South African Photo Safari

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would be on a South African photo safari. It all started a year earlier at a fund raiser for our church. There was an auction and one of the things they were auctioning was a South African Photo Safari. My wife and I knew the safari was going to be auctioned off and we had decided that it would be a great photo opportunity. However, in previous years these safaris auctioned off for more than we could afford but we decided we could at least participate in the early bidding. You would not believe our amazement when God blessed us with the winning bid. We were so extremely excited….

This trip had also been offered at the auction the previous year but, Mary Lou and I were unable to attend. However, the two couples who had won the bids last year had not yet gone on their safaris. We were all so glad we were able to coordinate the three packages together as they were also members of our church and friends. One surprise however, when we tried to make our travel plans, we discovered the plane reservations were three times the cost of the safari package. But we decided we would probably never have another chance to do this, so we decided to go for it.

Preparation for a South African Photo Safari was quite another thing. I had some extensive experience with global traveling but my wife / assistant had not. After several trips to Passport Health, a private health clinic that specializes in vaccinations and travel meds, to get the required inoculations, as well as other medication to take along with us, we were well prepared in that area. We were also pretty much set with clothing for the trip however we were told to purchase a special bug repellant and treat all the clothing we would be wearing in South Africa to eliminate the possibility of being bitten by the bugs. We also did a lot of research on the best camera equipment to bring along on the safari. I don’t believe you need the best equipment to capture a good image….. You need the right equipment.

The name of the Safari company is Zulu Nyala. Setting up our reservations was quite easy, and the staff was very friendly and helpful. There is about an 8-hour time difference between where we live and the safari camp, however everything went smoothly.

From the time we left for the airport until the time we arrived at our first night’s stay in Durban South Africa, we had been traveling for approximately 33 hours. That includes a 10-hour layover in Heathrow, UK. Upon are arrival at our hotel in Durban we barely had time to freshen up then were off again for an 8-hour tour of Durban. Our hotel was on the Indian ocean, so we had great views. Durban was a fascinating start to our South African Photo Safari with the most interesting site being a local market downtown that sold home remedies and supplies for the local tribal doctors.

The next day it took about 4 hours by van for us to reach the Zulu Nyala Safari Park. Right after we arrived and checked into our rooms it was time to go on our first safari adventure. Little did we know this was the start of an amazing, fantastic, grand week-long adventure.

Our Zulu Nyala South African Photo Safari included our stay in a hotel suite, or a Hemingway Tent, two safaris a day and three meals a day. We decided to be adventurous and stay in both types of accommodations. We stayed in a Hemingway tent for the first three nights, then in the suite for the last three nights. The Hemingway tents evoked a nostalgic feel for the type of camps that would have been set up when Papa Hemingway would have gone on Safari; wooden flooring with canvas tie-down sides. Thankfully, the attached bathrooms were made of concrete. LOL. The suites were HUGE two bedroom units that had ALL the amenities and were very luxurious. The food was served buffet style, most of it local fare and all of it fabulous. There were lots of fruits and vegetables at every meal and wild game was one of the options at the evening meal.

The most exciting thing about the adventure was of course the wildlife. To be able to see these animals living in their natural environment was something I will never forget. To capture this amazing site, I brought three cameras and two tripods along on this South African Photo Safari. A Canon 5dsr (my favorite landscape camera), a Sony RX10, and a Nikon Coolpix p1000 were my three choices. My assistant brought her Canon SX730 point and shoot camera. That is such a great little camera. I am always borrowing it from her if I need to get a quick shot and don’t have one of my fixed lens cameras handy. I knew we would be doing our Safari in a jeep so I would not be able to change lenses fast enough on my Canon 5dsr, so the Sony and the Nikon would be my go-to cameras for most of the trip. I also brought along a Sirui Tripod. This unit has the ability to be used as a tripod, as well as, a monopod. I also brought along my Silk carbon fiber tripod. Armed with this equipment I was able to capture some incredible images.

Because most of the time we were either in a Jeep or a boat when we were on safari, we could not get dangerously close to the wildlife and we were continually being bumped around. So having the fixed lens models that have incredible zoom enabled me to get some really close-up shots. I would say I took most of the photos with the Sony RX10 with the Nikon P1000 coming in a close second.

Every now and then I will include a color photograph with my black and white work. In most cases that’s because the color photograph best communicates what I felt when I captured the image and my photographic goal is to try to communicate that feeling to you.

I have included a sampling of the images from our South African Photo Safari in this gallery. We have many more you can view like the charging elephant and the rhino with baby, not to mention the many varied giraffes, lions, cheetahs and zebras. Hope you take some time to have a peek.

Additional Information

Zulu Nyala – https://zulunyala.co.za/web/home/

Durban South Africa – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durban