Botswana is one of the most sought-after premier wildlife photographic destinations in the world. I first visited the Chobe River back in 2005. Being on a boat, photogrpahy and seeing the elephants swim by one shore to the other at eye level, has remained one of my top expereinces in Africa. It took me 10 years to return, but once again it did not dispoint. Seeing those elelphant play and spray in the middle of the river was just as exciting as the first time. We aslo had incredible opportunites at night photography with leopards up in the trees. Botswana is a high quality experience all the way around with a lot lesss vehicles and delivering uniuqe quality photographic opportunites.
This exclusive Botswana Safari is designed for the serious wildlife photographer who wants the best opportunities for award winning images!
This safari has been meticulously planned to cover three of the best wildlife locations, giving you the most diverse environments and the best variety of wildlife photographic opportunities in Botswana, including the Okavango Delta, Savuti, and the Chobe River. We have selected each location for its uniqueness; you will have the opportunity for night photography, driving off-roads without restrictions, photographing out of but near the vehicle for incredible perspectives, and at eyelevel with the wildlife on the banks of the Chobe.
On this exclusive safari, there is a maximum of only 6 photographers, split into two vehicles, each with an expert African wildlife photographer that specializes in African wildlife photography; each has spent thousands of hours in the field. You will benefit enormously by having a professional wildlife photographer on-board for every game drive. While on land, we will use private, custom open vehicles; you will have your own row to spread out all your gear to have it ready at a moment’s notice and an unobstructed view from both sides of the vehicle. You will NOT have to shoot over or around another photographer, who would be sitting next to you on most other safaris offered. On the Chobe River, we will use custom photo boats with innovate custom features, such as seats with a custom designed mount for your big lens that rotates a full 360 degrees.
THE LOCATIONS
The Okavango Delta is one of the most spectacular natural wildlife phenomena on the planet, supporting an ecosystem that sustains one of the highest concentrations of large game animals in Africa. Remarkably, it is a matchless wetland paradise in the arid Kalahari Desert. Our luxury accommodations are waterfront with some of the best opportunities to see a pack of wild dogs, lions, leopards, hyenas, elephants, buffalos, and more. We can drive off-road, enabling us to follow predators and improve our vehicle positioning for photography. Since we are just outside the Moremi National Park with no gate restrictions, we can extend our game drives well into the evening when the big cats are on the move. This is where having only two vehicles, each with an expert to light up big predators, can really pay off.
Savute achieved international fame from documentaries, such as Eternal Enemies by Dereck and Beverly Joubert, with unbelievable lion and hyena interactions, and the numerous documentaries filmed in the area by the BBC. This semi-arid area harbors one of the densest dry-season concentrations of elephants in Africa. Due to drought conditions in the past few years, the canal is dry, but water is pumped into a few select areas, drawing all the animals across this dusty environment. Imagine all the drama that is certain to unfold as all the animals cross the expansive savannahs to gather at the same water hole. The dust and light will make spectacular photographs, images that get to one’s soul.
The Chobe River is one of the most incredible wildlife experiences offered on the continent, where animals congregate along the river to drink and to feed on the lush greenery. The custom photo boats we will use have a shallow draught, enabling us to access shallow water to make near-silent, drifting approaches to our subjects, getting eye-level perspectives that are much more difficult to achieve on land. Don’t be surprised when you are face to face with battling hippos and elephants swimming! Elephants will not only come to drink from the river, but will also swim across it; if we are lucky, they will stop in the middle to play, which is an unbelievable sight. This is also a birder’s paradise with a wide variety of species, including African fish eagles, colorful Malachite Kingfisher, the largest heron in the world – the goliath, skinners, kingfishers, and colorful bee-eaters. With our custom photo boats, these birds are more approachable on the Chobe River than anywhere else in Africa.
YOUR LEADERS
Wim van den Heever
Born in South Africa and coming from a family who loved nature and photography, Wim practically grew up roaming the wilds of the bush. With over 25 years of experience and winning numerous awards, including placing in the prestigious BCC wildlife photography of the year and Natures best photography contest several times, Wim has established himself as one of the top wildlife photographers in South Africa. His eagerness to teach and friendly nature ensures workshop participants a wonderful experience. He uses Nikon equipment.
Piper Mackay
Focusing her work in Africa for the past 14 years, Piper Mackay has traversed the continent to some of the most remote regions few others have been. She became a resident of Kenya in 2015. Her work of Africa is widely published from covers to featured articles and interviews in top wildlife and travel magazines worldwide, winning many awards. She is known for her passion in striving to help her participants capture dramatic images. She uses Canon equipment and shoots with an infrared camera.
Prices in Botswana are sky rocketing!!! This has been the trend for the past few years. On the average, prices are going up 15% a year (flights just doubled), which is a big increase on a 10 – 11,000.00 safari. Some camps and boats are booking out so far in advance it is difficult getting the reservation and they are requesting payment in full at the time of booking.
I am so glad I had locked in this safari a year ago, but it may be the last one where I can offer three great locations and include all 5 in country flights. Most photographic companies have already cut their itineraries down to two locations, having the safari is start in Maun or Kasane, rather than Johannesburg, and are having to a min of 4 people in a vehicle which means sharing a row for a few of the game drives.
THERE ARE JUST 2 SPOTS OPEN
I highly urge you to look at what is being on the market, even if you don’t join my safari, If this premier destination is on your bucket list, this is not a location to put off, even for one more year.
I didn’t see price or dates….