Last chance expedition
December 5– December 17, 2016
13 days
This is a unique photographic expedition to experience some of the most beautiful tribes in remote areas on the African continent, including the Suri Tribe
In December, Piper will lead a very special photographic expedition to southern Ethiopia’s Omo Valley. This tour will visit tribes on both sides of the Omo river, including spending several days visiting the most ornate tribe; the Suri, also know as the Surma. Not only are the Suri the most ornate tribe, they are the most remote tribe in the Omo; making them one of the least photographed, but most desired tribe to photograph.
Inspired by their environment of wild trees, exotic flowers and lush vegetation these tribes use the clay soil of bright yellows, startling whites and rich earth-reds to paint each other’s bodies and make bold decisions about their outfits. In essence they become a walking body of art; know as a living museum to anthropologist. For generations these tribes have been shielded from the modern world in a place that is still raw, natural, and timeless. However, change is happening drastically in this region, which is impacting their traditional clothing, body painting and way of life, which is why Piper has put together one last amazing adventure into this incredible region.
Two special teams will be sent ahead to assemble proper mobile-tented camps, in two separate regions in the Omo Valley allowing us to fully immerse ourselves with the tribes.
You will spend quality time in each location, ensuring a life-enriching experience, which leads to more compelling images. In true expedition style, Piper has left the program with some flexibility to ensure we will be able to take advantage of any photographic opportunities that may arise. The precise time spent in each village will depend on what activities are taking place and the goals of the group. It is likely we will also meet several other tribes in route. This photographic expedition gives you an opportunity to photographically document their daily lives, capture stunning portraits, and experience some of their timeless ceremonies.
For 7 invited clients this will be an incredible opportunity to have a more intimate photographic experience with the most exotic tribes in the world. This will ensure that the photographers joining this expedition will have a higher quality experience with the best group dynamics.
Click here to view Piper Mackay’s published articles on the tribes of the Omo, including the National Geographic Traveller.
Hamar Warrior, Omo Valley, Ethiopia
ITINERARY
Dec 5 2016
Arrive at Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. You are met by our ground operator and transferred to the Radisson Blu by private vehicle. Enjoy a relaxing evening in a modern, luxury, hotel after your long flight; tomorrow we will bid farewell to the western world and modern luxury.
Overnight at the Radisson Blu
Dec 6, 2016
You will rise early in the morning to the smell of Ethiopia’s famous Coffee. Enjoy a wonderful breakfast before meeting in a private conference room for our briefing. During the meeting Piper will present an inspirational slide show of her work on the tribes and share ideas on how to create stunning images of extraordinary subjects. To maximize our time and avoid a very long drive, we will fly to Abra Minch; situated in the Great Rift Valley.
Our drivers will meet our flight and drive us directly to the Dorze people. Well known for their cotton woven cloths and beehive-elephant faced huts, the Dorze tribe were once warriors along side the other tribes. This is a great cultural experience and the perfect way to slowly decompress from modern life, sink into the ambiance and rhythm of this magical place. On the way to our lodge, as the sun begins to descend, we will drive through the streets of Arba Minch, hoping to run into the herds of livestock being brought in from the fields.
Overnight at Paradise Lodge –BLD
Dec 7-9, 2016
This morning we head to the Omo Valley. Your excitement will build as we drive through several village towns on our way to Turmi, home of the Hamar. The Hamar women are striking; wearing beautiful colorful beaded skins, ornate necklaces, and metal bangles around their wrist and ankles. Famous for their hairstyle — a crown of long dread-lock braids covered in ocher — the Hamer women are the most decorated of the Omo people. We will arrive in time for a late lunch, get settled in and then have an afternoon visit at a Hamar village.
Turmi will be our home base for the next three nights, which will increase our chances to be invited to a bull jumping ceremony or something else special. This allows us to be flexible and capitalize on all the photographic opportunities in the area. During our stay in Turmi, we will visit the Abore and Dassenech tribes.
