Imagine you’re sitting in an open Land Rover, peering through your lens at a male lion busy devouring the
carcass of the wildebeest the pride killed the night before. Click! Then you shift your attention to the
lioness alert in the grass. She is watching the 600 strong buffalo herd on the hill behind you, planning
her next meal. Click! You know she’s looking past you, but when you look into the eyes of this magnificent
hunter that is sitting only meters away, you can’t help but feel exposed. This scene should not be limited
to your imagination - it happens daily. This is what being on a photographic safari is all about!
Where to go
Depending on the type of experience and accommodation you want to have (and are willing to pay for) there
is a wide spectrum of safari experiences. South Africa has a number of public game parks, the most famous
of which is Kruger National Park. Kruger is a wildlife preserve that is the size of Israel where the animals
roam freely. On public lands the safari is self-driven, and you are not allowed off the roads. Spotting the
game is up to you. Staying near the watering holes and being patient can be a good strategy to see the wildlife.
Along the borders of the Kruger, there are several public and private game reserves. In the past these were
all fenced off from one another, but over the years the fences have been dropped. Animals can now roam freely
between Kruger and the private reserves, further enlarging the open territory for the animals. In these reserves
visitors are driven around by rangers and trackers who are experts at spotting the animals. They also know
the animals’ habits, and can greatly increase your chances of spotting game as well as telling you all about
their behaviours! On private lands, the rangers will usually drive along established tracks, but are allowed
to leave the tracks to get you a better view of the big five (lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino, leopard).
Private game reserves have tented camps or lodges that range from very rustic to extremely luxurious. The
prices change accordingly. Experience has shown me that the game drives depend on the area and the animals,
not on the price you paid for your bed. It’s a personal choice to decide how you want to experience the primitive
bush, and I personally tend to shy away from air-conditioners in the wild!
How it works
An evening stay at a camp includes the afternoon drive starting about two hours before sunset, and a morning
drive that starts at dawn. The drives are in an open Land Rover, and once game is spotted, you stop and spend
time in surprisingly close proximity to the animals. The Land Rover is (usually) open, and it can be quite
unnerving to be driven up to within a couple of meters of a lion or an elephant!
There are likely to be several Land Rovers from more than one game lodge out at the same time, and they
all communicate by radio to share information about animal sightings. The benefit is that if other vehicles
discover anything interesting, you can go and see it as well. Having so many eyes out there greatly increases
your chances of spotting all of the big five on your trip.
The down side is that in order to minimize disturbance to the animals, only a couple of Land Rovers will
be allowed to a given site at a time. Therefore your time with the animals can be limited in order to share
with others. This is usually not a problem for the casual tourist, but it can be disappointing to the serious
photographer who might want to work a scene for an extended period of time.
On the evening drive, you spend the two hours before sunset looking at/for the wildlife. Then as the afternoon
fades, the ranger will pick a suitable place to stop and have a ‘sun downer’. Everyone enjoys a cool drink
while watching the gorgeous colours of an African sunset. You know in the back of your mind that there are
wild predators out there, but somehow it seems natural to get out of the Land Rover to grab a quick drink
and a snack (perhaps some biltong or boerewors!) Then it’s back into the Land Rover where the tracker breaks
out a spotlight to look for the animals that become active after dark. (Put the long lens away, crank the
ISO up to its highest setting, and pray for a useable image!)
After the evening drive (and a quick image download) the bar will be open and dinner will be served. There’s
not much to do in the lodge except discuss the day’s results with your new safari colleagues, review your
digital images, and talk with the ranger about life in the wild. Many lodges do not have any fences to keep
the game out, and it’s not uncommon to have animals grazing outside your window at night. Depending on the
circumstances, you may need to be escorted to and from your tent/rondoval after dark to ensure safety.
The morning wake-up call comes around five to get you up, fill you with coffee or tea, and takes you out
for the morning drive. The morning drive lasts for two to three hours with a break for a snack. Breakfast
is served after returning to camp (while yet more images are being downloaded and sorted!)
Our Photographic Safari
Johannesburg-based photographer John Shillington and I went into the bush in October, which is the start
of spring in South Africa. The rains have not yet come, and this increased our chances to see game near one
of the few remaining watering holes. Also, the leaves had not yet appeared on the brush and trees, so we
could see farther into the bush than in summer. The temperatures can range from very hot to very cold, so
it’s best to be prepared with layered clothing to accommodate all temperatures! We chose to visit two different
reserves: Timbavati and Manyeleti. Each of these borders Kruger, and both have dropped their fences to allow
the game to roam freely.
