Botswana – Zambia Photo Safari
Mobile Tented Photo Safari: The Ultimate Wildlife Experience
Okavango Delta, Chobe, Moremi Savuti, Victoria Falls.
A tented safari is the best solution for who would like to experience the African nature and wildlife undisturbed up close and personal and be right on spot with the best light conditions. A tented safari has not the slightest in common with what people in Europe call camping. If you haven’t done this before, and you maybe have an idea of what a classical Safari from the times of Karen Blixen’s “Out of Africa” would have looked liked, this experience will be the closest thing to that idea and that spirit. You will be immersed in the bush with all of your senses (and your camera). This safari offers a semi-luxury setting with tents that can accommodate a maximum of two people. Each tent has two twin beds with mattress, a private bath-area as part of the tent with private shower and private toilet. You will be able to take a hot shower whenever you like, and it won’t be much different from how you do it at home. When we transfer from one camp to the next, tents are moved by our staff with their logistics support vehicle while we will be on game drive. In this way you won’t even notice the tents are being transported and you will find them set-up and ready on the next camp. You will have time to fully concentrate on photography (or observation) under the supervision of very experienced wildlife guides who understand about the special needs of the photographer and have bird-watching experience. This is crucial for a successful photographic safari, as it is not sufficient to understand and anticipate animal behavior; you also need to know how to make the best out of the existing light conditions, and how to approach wildlife safely for the ultimate wildlife photograph.
The culinary experience
Food is one of the highlights of this African Safari. Our cooks have a long experience of cooking in the bush. This is an art. Every single day the meals will be different. Every day fresh bred, cakes and muffins are baked with a special technique on the fire. You will be astonished to find the quality of an excellent restaurant in the middle of the African bush each time lunch and dinner are served under the dining tent. The fresh winter evening around the fire will give us the opportunity to chat about the experiences of the day and discuss out photographic results. All soft and alcoholic drinks and all meals are included in this package.
Safari vehicles
Safari Workshop Route
DAY 1 Departure. There are connections to Johannesburg from all mayor European cities and many from the United States. From Germany, you can easily travel from Frankfurt with South African Airways and from London with British Airways.
DAY 2 Today we land in Johannesburg to catch our connecting flight to Maun. Two hours flight with a propeller aircraft will bring us to Maun. Guide pick-up and transfer to a private camping place inside the Moremi Game Reserve. Already on the way to the camp first encounters with wildlife are very common. There is a good chance of spotting giraffes, impala, kudu, and elephants. Today however we will try to reach camp and settle down as soon as possible, The support Vehicle and the rest of the crew will have setup the tented camp and prepared dinner. We will spend three nights at a private camping place at the eastern Border of the Okavango Delta, where we will bet the only guests. A waterhole situated about 50 meters from out tents attracts the attention of game. Depending on how lucky we are, there is a good chance impala, giraffes and other animals will visit us. On the trees above often a community of velvet monkeys is a good subject for photography right at the camp. An exquisite bush-dinner with wine and drinks is waiting for our hungry stomachs, after the classical sun-downer with wine or gin-tonic. Each time I travel with Grant Reed and his Letaka Safaris team, I’m amazed about what they are able to cook in the middle of the African bush.
DAY 3-4 The following two days we will be exploring the surrounding area in the Moremi Game Reserve. With an open 9-seater Toyota Land Cruiser, where also the front window can be pulled down, carrying a maximum 6 Photographers to allow better photography we will be doing early morning and afternoon game drives. Our experienced guide Grant Reed is a very talented wildlife photographer himself. He knows about the importance of light and how to photography wildlife. His experience with wildlife behavior will help us anticipating the movements of the animals. Crossing water bridges, driving muddy roads and spotting all kind of wildlife will be from now on our daily business. A particular attention will be given to the light conditions. Early wakeups will ensure we are out in the bush before the sun is above the horizon. Possible Sightings: Elephants, hundreds of species of birds, Giraffes, Hippos, Lions, Leopards, Baboons, Velvet Monkeys, giant lizards, African wildcats and many more inhabit this area of the Okavango delta.
DAY 5 Today, after a light breakfast we pack up our luggage and start for an early game drive in the Xanakanaxa region of the Moremi Game Reserve. Often there is a chance of seeing predator activity in the early morning hours. Spotting lions, hyenas, african wild dogs is what we will be looking for, before slowly heading towards our next tented camp destination in Khwai region of the Moremi game reserve. On the way to the camp, our game drive continues. On the way there is a big chance of spotting elephants and different types of antilopes such as impala, lechwe, kudu, tsessebe, We will have a break at the river Khwai for some scenic lanscape photography and for a pic-nic lunch. After lunch we continue towards destination. Our plan today is to arrive to destination before sundown. The support vehicles and the rest of the crew will have already set-up out tents and lit the fire, once we arrive. We will have enough time for settling down and enjoying a sun-downer, possibly with more game view while sipping a fresh beer or a gin and tonic.
