Nature Photogrpahy Mecca: Africa

So you have decided to go to Africa

A very good choice but now the question becomes where in Africa to go. Lets face it the place is huge.

You cannot always even go by the preferred habitat of your favourite animal, ie Elephants pop up all over the place.
So now the fun starts; where in Africa to go

Unless you have a decent zoom you are going to be getting some of the surrounding ecosystem in the shot. In fact is a good idea to do some animal in its environment shots. Hence the location can be important. Southern Africa in the dry season (prime animal viewing time) is rather full of brown and yellow, so if you want something green you had better look hard.

Every country has is definitive backdrop, the amazing orange tones of the Namibian sand dunes, the huge open grasslands of the Serengeti in Tanzania, the lush green jungles of Rwanda.

Having spent most of our Africa time down south I will go through the highlights of the places we have been. At a later date i will do a more thorough review of the areas visited.

South Africa: Good animal densities in the major parks. Mainly bush setting, light scrub. Having spent some time in the private reserves around Kruger I can highly recommend the area for animal action. Mala Mala was particularly good for leopard but as always with leopards you mileage will vary.

Namibia: Other than in Etosha the animal densities are low but you will be rewarded with some interesting backdrops. If you can get it a Gemsbok on the orange sand looks great. Namibia is mainly desert, varying from sandy to stony. Etosha has wide open areas, lots of herbivores (read lots of zebra and giraffe). Elephants and lions are more scattered

Zimbabwe: Again lots of bush land, but it varies dependent on exact location. The Mana Pools area is good and can provide some ver close encounters with Elephants. Sadly the more remote park have been badly hit by subsistence poaching and commercial poaching so the few animals that remain are a tad spooked. Still don't just write the place off, it still has plenty to offer.

Botswana: Varies dramatically form the lush waterways of the Okavango Delta to the sandy grass plains of Chobe. Sadly we haven't got the private concessions yet but the are suppose to be quite special. Linyanti has a good reputation for Hunting Dogs. Chobe National park has good diversity of animals and huge herds of Elephants. These elephants like to take a drink from the Chobe river at sunset making for some spectacular images. Chobe also produces some amazing sunsets.

Shorty we are off to the Masai Mara in Kenya so I will add much detail to the site about that location hopefully while we are there but if not when we get back. In fact this trip and its preparation is forming the basis of a few upcoming articles so stay tuned.

Another time we will look at other parts of Africa from a non wildlife perspective, ie the cultural highlights of North Africa and Roman Africa.

As always share your thoughts and experiences with us. Aside from photography we are also dedicated travellers, so tell us about your adventures. As any keen traveller knows the only people who truly appreciate your tales are other travellers, the people back home just don't get it.