Join us to photograph the African wildlife of the Zimanga Reserve, the first reserve in Africa to be designed specifically to satisfy the needs of today’s wildlife photographer. Spend a week on the reserve capturing images of Cheetah, Elephant, Leopard, White Rhino, Wild Dog & many other African mammals, plus a massive selection of birds.
This event is priced at £3999 until 21st July 2018 only – after that date, the price will have to rise to £4399.
The African bushveld is an environment famed for its variety in wildlife, & the unique safari experience it can provide for wildlife photography enthusiasts. Join NaturesLens on an African wildlife experience, delving deep into sub-tropical bushland; photographing incredible native species from both jeep & specially designed hides embedded within the landscape.
This is a trip you’ll never forget, & will have you leaving with both stunning images & memories which you will treasure for a lifetime. Places are limited so make sure to book early to avoid missing out.
NaturesLens invites amateur & semi-professional photographers on an African wildlife adventure which will take you into the heart of African bushveld environments, photographing a wide range of native species including impressive predators; such as leopards, wild dogs & cheetahs, as well as magnificent elephants & over 400 bird species. The photography safaris & hide sessions all take place within a pristinely preserved wildlife reserve, which provides the animals with a protected habitat while allowing photographers to come & observe these animals thrive, & capture awe-inspiring images.
This South African wildlife reserve offers 6000 hectares of pristinely maintained sub-tropical bushveld, fever tree forests & hilly terrain. The animals live side by side in an almost self-contained ecosystem, with both predators & prey relying on this environment to survive. Zimanga is the first reserve of its kind; one which has been specially designed for photographers, while allowing the animals to live as naturally as they would in the wild with some added protection.
Our trip offers you five traditional game viewing drives from open safari vehicles, with no more than two photographers per row to ensure maximum comfort & access to the best angles for photography. These are not limited to tracks so that off-roading will give you maximum photography opportunities. You will also have at your disposal a range of water-level hides, which are ideally positioned to capture images of the animals at their eye-level. These hides have been created with the photographer in mind, providing the optimum structure & positioning throughout the park.
One way glass means you will be invisible to the animals, enabling you to photograph their entirely natural behaviour within the reserve environment. You will also benefit from the solar-powered air conditioning & comfortable interiors within the hides; included to make your wildlife experience as comfortable & enjoyable as possible.
Two birdbath hides in the heart of the reserve offer you the opportunity to photograph the wide variety of bird species which inhabit the region, including the pink-throated twinspot, kingfishers, barbets & mousebirds to name a few. Not only this, but these hides may also give you the opportunity to photograph other visiting species, such as warthog, banded mongoose & monkeys.
Another photography hide is provided for overnight use which you will use for two nights, providing you with a completely different experience of the reserve, observing a variety of species as they carry out their night time activities. With beds provided inside, you have the freedom to use this hide at your leisure, gaining unrivalled exposure to the wildlife & their behaviours at night.
Accommodation & internal transport is included within the price of the trip to keep things simple for you & NaturesLens will provide photography tuition as needed. This is a trip you will never forget- book now to avoid disappointment!
The price of this photography holiday is £3999 per person. Group size is limited to a small number of clients; this ensures that Pui Hang Miles, one of the NaturesLens co-Founders, can give one-to-one tuition if requested.
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT
No single supplement is available for our African wildlife trip due to the nature of the accommodation in the Doornhoek homestead.
ACCOMMODATION DETAILS
At the homestead, meals are provided & prepared by an in-house chef. Depending on the weather, meals can either be served in the dining area or on the outside deck.
While we stay at the homestead, we have been able to design our itinerary regarding time-slots for activities, this is flexible, meaning that we can extend drives into the night to follow predators, or get up extra early for a session at the nearby scavenger’s hide.
During the daytime, you will be able to relax in the beautiful rim-flow pool offering sweeping views over Zimanga & the distant Lebombo mountains, & at night the fireplace with comfortable seating makes it an ideal location to enjoy a glass of wine from a wide selection, with the wide-open African skies & a small fire keeping our group company.
African Wildlife of Zimanga Photography Holiday AVAILABILITY
Six places available
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
This list is a guide on what to take on the tour. Don’t worry if you don’t have all the items listed as it wouldn’t all fit in your luggage /camera bag anyway! Items in BOLD are classed as essentials.
Camera Equipment:
- Digital Camera Body.
- Spare digital camera body.
- Telephoto lens – no shorter than 200mm, but 300mm or longer is advisable. If you have a 400, 500 or 600mm lens, bring it!
- 1.4x Teleconverter/Extender. If you have to buy one for this for the trip, please make sure you get one that works with your telephoto lens. If the longest lens you have is 200mm, a teleconverter/extender is essential.
- 2.0x teleconverter /extender. Again, if you have to buy one for this trip, please make sure you get one that works with your telephoto lens.
- 70-200mm.
- 24-105mm or another wide angle lens.
- Sturdy tripod with a gimbal type tripod head is advised.
- Right angled viewfinder.
- Spare memory cards.
- Spare batteries.
- Battery charger.
- Lens cleaning cloth.
- Camera and lens dust cover.
- Card reader.
- Laptop or another type of storage device.
Camera & Lens Recommendations:
Cropped Sensor:
In general, a 500mm lens can prove too much. The ideal lens would be 300mm + 1.4x converter or/and 100-400mm f5.6 Canon or 200-400mm f4 Nikon, Nikon 80-400mm f5,6.
Full frame sensor:
In general 500mm, but optimal would be 400mm plus 1.4x converter or 300mm with 1.4x and 2x converter. Very good lens for full frame would also be a 70-200mm f2.8 plus 1.4x converter.
Clothing:
- Thin neutral coloured t-shirts & blouses.
- Neutral coloured trousers.
- Hat (a safari style hat with a broad rim all around the edge is best).
- Sunglasses.
- Sunscreen.
- Bandana (to protect your nose and mouth from dust).
- Sensible shoes or boots for safari.
- Flip flops or easy shoes for the lodge.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
NaturesLens photography holidays include only the travel stated on the event page, flights of any nature are not included. Flight details, where applicable, are made available to clients in plenty of time to allow for booking at the best prices available.
The photography holiday itinerary is subject to change & is to be considered provisional.
NaturesLens photography holidays require a minimum number of participants if sufficient photography holiday places are not sold the photography holiday may not be run, this photography holiday has a minimum participant level of 6 plus NaturesLens guide(s).
Not all mentioned wildlife can be observed & photographed at all times of the year, thus some activities may be considered seasonal & not available.
