ANGOLA is one of Africa’s hidden secrets and the last great travel mysteries. Angola is an incredibly special country, virtually untouched by foreigners because it was closed off to most outsiders for decades due to stringent visa policies, high prices, and the travel warnings that usually keeps away all, but the most adventurous travelers. In return, in such a fast modern progressing world, most of the country is still a land of unspoiled wildernesses and a lost treasure of African anthropology. Angola has beautiful tribes that follow the time-honored traditions and ways of life living in well-designed beautiful thatched roofed huts.
After nearly four years of research, I finally found the most amazing guide with a very experienced team equipped for a proper bush expedition in search of these beautiful tribes. The intoxicating experience stirred my soul back to my adventurous days in the Omo before the tarmac roads, cell towers, and the effects of mass tourism.
As is my nature of providing incredible once in a lifetime experiences to adventurous photographers I am very excited to extend an invitation to join this awe-inspiring nomadic expedition through Southern Angola; a chance to see a world rarely photographed and before it is forever changed. Accompanied by our expert team, we will travel sensitively through these remote communities and settlements.
Macubal: Beautifully dressed in multiple layers of strikingly vibrant colorful African fabrics that are becoming scarcely visible in modern day life. They are still living a traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle. Lush in livestock, due to excellent water access, mornings are magical witnessing them separate out the babies, pushing out the main herd to graze, milking, and going about all their morning activities.
Himba: Known as MoHimba in Angola. Unlike the more commercialized Himba in Namibia, the men are still dressed traditionally proudly sporting their traditional hairstyle. The Himba women are striking, covered in a mixture of ochre and fat, called Otijize. They spend as many as three hours a day maintaining their beautiful appearance. First, she bathes over the smoke of a fire that is laced with natural perfumes made from herbs. Then, she anoints herself with the Otijize, which protects her skin from the harsh desert sun and keeps away insects. She uses another mixture of butter fats, fresh herbs, and black coal to rub on her hair and steams her clothes regularly over the permanent fire.
Mohacahona: Is actually unexplainable in words; one can only experience this community to understand! The women’s haircut is made with a mix of cow dungs, fat, coal, and herbs for the fragrance. Their traditional headdress is called kapapo decorated with colorful barrettes, beads, leather, and jewelry.
Muwila: They are said to be one of the earliest Bantu people to undertake the migration to domicile in their present in Angola. The women are famous for keeping their traditional African culture with some of the most astonishing hairstyles, coated with oncula and decorated with very fancy beadwork and their heaving beadwork around their necks is extraordinary. Their necklaces change as they grow into women, each that are central and meaningful for each period of their life.
Lost tribes: Perhaps not the best description, but several other tribes throughout this region live way up into the hills. It is highly likely that we may come across of few of them when they come down for a mark or are nomadically relocating.
The expedition is backed by a very experienced team using custom air-conditioned 4X4 Lancruisers that are immaculately maintained for the harsh environment; two vehicles will be used solely as support vehicles. The team will erect mobile-tented camps near the villages, as there is no accommodation throughout the entire remote southern region. Our team will provide us with a dinning cabana and home-cooked meals, stand-up tents with camp beds, mattresses with bedding, a charging station for our gear, and 4-star service. Our camps will support the local communities along with food donations and installation of a solar pump in one of the villages.
Our main guide spent his time growing up between Angola and South Africa. He has spent many years leading expeditions from South Africa all the way through Angola. We will also be traveling with a guide who fluently knows all the languages of the tribes we will be visiting. This team has become trusted friends who understand precisely the kind of opportunities that photographers crave. I will be traveling with you at all times, offering as much photographic advice as you can absorb.
This exciting expedition is being offered to ONLY 7 participants. This is a specialist photo expedition for the adventurous type who wishes to visit a remote area before the tarmac roads are built, and it opens up to the masses!