Each tribe of the Omo valley has a specific way of dressing and decorating themselves as a way to visually associate themselves with their unique customs and values. Arbore women are well known for their long headdresses. The girls shave their heads to indicate virginity, and only start growing hair after marriage. The Daasanech are a semi-nomadic tribe numbering approximately 50,000. Their clans stretch across Sudan, Kenya and Southern Ethiopia. They are known for their very unique and ornate hair buns.
Overnight at Buska Lodge- BLD
Hamar village, Omo Valley, Ethiopia
Dec 10-12 2016
We will have one final morning with the Kara before biding our farewells and heading on to Dus home of the Kara tribe. The Kara tribe resides along the beautiful Omo River. The Kara excel in face and body painting that is practiced daily in preparation of their dances and ceremonies. They pulverize locally found white chalk, yellow mineral rock, red iron ore and black charcoal to decorate their bodies often mimicking the spotted plumage of a guinea fowl. The men create highly decorated clay hair buns, which can take several days to complete. Their ornate body scaring, where a cut is made with a knife and ash is rubbed into the wound to produce a raised welt, is also a known characteristic of the Kara.
Over the next three days, you will spend quality time with them in their villages going about their daily activates, along the river planting their crops, watching the livestock being herded into the village, and enjoying their traditional tribal dancing in the evening. There will also be plenty of time to create stunning individual or group portraits. We will also visit Kocho village and possibly the village of Lubuk
Dus, the main village of the Kara Tribe, will be our home for the next three nights. We have set up a proper mobile safari camp with canvas tents, along the banks of the Omo River, in a lush forest area, near the village. This will allow you to immerse yourself into their culture and maximize the amount of time you will be able to spend with them.
Overnight in Dus -Proper mobil camp -BLD
Herding the livestock through a dust storm, Omo Valley, Ethioia
Dec 13, 2016
We rise early for breakfast and depart on the real adventure! We head to the Omo River, cross to the west side, and head towards the remote regions of Kibish, home to the exotic Suri tribe.
We will be camping it the heart of Suri land. Our camp, a mobile safari tented camp is rustic but comfortable and is a very short walk to the river’s edge where we will spend a lot of time photographing these beautiful people. When you are able to immerse yourself with a tribe, such as we will in kibish, you have fantastic opportunities to create powerful photographs. The intimate experience is one you will never forget. We will have our first afternoon photo shoot with the Suri
Overnight in Kibish -Proper mobil camp -BLD
Dec 14-16, 2016
We have three full days with this exotic tribe. The Suri are known to be one of the most beautiful and ornate tribes in the world, thus one of the most desired to photograph. The elaborate body painting and unique flamboyant headpieces, made from nature, truly make them a walking body of art. The women still practice one of the most extreme forms of body adornment in the world- wearing large lip plates. The tribe still practices the art of body scarification created with acacia thorns and razor blades.
The Suri are pastoralist. The men still go off to live in the cattle camps, which are under constant threat as cattle raids are a relentless part of Suri life. The men live their traditional lifestyles drinking the blood and milk of the cow, covering their naked bodies with ash, and giving thanks for their good fortune, in song and dance. We will have an opportunity to visit one of these traditional cattle camps and it is usually one of the highlights of the trip. We will be shooting in a variety of locations in the area; villages, streams, town, cattle camps, and where ever we see a photographic opportunity.
Overnight in Kibish -Proper mobile canvas tented camp -BLD
Dec 17, 2016
If time allows, we will have one last early morning shoot before heading off to Mizan to catch our private charter (there are no commercial flights to this area) back to Addis. This will save us from two very long days of driving over rough dirt roads and one night stay in very local accommodations. We will be met at the airport and driven, by private transport, to the Radisson BLu for dayrooms. This will allow you to freshen up, relax and have a meal before being transferred to Bole International Airport for your late evening flight home. Flight should be booked after 9:00PM on Dec 17th. BL
The Price
The price of this unique photographic expedition is $9,995.00. This price is based on double occupancy.
Single supplement is $950.00 ” if available”. Single accommodations are limited.