Possible Sightings: Elephants, hundreds of species of birds, Giraffes, Hippos, Lions, Leopards, Baboons, Velvet Monkeys, giant lizards, African wildcats and many more inhabit this area of the Okavango delta.
DAY 6-7 For the next two days our tented safari will be based in the eastern border of the Okavango delta. The site is where we will do morning and afternoon game drives. This region is very rich in wildlife. The tented camp where we are staying are visited very often by large herds of elephants. It is likely to to spot elephants, zebras, kudus and impala while having lunch or dinner and sipping a glass of South African wine under our dining tent. Scenically the Khwai river is one of the best scenic areas of the Moremi game reserve. The number of beautiful old bull elephants that you can encounter here is just astonishing. A pride of Wild dogs has settled down a few Km from the location of the tented camp. After 5pm they usually start their hunting activity, and it is a wonderful thing to see a group of wild dogs, the second most endangered predator species on earth, to chase impala. They are fearsome and quick predators and reach a speed of over 40 Km/h when they run together. Capturing them on photograph while hunting and being able to follow them with our cameras ready will be a real challenge if we are lucky enough to meet them, as wildlife cannot be ordered. During our lunch breaks in the different locations we will always return to the tented camp for a couple of hours. Our modified Toyota Land Cruisers We will use this time to regenerate, load our equipment, secure the images of the morning and the previous afternoon and getting ready for the afternoon game drives. At sunset, we will be mostly out in the bush, on a scenic location with our cameras ready to shoot an African sunset, and in our left hand a glass of gin and tonic or a cold beer.
Possible Sightings: Elephants, hundreds of species of birds, Giraffes, Hippos, Lions, Leopards, Baboons, Velvet Monkeys, giant lizards, African wildcats and many more inhabit this area of the Okavango delta.
The high temperature of the delta causes rapid transpiration and evaporation, resulting in a cycle of rising and falling water level that was not fully understood until the early 20th century.
DAY 8-10 On this tented safari, when we move to one tented camp to the next one, we do it on game drive and even on a transfer day, there will be plenty of chances for good photography. After an early morning game drive, we will leave Moremi game reserve and enter Chobe national Park. Chobe’s highlight is its proud population of 120,000 elephants. For more than 30 years, the Savuti channel had not seen any water. In 2010 the heavy rainfalls in Angola have changed completely the scenery.
For the photographer who would like to extend his wildlife portfolio with stunning elephant images, this is the place to be! On the entire planet, you will hardly find any better opportunity to photograph elephants in their natural environment without fences and in an exclusive and comfortable setting. For the next 3 nights we will be staying in the Savuti region of Chobe and this will offer us a deeper understanding of the African wildlife in this region.
DAY 11-12 We leave the Savuti region after a early morning game drive and are headed towards the Chobe River where we will spend the last two nights on our tented safari. This region is known for his numerous breeding herds of elephants. We will camp close to the ridge of the Chobe river and concentrate our efforts in getting our last images of the trip. In this part of the trip we also offer birdwatching photographic activities for those who have an interest in birds. The evenings will be used to chill out and benefit for each other’s knowledge and experience. On out last tented camp day, we will select the best images and present them to the group for a review and discussion about the outcome of the safari
DAY 13 Today we reach Kazane where our safari guides will drop us off. We will be picked up by a shuttle service, which will transfer us across the border to Zambia. Out next destination is the Zambesi Waterfront Lodge, close to the Victoria Waterfalls. Here a series of optional activities are possible. A helicopter ride above the waterfalls or a boat tour at sunset, are a wonderful way to finish this photographic adventure.
Day 14 Transfer to airport and connecting flight to Johannesburg for our journey home. If you would like to prolong your stay in Africa, our agent Abendsonne Afrika will be happy to help you with your further plans.
WORKSHOP COST AND EXACT DATES: PLEASE CONTACT US FOR PRICING AND DATES
This safari is based on double occupancy and includes everything specified in this description other than the intercontinental flight that will get you to Johannesburg and Maun. It includes all drinks and meals, safari guiding and casual lessons by the workshop leader. Please inquire for additional surcharges like for booking an entire raw on the vehicles (1 person per row).
Important Information
Although this is very unlikely to happen, there might be variations in the described route due to unforeseen events such as climatic and political events. The Okavango delta region can change dramatically in no time due to floods and heavy rain. We also cannot be held responsible if we will not be able to see all animal species listed in this description. Wildlife is part of nature and (fortunately) we do not control which animals will be willing to cross our path during our journey. In case any mayor changes of the itinerary will occur, the participants will be informed as soon as possible.
