South Africa Wildlife Safari
October 25 to November 4, 2022
Join Jim for this very special photography tour to South Africa. It is divided into two parts. First, we visit the beautiful city of Capetown where we photograph the best this city has to offer. After a cable car ride into the mountains, we'll photograph the spectacular view of the city from Table Mountain at twilight. Another evening we'll photograph Capetown reflecting in the bay. Just south of the city is Boulders Beach where Jackass penguins come right up to your camera. These are the only penguins that live in Africa. We also visit one of the best bird parks in the world, and we have a day's excursion to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve to photograph carpets of Spring flowers. We'll see some of the 250 species of marine birds as well. In addition, there are five troops of chacma baboons we'll undoubtedly encounter, and we may see Cape Mountain zebra, red lynx, caracal, and a variety of antelope.
The second part of the photography tour is spent in a remarkable lodge north of Durbin famous for brilliantly conceived photographic blinds. We'll be able to photograph a large variety of animals and birds during the day and night as they come to drink. The low angle -- just above water level -- is a dramatic way to capture wildlife. We will also go out on safari to photograph all the usual suspects -- lion, leopard, rhinos, giraffes, elephants, cape buffalo, exotic birds galore, and more. Even if you've been to Africa before, you won't want to miss this photography tour!
What you will learn on this tour:
Camera settings for birds in flight
How to photograph wildlife with artificial illumination at night
Using HDR at twilight
How to set focus points for wildlife photography
Exposing correctly when shooting at the sun
Using extension tubes for close focusing with long lenses
Important lessons in post-processing
How to photograph the Milky Way
ITINERARY
Day 1, Tuesday, October 25
Arrive in Capetown, South Africa today and transfer to the hotel. Rest and relax this day and meet the group at 6pm in the lobby of the hotel. Jim will give you an orientation to the tour and answer any questions you may have about the itinerary, photographic equipment, or anything else on your mind. Overnight in Capetown.
Day 2, Wednesday, October 26
After breakfast, we drive a short distance to Boulders Beach. Here you can see the only penguin species that lives in Africa. The Jackass penguins are not shy at all, and you can get close up pictures of them posing, playing in the surf, and running around on the sand. You can even get frame-filling shots with a wide angle lens! Following lunch, we visit the World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary. It is one of the great bird parks in the world, and you can get close up shots of exotic birds that are very difficult to do in the wild. There are also a large variety of monkeys some of which will climb on you for extraordinarily intimate portraits! In the late afternoon, we take a cable car to the top of Table Mountain for a commanding view of Capetown at twilight. It's spectacular! And using HDR at twilight brings out incredible detail. Overnight Capetown.
Day 3, Thursday, October 27
We drive south today to the most southern tip of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope. We pass through a beautiful nature preserve with dozens of species of exotic wildflowers and, at last count, 250 species of birds. You will be switching between your macro lens for closeups of the flowers, wide angle lens for colorful landscapes of rock formations covered in flowers, and telephoto lens for birds in flight shots. Jim will help you with camera settings for the flight shots, and he'll explain how you can use extension tubes with telephoto lenses to convert any medium or long telephoto into a telephoto macro lens. We will also photograph the Cape of Good Hope lighthouse with stone steps acting as a strong leading line. In the late afternoon we return to Capetown and photograph the beautiful waterfront reflecting in Table Bay. Overnight Capetown.
Day 4, Friday, October 28
Close to Capetown are several well-known and historic wineries, and with the Constantiaberg Mountains as a backdrop, the landscape possibilities are excellent. We will also have the opportunity to taste many of South Africa's best wines.
Days 5-10, Saturday, October 29 - Thursday, November 3
After breakfast we drive to the airport and board a flight to Durban on the east coast of South Africa. We then transfer by road to Zimanga Private Game Reserve. We check in for a six-night stay in a lodge that Jim considers to be one of the best in Africa. It is designed and
conceived to offer unsurpassed opportunities for wildlife photography. There are several comfortable blinds built to observe and photograph wildlife and birds from ground or water level which gives greater stature to animals and makes the photographs you take extremely powerful.
In addition to the normal game drives, you will be able to spend time in each blind including two nights in the overnight blind. With artificial lighting artfully illuminating the lagoon, you'll be able to capture low angled reflections of animals drinking and nocturnal behavior unique to the African experience. Even if you've been to Africa, you've never been able to capture pictures like this.
Day 11, Friday, Nov. 4
This morning we have additional photography after breakfast and then we're transferred back to King Shaka Durban International Airport for a flight to Johannesburg. We then connect to our return flight home, knowing we've taken unbelievable pictures of African wildlife from vantage points most people never experience.
Tour cost: $9450 based on double occupancy
Single supplement: $650
Includes for Zimanga --
Round trip transfer from Durban to Zimanga All meals 6 nights lodging at main lodge All safari game drives Access to photographic blinds Durban / Johannesburg flight Taxes and tourism levyIncludes for Capetown --
4 nights lodging All meals Private guide for 3 days per itinerary Entrance fees Flight from Capetown to Durban Taxes and tourism levyNot included:
International flights Visas as may be required Activities and meals on day of arrival Tips for drivers, guides, and hotel personel All drinks and bar purchases Any COVID related testing that is required Items of a personal nature Trip cancellation insurance (highly recommended)