Due to the limited number of spaces available, if a solo guest is willing to share and we can match with another guest of the same gender, we will do so. If a solo guest is unwilling to share, then a single supplement will be charged. If we are unable to match a solo guest with another guest of the same gender, then the single supplement will be charged
Trips by invitation require a non-refundable 50% deposit.
What’s Included
- Accommodations
- All the 3 meals of the day with mineral water (except on arrival and departure days)
- Tourist standard 4X4 utility vehicle with air-conditioning
- Entry scout fees, villages fees, and road fees
- National English speaking escort guide and local tribal guides
- Gratuities for local guides
- Water, beer, soda, coffee (wine is not included as it is usually served by the bottle only, premium alcoholic drinks are not included)
- Gratuities for Camp and Lodge staff (outside of Addis)
- Photography fee’s
- Domestic flight from Addis to Arba Minch
- Private charter from Mizan to Addis
What’s NOT Included
- International airfare and/or between your home and Addis Abba
- Visas
- Travel Insurance (REQUIRED to participate on this trip)
- Personal purchases (including shopping, spirits, laundry, telephone calls, etc )
- Gratuities for our main guide and drivers
- Optional extra activities not included on the itinerary
- Extra photo fees
- Pre- and Post- expeditions tours
- Meals or accommodations before or after the expedition (except as noted in the detailed itinerary)
- Meals and beverages on the day of arrival, this is considered a travel day
Hamar warriors dancing at the bull jumping ceremony, Omo Valley, Ethiopia
Please Understand
Traveling in remote locations can present challenges that may require slight changes to the itinerary. Piper Mackay puts her passion into designing every itinerary and she will always try to run the tour as written. In the event of situations beyond her control, such as political unrest, natural disasters, overbookings by the lodge, where a change is required, she will do her best to keep you close to the original shooting location. It is her intention for you to have the best possible experience. You will be notified of any changes as soon as Piper Makcay Photography is aware of them. If, however these changes cause an increase to the price, the increase will be passed onto the participant.
Is this trip for you?
This adventurous photographic tour was created for experienced photographers who wish to visit some of the most beautiful tribes on the African continent. This photographic tour is focused on producing high quality images of extraordinary subjects. Therefore, we will be rising very early in the morning for the best light; a few mornings we rise well before sunrise. We will also be spending quality time with these tribes, visiting the same village 2-3 times. This brings a deeper connection to the people and is what creates more powerful images along with a more life-enriching experience.
These tribes are remote and there will be driving on dirt roads, but in comfortable 4X4 utility vehicles When the tarmac roads begins to take you directly to these tribes, the mass tourism will have begun to change their appearance and traditions forever. If we get lucky, we will be invited to a special event that may require some walking. A guide can be hired to assist you with your gear, but you must be in good physical shape. We will push hard to maximize every photographic opportunity, but you should go at your own pace. .
This photographic tour was created for experienced photographers with a firm knowledge of the basics of photography: shutter speed, aperture, depth of field, exposure, composition, and lighting. Depending on your vision, some experience working with flash is recommended. Having previous experience photographing indigenous cultures and traveling in remote locations is highly recommended. This can be a more challenging experience photographically, but it will provide you with some of the most extraordinary photographic opportunities of a lifetime. Although, this is NOT a workshop, there will be a lot of informal instruction. Piper is always available for any question you may have, but she will not be teaching and giving any formal instruction through lectures with the exception of the briefing on the fist day.
The tribes live in a remote location. There is no fancy lodging in the Omo Valley, but we will stay at the best accommodations available. It is important to be flexible, have a good sense of humor, have an open mind, and embrace this incredible experience! In some locations the electricity is not on 24 hrs a day, but it will be on for several hours every morning and evening, giving us plenty of time to charge up all our batteries and electronic equipment.
To ensure a high quality experience for all participants the trip is by invitation only.
How to Apply
To ensure a high quality experience for all participants, this photographic expedition is by invitation only. In order to apply for one of the seven spots available on the trip, please click the “apply now” button, fill out the application and email it to info@PiperMackayPhotography. You will hear back within 72 hours.