Itinerary
In true expedition style, there is flexibility in the itinerary to ensure plenty of time to immerse ourselves with these tribes and take advantage of any impromptu photographic opportunities.
Day 1 June 09, 2022
Arrive at the international airport in Luanda, Angola. A member of our ground team will meet you and transfer you to the hotel by private vehicle. No Meals included, this is considered a travel day because all our guest arrive at different times.
Accommodations: In Luanda (4-star)
Day 2 – June 10, 2022
We will rise early, meet for breakfast and a briefing before our transfer the airport to catch our flight to Lubango. Our guides will be there to meet us and transfer us to the beautiful grounds of Pululukwa lodge. Once settled we will head out for a lunch with a view and later visit Tundavale, Christo Rei, and Leva to learn a little about this amazing country, its history, and it’s people before we begin our amazing tribal expedition.
Accommodation: At a beautiful 4 star safari lodge B, L &D
Day 3 – 4 June 11-13, 2022
After breakfast,we will depart down the incredible great escarpment sitting at over 2,000 meters above sea level, for the area of the Mohacahona. (3.5-hourdrive). The first part of our drivewill be on tarmac, but then we will begin our real adventure on trueAfrican roads. Our first camp will be set up near the village. Mornings are magical in this village as they have a healthy amount of livestock. At sunrise you will be able to witness and photograph their morning activates; having coffee, breakfast, milking the livestock, sorting the livestock, driving the livestockinto the fields, grinding, and doing other morning chores. Over our two days in this area,we will visit the temporary villages near the waterhole, their specialfarming area, and the small town near by.
Accommodation: Private Mobil Safari Camp B, L &D and beverages
Day 5 – 6 June 14 -15, 2022
We will have one last sunrise in the village before having our breakfast and continuing our journey onward to visit the Himba tribe. Today our drive will be nearly 6 hours, but we will stop along the way to stretch and have our lunch. What will most amaze you is that we will not pass another tourist and rarely another vehicle. Our camp will be set up in a soft dry riverbed near several Himba villages, each only a short walk in any direction. In the morning and evenings we will visit the villages. During the day you will be able to relax in camp while many of the Himba will come down to join us, some even riding up on their donkeys. This makes for a relaxed and intimate environment. You will easily be able to communicate with them, watch them drawing water from the nearby temporary wells, or capture relaxed portraits of them.
Accommodation: Private Mobil Safari Camp B, L &D and beverages
Day7-9 June 16-18, 2022
We will have one last sunrise in the village before having our breakfast and continuing our journey onward to visit the Mohacanona tribe. We have a short drive today, less than three hours, and will be in camp in time for lunch. Our camp is set up in the shady, dry sandy river bottom near the main river, which is only a short walk and where many activities take place. Over the next few days, we will visit several of the villages in this area, including one we have a special relationship with. We will also be going into town where we will see a mix of muhimba as well as other tribes that are may be coming down from the mountain areas.
Accommodation: Private Mobil Safari Camp B, L &D and beverages
Day 10 & 11 June 19-20, 2022
This morning we will rise early, have our breakfast and head to our last tribal destination. Our camp is very private in this area, set up along a stream. The Muwila tribe has some of the most exotic hairstyles across the continent. The amount of time and work that goes into them is almost unimaginable! We have made some special connections in the community and will be setting up something very special during our visit.
Accommodation: Private Mobil Safari Camp B, L &D and beverages
Day 12 June 21, 2022
We will have one last visit toa Muwila village. After our breakfast we head to Lubango and check into our beautiful lodge. After lunch we will enjoy the sights of Lugango.
Accommodation: Pululukwa lodge B, L, D
Day 13 June 22, 2022
You may rise slowly this morning and enjoy a relaxing breakfast. There will be time for some shopping our just to relax in this serene setting. After lunch we will transfer to the airport for our flight to Luanda where you will have a private transfer to the international airport for your flight home.
