of African Mammals taught in Namibia by the world-renowned wildlife specialist Dr. Richard D. Estes.

In addition to my passion about wildlife, I bring Africa Dream Safaris to you from an African perspective. I studied at the University of Cape Town, South Africa before embarking on a five year adventure aboard a 46′ yacht reaching such ports as St. Helena Island, the Amazon, Venezuela, Spain, Monaco, Italy, Greece, Israel and Turkey among others.  My personal achievements include earning a 5th Degree Black Belt in the martial arts and being inaugurated into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame in 2004 as “Female Instructor of the Year” as well receiving the “Female Filipino Martial Arts Instructor of the Year” in 2006. I have traveled extensively, from crossing the Atlantic in the aforementioned yacht, to hiking in the rainforests of Borneo and Brazil and on the glaciers of South Island, (New Zealand), swimming with sharks in Polynesia and white-water rafting in Nepal as well as studying the wildlife of the Galapagos Islands. I have also been on safaris in many African countries including South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia and Kenya  – and yet, to me, nowhere is as beautiful or compelling as the game-filled plains of the Serengeti.

I am the Director of Operations at Africa Dream Safaris however my greatest pleasure is being able to use my knowledge and experience to help clients plan a safari and enjoy the extraordinary beauty and magnificent wildlife of Tanzania.  Accordingly I continue to work with a select number of safari clients each month.

In the words of R. Elliot “If You Visit Only Two Continents in Your Lifetime, Visit Africa Twice”.

 

Years ago I went to Africa to fulfill a once in a lifetime dream. I have not fulfilled that dream. I was captured by the spirit of Africa, the soul of Africa. My soul caught on fire and Africa is now my passion. Many times I have gone to Africa, only to leave before I’m ready. I thought that my thirst to be amongst the animals would be quenched, but I am more thirsty than ever.
When I am in the bush with the animals, I am one with them. I am one of them. Each time an animal looks into my lens, I see into their soul, connect with their spirit, I become a part of them and they become a part of me. They are my energy, my inspiration, my passion, and the fire that ignites my spirit and soul. My song is of Africa, The Serengeti, and the animals that are free to roam “the endless plains”. I realize that I, again, have left another part of me in the Serengeti and now I call the Serengeti “my home”, too.
Every year my desire to return to Africa has increased. It has become a passion, a need, something I must do. If I had to sell everything so I could go, I would. I used to believe, that going to Africa was,” a once in a lifetime dream”.
As seemingly insignificant moments in my life all come together, and I step back and look at the big picture, I see that, I was born to become, and now am, The Lion Lady®. I now recognize that there has been the yearning, the passion, the dream, through out my life. I now realize that it always was much bigger than I ever thought or that I could ever comprehend. I feel energized and fully alive when I think and talk about Africa. Africa is my calling.
In Africa, they call me mama simba, the lion lady. Not just because I am a female and my last name is Lyon, but because, I am an African Wildlife Photographer & I am The Lion Lady®.

Let the fire of your soul become the light of your path!!!