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Zambia Semi-Private Photo Tour
Africa's least crowded and profoundly wildlife-rich destination
Group Size 3-4
This extremely considered wildlife photography safari offers a true wilderness experience and will take you to two of Zambia's most remarkable wilderness destinations getting you up close and personal with iconic African wildlife.
12,390
ARIVING IN LUSKA, ZAMBIA
Day one sees our small group of wildlife enthusiast assemble in Zambia's capitol, Lusaka.
After arriving at the International airport and clearing immigration, you will be transported by road transfer to a lovely, relaxed boutique hotel. The perfect venue to prepare for the upcoming adventures.
When the group is fully assembled, your host and wildlife photography guide, Alex will talk through all the logistics and answer any questions you have as well as sharing photography insights and inspiration for the journey ahead.
The rest of the day is simple, a delicious dinner and early to bed to dream about the incredible wildlife photography journey you're about to embark on!
Accommodation: Latitude 15 Hotel, Lusaka. Bed and breakfast
Day 2
The adventure begins...
Today the safari begins properly. After an early breakfast, we head to the airport and domestic departures to catch our local flight to Lower Zambezi National Park. Our home for the next five nights is the wonderful Chula Island Camp located deep within the Zambezi Valley.
Chula Island has been carefully chosen to give photographic access to both old forest and on the famous Zambezi River itself.
Chula is a wonderful, comfortable tented camp with all the luxuries one could wish for, but with the charm and ethos of a true seasonal bush-camp. Your bespoke, luxury tented abode is expertly located for the best possible views across the Zambezi River. It is a mix of canvas, wood, high quality linens with flushing toilets, running water taps and traditional bucket-showers making up the necessities!
A main area stretch-canvas tent set beneath massive Natal Mahogany trees makes for an exceptional location for meals, reading, charging cameras and wildlife watching meander by.
Right from the start, your Zambia photo safari will be wild and free as you begin to take in ‘real Africa’. Arriving in camp to a refreshing drink and face towel, you will be briefed by the camp manager. Camp is set on the banks of the Zambezi River and elephants pretty much have right of way in this camp, so the briefing is important – this is not 'touristy' Africa!
With expansive views and no fences, you will be both extremely comfortable and in the wild, and on a night you'll be lulled to sleep by snorting hippo, feeding elephants and roaring lions.
After settling in to camp, enjoying lunch (and maybe a quick siesta), we'll head out on our first afternoon safari and begin exploring the wonderful Lower Zambezi.
Activities here will be a healthy mixture of game drives in open 4x4 vehicles, walking safaris (which promote amazing eye-level photography opportunities) and also a quintessentially Zambian safari pursuit - the canoe! Highly qualified guides lead us along some of the most tranquil and picturesque channels, getting close to creatures big and small, in silence...
On the first afternoon, we will probably head out by boat, going in search of swimming elephants, spouting hippos, kingfishers and colourful bee-eater colonies. Photographing silhouettes from on the river, as the sun sets behind the Zambezi escarpment, you will fall hopelessly in love with this special and wild corner of Africa.
As the day draws to an end with the sun on your back and a cocktail in hand as you watch the sun set over the waters of the mighty Zambezi River – you will be glad to be alive and really appreciate the wonderful place you find yourself!
Accommodation : Chula Island, Lower Zambezi National Park. Full board.
Days three through six
Exploring Lower Zambezi National Park
Four full days in wildlife photography paradise.
After an early morning breakfast around the campfire with fresh muffins and porridge, à la Zambian style (or maybe just a cup of coffee if you prefer as it will still be dark), you head off on a safari drive.
Simply put, the Lower Zambezi has some of the finest big game wildlife viewing in Southern Africa. This, coupled with the variety of safari activities on offer and the aesthetics of this park, make for a truly fantastic wildlife spectacle as well as outstanding photography opportunities.
