Landscape Photography on a Southern African Safari

When many people think of a 'safari' they automatically picture a Land Cruiser thundering across the hot and dusty African savanna chasing after the 'big-five' animals, yet a southern African safari can be so much more, especially if you are doing a self-drive safari.

On a guided safari you are at the mercy of the driver and other passengers while on a self-drive safari you are the boss and you decide where you will go and how long you will stay.

If you want to photograph landscapes while on safari there are many opportunities but you may not get out your vehicle as there are dangerous animals around. We therefore discuss the safest places to photograph landscapes in four of southern Africa's most famous game reserves.

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
The Kgalagadi attracts thousands of nature photographers not just for the amazing wildlife but also for the most unusual scenery. You have the contrasts between the blue African sky, deep red sand dunes, carpets of yellow and purple wild-flowers, white calcrete cliffs and the green trees and shrubs.

The Auob and Nossob roads provide good opportunities but so do the wilderness camps, because they are mostly situated on top of high sand dunes. Our favorites are Kieliekrankie, Kalahari Tented Camp and Gharagab because of their height. Urikaruus, Bitterpan and Grootkolk camps are not situated as high but can also provide nice scenic photographs - you just need to be a bit more creative.

Twee Rivieren, Mata Mata and Nossob could also provide scenery opportunities but just watch out for telephone poles and other distractions that may make their way into your composition!

The Kgalagadi is also the best park to photograph star trails due to it being so far away from civilization and therefore far away from light and pollution. Upington is the closest city, which is 300 kilometers away!

Kruger National Park
There are many high view-points such as Nkumbe, Tshanga, Grano Kop, and Bobbejaan Krans that you can drive to and where you are allowed to get out your vehicle to set up your tripod. In addition, some camps provide excellent landscape potential as they are situated high on a hill, like Olifants camp or because they are next to a river such as camps like Skukuza, Shimuwini and Lower Sabie.

You should look out for trees that you can photograph against the rising or setting sun while out on your game drive and for the wild flowers that carpet some waterholes after good summer rains.

Some camps provide better star trail photography opportunities than others. Crocodile Bridge, Berg en Dal and Pretoriouskop are too close to civilization so you have lights from Komatiepoort, Malelane and White River/Nelspruit as well as pollution from the sugar factory spoiling the photographs.

If you prefer more adventure on your safari then you could go on a 4x4 trail or on a wilderness trail.
The three 4x4 adventure trails are self-drive trails that allow you to get out of your vehicle but you must remain close to the vehicle. They last about 3-4 hours and can provide some good landscape opportunities.

There are seven 2-day, 3-night wilderness walking trails in the Kruger Park. You stay in rustic, primitive camps and experience the African bush on foot - true wilderness with remoteness, tranquillity, peace and no other people - except the other people in your group and the two armed rangers!

There are four trails that provide excellent landscapes:

• Nyalaland Trail - is in the far north of Kruger and is the most remote Wilderness Trail. The scenic highlight is the spectacular Lanner and Luvuvhu gorges.

• Olifants trail - is in the central Kruger and you will go to remote valleys and gorges and to the very scenic confluence of the Letaba and Olifants rivers.

• Wolhuter Trail - is in the southern Kruger and is an amazingly scenic wilderness area characterized by high granite outcrops with deep valleys.

• Bushmans Trail - is also in the southern Kruger and is characterized by deep valleys and high rocky outcrops with stunning views. These high-lying outcrops are accessed early in the morning so you can appreciate the vastness of the landscape and the good photographic lighting.

Etosha National Park
Etosha National Park in Namibia is very flat but some of their waterholes make for good scenery photographs. Waterholes such as Homob, Salvadora, Twee Palms and Chudop are very scenic and there is the view over the pan from the view-points or from waterholes that are situated on the edge of the pan such as Okondeka.

The views from the camp waterholes, Moringa (in Halali Camp) and Okaukuejo waterholes, also make for good scenery photographs.

The waterhole at Namutoni camp is not very scenic but the fort in the camp makes for very effective landscape photographs. The views from on top of the Namutoni fort and from the top of the Okaukuejo observation tower also provide 360-degree vistas of the surrounding areas.

Pilanesberg Game Reserve
The Pilanesberg is situated in an extinct volcano whose walls collapsed inward forming many small hills that provide pleasing backdrops to your photographs, so keep this in mind when photographing animals. In addition there are great views from the picnic sites and view-points located up on the hills, which provide nice landscape potential.

Some of the bird hides, such as Mankwe and Rathlogo, also provide good potential - it all depends on the light and the subject.

Landscape Photography Gear
Fortunately the photo gear needed for landscape photography is not as expensive and heavy as what is required for wildlife and bird photography. You need a good tripod, a cable-release, some filters (a polarizer plus soft and hard graduated neutral density filters), a wide-angle lens (for grand vistas) and about a 200mm lens (for intimate landscapes). If you do not have a wide-angle lens don't fret - you can shoot a few overlapping frames of the scene and then stitch them together to make panoramas.