In Timbavati, we experienced the standard safari experience at Gomo Gomo. Over four game drives we found
ourselves in a Land Rover with anywhere from four to seven other guests, plus the ranger and tracker. After
two days we had seen four of the big five: lion, (a herd of 600) buffalo, leopard, and elephant. We had also
seen much, much more. Oscar, our tracker, and Janco, our ranger, did a great job, especially in finding the
leopard out in the open where it stayed for a portrait session!
In order to photograph everything from a herd of elephants (wide-angle) to a leopard in the bushes (300mm+
telephoto), it became obvious that two camera bodies, with low and high end zoom lenses was the perfect way
to go. The bush is very dusty and windy, and you do not want to change lenses, especially on a digital camera
out there! Having two camera bodies is a requirement, not a luxury, in the digital age.
Honeyguide Tented Camp
The second lodge we visited was Khoka Moya, a Honeyguide Tented Camp, which was a fabulous experience! Staying
in a tented camp may give the impression that we were roughing it, but nothing could be farther from the
truth. The tents were extremely large, comfortable, and luxurious - including bathrobes, two indoor showers
and basins. There was a light out front with a motion sensor to illuminate any animals that might approach
the tent at night! After dropping off our bags, we emerged from our tent to see three giraffe walking along
a game trail, and a small herd of waterbuck running off into the bush! Welcome to Honeyguide!
Steve Henwood, our host, has a real passion for nature and wildlife. After obtaining his degree in Ecology,
Steve worked in Kruger for four years, at a private camp for four and a half years (where he met his wife
Lee), and then went up to Botswana for a period before settling in at Honeyguide. Together, Steve and Lee
manage the Khoka Moya and Mantobeni tented camps in the Manyeleti. Steve is also a keen photographer, and
has taken his Canon gear out into the bush many times with wonderful results. He was kind enough to take
John and me (despite our Nikon kit) out personally in a private Land Rover, with Mpho guiding us as the tracker.
Within minutes (as Steve was pointing out that animal sightings can never be guaranteed on a game drive)
we ran across kudu, two elephants, giraffes, and waterbuck - all very close to the camp entrance. After a
short drive Mpho spotted two white rhino, and Steve manoeuvred the Land Rover to be in the perfect position
to capture these magnificent animals as they approached the road. It turns out that Steve did research on
the habits of the White Rhino, and we learned a great deal about these curious animals as they tried to figure
out what we were all about.
We stopped for sundowners at the nearby dammed lake, and watched a spectacular African sunset. (Shame we
hadn’t thought to bring tripods!) Then with Mpho wielding a spotlight, we drove on and immediately found
two lionesses feasting on a giraffe carcass. On the way back to camp we spotted many small animals including
bush babies and the rarely seen African Wild Cat.
Meals at Honeyguide frequently featured local specialties including Senegalese Soup and Springbok Carpaccio.
The main lodge also includes a temperature controlled wine cellar to ensure a proper al fresco dining experience,
which featured a red wine made especially for Honeyguide by a South African vineyard. The other guests were
from all over the globe (US, Australia, Russia, Ivory Coast, and a couple of South Africans), which makes
for fascinating dinner conversations!
Each evening, John and I would download, review, and critique our images from the day’s drives. The immediate
feedback helps you to refine your approach for the next day’s game drive. We both learned a lot about how
to shoot the dark buffalo at dusk, or elephant under harsh light, etc.
The highlight of the trip was when Mpho and Steve discovered a lion pride that had killed a wildebeest (gnu)
the night before. This was where it really paid to have a private Land Rover and a keen photographer for
a ranger. We spent three hours (with a break for coffee) watching the pride. Other Land Rovers came and went
when their guests got bored, but we got to stay and see how the pride shared the kill. Steve described how
lionesses greet and identify each other as we watched two rubbing heads to check their scent. We saw them
watch a buffalo herd in the distance (no doubt thinking about tomorrow’s dinner). And we saw the entire pride
drop back into the long grass to lay in wait as a troop of baboons approached.
For a few hours we were immersed, physically, mentally, and emotionally into the real African Bush. After
a while, we forgot to take pictures. The click of the shutter seemed to be an intrusion into that beautiful,
primitive world. And long after all the other Land Rovers had returned to the camp, we reluctantly left that
perfect scene. Frankly, the experience was far greater than you can imagine.
Thanks to Steve, Mpho and everyone at Honeyguide for making our trip so special and a real unforgettable
experience!
About the Author
Jim White is the Editor at Travel Photographer Online Magazine. Jim's work can be viewed at
JimWhitePhotos.com
, in
PhotoPortfolios.net
, and in the TPN and NPN forums.
