BEST of KENYA photo safari TRIP REPORT Nov 2017
Posted by Wild4 Photo Safaris on 28th Nov 2017
Unfortunately I was late in joining this photo safari due to my back giving out at the 10 pin bowling alley on Molly's 9th Birthday !! , I don't think I will be bowling again soon.
However the team headed on to Samburu without me and were very well looked after by Julius and ably supported by his team mates, James and Tim.
The short rains had begun early this year and Samburu was very wet and muddy, adding some extra excitement to the game drives. The Ewaso Nyiro River was flowing fast and had burst its banks just a few weeks before the trip started. There were still good sightings but due to all the rain water lying around in puddles, there was not the usual gathering of animals to drink at the river.
Next stop was Lake Nakuru, the water level was down a bit from last year and so the access point to the flamingos was a bit closer, but still not as close as it used to be in the past. Nakuru has other things to photograph and the team was kept busy with the Rothschild Giraffe, Rhino and a good variety of birds.
Finally the group ended up in the Maasai Mara which never dissapoints, and I managed to catch up with the team for the last few days, which offered a number of great opportunities, including fantastic Giraffe at sunrise, lots of Lions, a beautiful female Leopard and on our final morning, Malaika the female Cheetah and her two large cubs chased two male Topis that were so busy with their own dispute that they did not even notice three Cheetah running in on them. The pure speed of a Cheetah is something to behold and they caught up with the Topi in no time at all and even ran past them, but the size of the Topi put them off and the Cheetah gave up.. what a fantastic final morning game drive !!
Many thanks to Julius for leading the team in my absence and also to James and Tim for guiding their respective clients.
I also wanted to thank everyone for joining this Kenya Photo Safari, Linda, Raj, Peter, Jody, Jim, Lesley and Steve. Thanks so much again for all your understanding, I wish I could have been with you for the entire trip.
Please enjoy a selection of photos from the trip, most taken by the clients and a few by myself.
Best wishes
Stu
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I recently did a trip with Wild4 which far outweighed any expectations that I had! Wow what a trip. There was a great variety of animals, Stu has extensive knowledge of the animals and their habitat and was always mindful of us getting the best shots possible. My friend and I had our own bench seats in all the vehicles, which was great as we both had 2 DSLRs with numerous lenses, each vehicle is equipped with beanbags to steady your camera / lens, pockets and enough room to take a camera bag. We had fantastic opportunities to watch the cats for a good period of time and learn a little bit about their life, rather than taking a photo and moving on. I loved that we could sit and watch the lions at Mala Mala play in the Sand River, it was a fantastic opportunity.
Stu provided us with some great tuition, I certainly learnt a lot of new photo techniques which I look forward to using back home. I hired a Canon 500mm lens from Stu which was great, I think I used that about 85% of the time and used a 70-200mm for the rest. We had many opportunities for night photography, silhouettes, time lapse, low light etc
At the end of our trip we did the reptile extension at Khamai Reptile Centre. We went behind the scenes at the centre and had one of Africa's leading reptile specialist spend the day talking about the reptiles, spiders, scorpions we were about to take pictures of. Donald and his team certainly made for a very safe photo shoot, they were extremely patient positioning some of the reptiles for better light or different background. I learnt a lot from Donald, living in Australia we do have some venomous snakes, the day certainly gave me a renewed appreciation for the reptiles.
I would highly recommend the Wild4 team for your next photographic safari you will not be disappointed.
Linda Cappello, AUSTRALIA
As a return customer I can't recommend enough the experience of these trips as well as photographic opportunities that surpass all expectations.
In addition I have now visited the reptile centre, as part of the extension, twice. Both times I have been delighted with the skill and expertise of the rangers there.
The opportunities set up for photography are exceptional and that coupled with Stu's masterclass in close up and macro provides a day to remember.
If you get the opportunity to do the extension, take it as it's worth every minute.
Sharron Franks, UK