If you don't have Photoshop again, don't fret, as you can download free panoramic software such as the Hugin Panorama Photo Stitcher.

Macro Photography on Your Southern African Safari

The best lighting for nature photography is the first 2-3 hours after dawn and last 2-3 hours before dusk hence most game drives are done during these times.

The safari vehicle leaves camp before sunrise and returns by about 09h00 and then leaves again at about 15h00. That means for six hours you don't photograph - unless you are a macro photographer of course, which means you can shoot all day and night if you choose to!

As nature photographers we photographs mammals, birds, landscapes and macros. Macro photography simply means photographing small subjects, such as insects, flowers or reptiles at life-size or greater magnification.

The four most famous southern African game reserves of Kruger, Kgalagadi, and Pilanesberg in South Africa as well as Etosha in Namibia provide great opportunities for macro photography.

Please keep in mind that these parks have dangerous animals so please do not get out your vehicles - there are more than enough macro subjects to be found in the camps and picnic sites!

Kruger National Park
During the summer months, between December and April, the Kruger becomes a macro photographer's paradise!

There are millions of insects, many of which come to your bungalow at night because they are attracted to the lights. In addition some camps, like Punda Maria, Berg en Dal, Mopani and Pretoriuskop have walks that you can go on inside the camp perimeter to look for insects.

Alternatively just walk slowly around any camp examining the trees, bushes and bungalows - you will find hundreds of insects to photograph plus some wild flowers and reptiles!

The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
In most months you will find scorpions to photograph. In summer they are easier to find than in other seasons. In addition there are preying mantids, moths and a host of other insects that you can find by walking around Twee Rivieren, Mata Mata and Nossob camps.

If you are staying in the wilderness camps you are not allowed to walk around the camps as they are unfenced. Don't fret, because many insects will come and pay you a visit at your dune cabin.

Pilanesberg Game Reserve
Macro photography can be good in the Pilanesberg, especially the summer months. All the camps have indigenous trees and bushes between the bungalows and Manyane camp has a walk that could take you up to three hours to do.

When you stop at the picnic sites don't forget to look around - we always tend to find scorpions, grass-hoppers and unusual flowers to photograph.

Etosha National Park
The three main camps have a lot of trees and bush for you to explore, while Halali camp has a walk that goes up the hill within the camp - an excellent spot to look for insects and wild-flowers, especially in summer and spring.

Even though summer and spring are obviously the best times for insects we have had the odd insect surprises in winter. Insects are very hardy creatures and even in winter the days in Africa can get warm, thus encouraging the insects to come out.

Here are our Top-Ten Photogenic Macro Subjects, that we have photographed in the above four game reserves and that you should look for when you are there on your safari:

Armored ground Crickets: These crickets have a 'shield' on their backs containing spikes so they make excellent macro subjects.

Dung Beetles: Dung beetles make good subjects especially if they are pushing their dung balls! Also Keep a look out for the rhinoceros beetle, one of the 'small-five' as they are also photogenic beetles.

Emperor & Mopani Moths: There are a few moths that have 'eyes' on their wings to scare predators away but the two best subjects are the Emperor and Mopani moths as they have huge eye patterns on their wings.

Geckos: These lizards are found in nearly every bungalow and they provide us with much entertainment as they either fight each other or stalk and catch their prey.

Mopani Worms: The Mopani worm is one of the most colorful and interesting subjects to photograph. They are multi-colored, have spines on their backs and can be found in Mopani trees or crossing the park roads in the Kruger and Etosha.

Red Romans: These spiders are also known as Sun Spiders and they are not venomous but can give a nasty bite. People are scared of them as they seem to want to attack you but they are just running to your shadow!

Scorpions: They tend to emerge from their homes on windy nights and this is when we find them walking around the camps looking for their dinner. Please remember that the scorpions with small pincers and thick tails are highly venomous so don't get too close to them. The scorpions with large pincers and thin tails are not as venomous. One year I was stung by the thin-tailed scorpion and it felt like a pin-prick that burned slightly for a minute and that was it. If it was the thick-tailed scorpion I may not have been writing this article today!

Velvet Mites: These tiny red mites have a velvet-like sheen to them and can be found in damp sand.

Whip Spiders: They are also known as tailless whip scorpions and have two long, pincer-like front legs that they hold out when walking and they use the other six legs for walking and probing to their sides. They look very scary but are harmless.

Wild flowers: There are many superb wild flowers to photograph such as Foxglove, Thunderbolt flowers, Devil's Claw, Cat's Tail, Black Storm, Sickle bush 'lantern' flower, Impala Lily and Purple-pod Terminalia.

Macro Photography Gear
We use Nikon 60mm and 200mm macro lenses. If we need more magnification we will add an extension tube to the 60mm lens, which then provides us with twice life-size magnification. If you don't have a macro lens, or you cannot justify the extra expense, just buy close-up lenses (they look like glass filters) that you can screw onto your existing lens, thereby providing close-up capabilities without the added expense.