This part of the park offers an incredible mosaic of habitats and it feels ancient because it is ancient. Giant baobab trees, oxbow lakes, secret forests reminiscent of the Jungle Book (but African style), woodlands and floodplains all combine making this a photo safari for true Africa aficionados.
There's ample space in the safari vehicle for everyone and your gear so you don’t need to leave any lenses behind for this Zambia photo safari - but remember sometimes less is more and saves constantly changing lenses and missing those key shots. The plethora of photographic subjects on offer is tremendous. From shy forest dwellers like civets and porcupines through to antelope, hippos, eagles, large herds of buffalo and lots and lots of elephants, very often bashing palm trees – releasing a torrent of falling fruit.
Large predators are very much in attendance here and you can expect lion and leopard. Even wild dog are very well represented. The most notable omissions in the area are giraffe and cheetah. However a night-time safari scouting for honey badger and aardvark should help make up for that!
Along with an exceptionally talented local guide, working as a team both they and Alex (who is a fully qualified and very experienced safari guide), will show you the best nooks and crannies in the park. You will be on pole position for both the action and light and you will also receive expert tuition pertaining to composition and camera settings for each scene and subject on your Lower Zambezi photo safari.
We'll take the sightings at our own, unhurried pace, spending time with our wildlife subjects in order to better understand their behaviour all in aid of capturing more. engaging wildlife imagery.
After a morning searching for photographic subjects, we'll return to camp for brunch but only once the light is thoroughly burnt off of course!
There will be time to download your images and take a rest looking over the languid Zambezi River from your tent before meeting for afternoon tea. By this time it will be hot and the animals of the Lower Zambezi will have been drawn to the river’s edge. We'll probably take to the river again, the boat you are in is fast enough to capitalise on any photo opportunities that present themselves. Swimming elephants, crocodiles stalking stampeding buffalo, yawning hippos, flying bee-eaters – the list of photographic possibilities on the river just goes on and on.
In between safari activities we'll also plenty of opportunity to go through images you've taken with considered and constructive sessions offering suggestions for composition as well as editing techniques.
Returning to camp once it is dark, another delightful dinner and hot shower await. There's time to quickly download memory cards before drifting off to sleep - the good news is that you awake only to do it all over again.
Accommodation : Chula Island, Lower Zambezi National Park. Full board.
Day Seven
A change of scenery - the adventure continues...
Today we say our farewells to the Lower Zambezi and take a two hour internal flight direct to the phenomenal Kafue National Park and our home for the next five nights at Ntemwa-Busanga Camp.
The splendid Ntwemwa-Busanga Camp consists of just five thatched chalets which are accompanied by open-air en-suite bathrooms at the rear, with flushing toilets, plumbed sinks and taps and warm bucket showers. A main area raised deck overlooks the vast Busanga Plains and another a bird hide/sitting area is available to use in the heat of the day! The main deck supplies power for charging cameras and other devices and has a small bar for refreshments.
We'll arrive at our new home in time for lunch and after becoming acquainted with the camp we'll set out in the afternoon for your first taster of charismatic Kafue.
Kafue National park is one of Africa’s biggest and most remote but the true gem of the park lies in the north – the Busanga Plains. This is a place you have to see to believe, it truly is a spectacular example of African wilderness. The beautiful plains stretch as far as the eye can see and are one of Zambia’s most significant wetland resources.
Thanks to its size and variety of habitats, Kafue holds a fantastic diversity of wildlife with vast areas of virgin bushveld waiting to be explored. The Lafupa River creates a floodplain that is best described as ‘heaven on earth’ or as ‘your very own private Okavango Delta’. Fertile dambos (lagoon swamps) situated in the south are fed by the Lunga, Lufupa and Kafue Rivers – prime locations for viewing some of the 500 species of birds found in the park.
It is a wetland of astounding natural beauty, a place where early morning mists settle like a giant white quilt. Where the setting sun and dust kicked up by the wildlife combine for wonderful photographic opportunities. This is one of the best places in southern Africa for mood, mist and dust photography.