**Please note that flight schedules continue to change and be volatile. We are planning to be booked on the 15:25 (3:25PM) flight that will arrive into Luanda at 17:00 (5:00PM). We suggest booking an international departure after 20:00 (8:00 PM). Most international departures go out late evening.
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Is this trip for you?
This adventurous photographic experience was created for passionate photographers who want to visit one of the last most pristine tribal rich area’s before it opens up quickly to mass tourism and is forever changed. These tribes live in remote areas; so throughout most of the expedition, we will be driving on dirt roads but in comfortable air-conditioned 4X4 utility vehicles. Although we are traveling with a very experienced team and we have thoroughly scouted every inch of this itinerary, as in all remote expedition travel, there will undoubtedly be times when patience’s and a sense of humor are necessary.
As we will be staying in the heart of all these communities, there are no accommodations in the tribal area, but we have a talented, experienced team that will be setting up simple mobile tent camps in four different locations. The tents are big enough for you to stand up in and will have camp cots with mattresses and bedding. Our team will provide us with a dinning cabana and delicious home-cooked meals. A station will be set up for charging and editing. You will have hot showers available every day, and there will be proper toilet tents.
The itinerary was designed to give you the best opportunities to produce high-quality images. Therefore, we will rise early in the morning for the best light; a few mornings we rise well before sunrise. This photographic experience was created for photographers with an excellent working knowledge of their equipment, who fully understand the basics of photography, shutter speed, aperture, iso, exposure and how they relate to each other. Although this is NOT a workshop to teach you techniques, there will be many discussions on photography and informal instruction throughout the trip.
While our trip is designed around producing high-quality images, we believe our visit should be sensitive, respectful, and beneficial to the communities we visit. We build time into our itinerary to interact with the local people that will lead to a more productive experience, rather than just racing from location to location and charging in with camera in hand. It is a privilege to visit these unique tribal areas, and we want to make sure it is a positive experience for them. We also believe in empowering the local communities to look after themselves, and we feel the best way to do this is economical. We bring a gift of food to each village we visit and supplies that may be hard to come by. We work with a small successful, fully licensed local operator, and we hire local guides in every area we visit. Our local partners are key to what we do, and these relationships have been built up over many years, many becoming personal friends. Our visit will generate income in the local areas we visit.
Important Details
The Cost –
The cost of this exciting Angolan adventure is $11,495.00 per person based on single/private accommodations.
A USD $3,500.00 non-refundable depositis due at the time of registration to secure your spot.
Payment Terms
- USD $3,500.00 non-refundable deposit to confirm your place on this trip
- 2ndPayment of USD 3,000.00 is due on October 1, 2021
- Final payment/balance is due Feb 15, 2022
- We STRONGLYrecommend trip cancellation insurance.
Included in the trip
All in-countrytravel in 4X4 Air conditioned Land Cruiser vehicles
- Two Expedition support vehicles
- All accommodation in private rooms or tents (single accommodation included), as specified on the itinerary
- All meals as listed on the itinerary. B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner, beginning with Breakfast on June 10, 2022 through Lunch on June 22, 2022
- Drinks- coffee, soda, beer, wine, bottled water, except in Luanda and Pululukwa Lodge
- Laundry service is included in the mobile tent camps
- All entrance fees to villages and village activities as listed on the itinerary
- All Private airport transferson arrival and departure datesand in Lubango
- One In-country round tripcommercial/Domestic flight Luanda/Lubango
- VAT and local taxes.
- One main, English speaking guide, one main guide who speaks all the tribal languages, and local guides in the villages.
NOT Included in the trip
- International airfare and/or between your home and Luanda
- Visas
- Travel Insurance
- Personal purchases (including shopping, spirits, laundry, telephone calls etc.)
- Gratuities for our main guide and drivers and camp staff
- Optional extra activities not included on the itinerary
- Pre- and Post- expeditions tours or airport transfers
- Meals and beverages on the day of arrival, this is considered a travel day
