By Rupert Parker, Freelance journalist and photographer.
Tuesday 4 Dec 2018 8:00 am
Safari in Africa is a once in a lifetime experience – even better if youre given a camera with a hefty zoom lens, taught how to use it, and manage to capture great shots.
Lets face it, youre not going to get stunning images of wildlife with your phone – even if you have the latest model – and probably your point and shoot cameras going to struggle too.
Thats why I opted for a trip with Pangolin Photo Safaris where you get to borrow state-of-the-art kit, and have expert tutoring as you go along, so you end up with the sort of pictures that would make David Attenborough proud.
I started my photographic adventures in the Okavango Delta in Botswana.
Getting there involved flying from Johannesburg to Maun, then transferring to a smaller 12-seater plane and landing on a makeshift airstrip near the village of Khwai.
Its then a bumpy ride in a bush vehicle to the safari lodge, home for the next few days.
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I was given a Canon 80D camera with a 150-600mm zoom lens and Dan, my instructor, took me through the basics of safari photography.
His told me to never switch off the camera, and always give the subject enough room in the frame as you could always crop later.
His single bush survival tip was Never panic!
I was really in the middle of nowhere – villagers risked life and limb to venture out into the bush to gather grasses. They sold them for thatch, using the money to buy school books and uniforms.
As I set out in the late afternoon, I passed two of them on their way home. This was lion country, and sometimes they dont make it back.
Wax, the spotter driver, had news of the beasts.
He whisked me off to see a big male and a smaller female wake from their afternoon nap. Theyre hungry, so we watched them stealthily stalk an impala.
Unfortunately night was falling, and it became too dark for photography, so we returned to camp. That night, my fitful slumber was disturbed by the roaring of lions, braying of hyenas and the chomping of hippos.
Later, I was put to the test as I was about to enter a hide to observe elephants at a watering hole.
Theres a solitary bull who I thought would make a good shot, so I pointed my camera.
Hes not pleased; he trumpeted loudly and started to charge, and of course I jumped straight into the safety of the hide.
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Apparently its only a mock charge, but it seemed real enough to scare me.
Over the next few days, we tracked leopard and lion in a landscape with no roads and no discernible features.
As well as spotting the big cats, we stumbled across a huge herd of around 150 elephants, complete with babies, crossing the river.
Nearby, we waited to get shots of hippos throwing their heads out of water – the classic hippopotamus yawn.
After three glorious days, I took a small plane to Kasane, on the Chobe. Pangolin Photo Safaris have a brand new hotel there, on a hill overlooking the river.
Its equipped with an editing room where the tutors could view your shots and give you advice.
Their boats were equipped with custom camera mounts, which allowed you to sit and pan 360 degrees.
The river was stacked with game.
Mornings found hippos on the bank, munching on grass, and huge crocs sunning themselves with their jaws wide open. Baboons played by the water and waterbucks came to drink.
Theres time to linger, observe all, and also to get those special shots.
The afternoon saw large herds of elephants playing in the mud, and a sighting of an elusive leopard in a tree.
There were also game drives through the National Park twice a day.
One memorable morning, I got to see four of the big five – lions, leopards, buffalo, and elephants – all close enough to almost touch. In the evening we came across three lionesses with cubs, all out to play.
Sometimes things dont turn out as you expected.
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One afternoon, we spotted an old battered buffalo busily chomping away by the water, seemingly unaware of the two young lions, perhaps brother and sister, stalking him.
Our cameras were ready as the cats got closer, ready for the kill.
Suddenly, the buffalo turned, lowered his horns and charged. The lions backed off.
We didnt get our shots but at least the old boy wandered off safely into the sunset.
Where to stay in Botswana and how to get there:
Pangolin Photo Safaris offers a seven-day trip to the Chobe River and the Okavango Delta.
It includes three nights at the Pangolin Chobe Hotel and three nights at the Pangolin Khwai Camp, starting at Kasane and finishing in Maun, from $2,850 (approximately £2,220).
Airlink flies from Johannesburg to Kasane and back from Maun for around £500.
Ethiopian Airlines flies via Addis Ababa to Johannesburg from Heathrow, starting from £460 return.
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