The wildlife of the Busanga Plains is as varied as it is numerous. Regional specials such as roan and sable antelope are common sightings here. Along with thousands of red lechwe there is no shortage of game to view and photograph. Busanga Plains is also home to some of the largest herds of buffalo in the park, with numbers over 600, a sight to behold.
Of course the predators are here too, with some of the largest lions in southern Africa. Currently, a dominant lion pride, the ‘Papyrus Pride’ are resident to the wetter plains in the north and both the 'Moshi' and 'Lufupa' prides utilising the areas to the north and south of Ntemwa-Busanga camp. Leopard are numerous too, especially along the tree-line of the plains, the same area that offers cheetah sightings from time to time and late season wild dog sightings.
At this time of year there are minimal mosquitos, but days can start a little cold so pack those beanies and lightweight jackets.
Accommodation : Ntemwa-Busanga Camp, Kafue National Park. Full board.
Days Eight thru Eleven
Exploring Kafue National Park
Mood, mist and dust.
For four full days, our in time Kafue, as with the Lower Zambezi, will be filled with wildlife and photography. The differences of these two national parks complement each other perfectly making for fantastic variety for your wildlife photography portfolio.
Kafue is a spectacular example of true African wilderness with the Busanga Plains stretching as far as the eye can see. Wildlife viewing in the Busanga is exceptional all year round but in dry season, they become more dramatic as the wildlife condenses around the life giving waters. It’s a beautiful wildlife haven which you can’t properly envisage until you’ve seen it with your own eyes.
The area is one of Zambia’s most significant wetland resources and supports tremendous diversity. Fertile dambos (lagoon swamps) situated in the south are fed by the Lunga, Lufupa and Kafue Rivers – prime locations for viewing some of the 500 species of birds found in the park. This vast area of virgin bushveld is waiting for you to explore it.
The wildlife of Busanga Plains is as varied as it is prolific. Regional specials such as roan antelope and sable antelope are common sightings here. Thousands of red lechwe, stretching as far as the eye can see to distant tree-lines. Elephant herds are always visible in the dry season months and the plains game is as numerous as it is varied from hartebeest to zebra and puku (puku herds, again, sometimes in their thousands!). There is quite simply an abundance of wildlife and no shortage of subjects to photograph.
All the major predators present, with leopard and lion numerous. Lions hunt leaping lechwe here and often an early morning mist settles over the plains making it one of the most beautiful and ethereal photographic destinations in all of Africa. “Did you say lions and lechwe in the mist of a golden dawn?” Like I said, you have to see this place to believe it.
Birding is top-class, with hundreds of species recorded in and around the Busanga area. Even if you are not a bird photographer, you will find it impossible to not shoot the hundreds of birds taking off all around you.
Time spent in Busanaga will not be wasted and due to its sheer size, we'll spend most of our time exploring the area by open 4x4 safari vehicle.
We’ll be out before dawn looking for subjects to compose in the golden light, predators will still be active until the heat of the day kicks in (and when the light has burned through), which is when we will return to camp to download images. In between safari activities, there will be plenty of opportunity to go through images you've taken with considered and constructive sessions offering suggestions for composition as well as editing techniques.
As the day begins to cool, we’ll head out again looking for subjects to frame in glorious sunset hues combined with dust which has been stirred in to the air by the wildlife. Like mentioned, Kafue is all about mood, mist and dust!
Accommodation : Ntemwa-Busanga Camp, Kafue National Park. Full board.
Included:
Accommodation: All 11x nights
Latitude 15 Hotel1x night
Full board
All Internal flights
Exclusive safari vehicle
Photography mentorship: tuition and editing sessions with your host, Alex.
Laundry service: A hand-wash laundry service whilst on safari. Undergarments are not included however.
Not Included: International flights
Personal Items
Photo Equipment
Insurances
Tips and gratuities
From $12,390 dbl/occ Single Supplient $2,805 additional
Please review our Terms and Conditions and Cancellation Policy before booking
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