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African safari talk...recommendations?

Bobg657
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p.8 #1 · p.8 #1 · African safari talk...recommendations?

Some beautiful shots Robert, looks like a great trip! I thought that was in Ndutu, here's a shot I took back in January of 2019 at the same spot.....

Feb 13, 2022 at 04:00 PM

ChrisHA
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p.8 #2 · p.8 #2 · African safari talk...recommendations?

Totally awesome Robert!!!! I love the white flowers this year and sorry that I'll miss you at Ndutu.

Feb 13, 2022 at 04:31 PM

robert_in_ca
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p.8 #3 · p.8 #3 · African safari talk...recommendations?

Bobg657 wrote:
Some beautiful shots Robert, looks like a great trip! I thought that was in Ndutu, here's a shot I took back in January of 2019 at the same spot.....

Thank you! I was here in July of last year and wow what a difference between the dry and green season. Also, fantastic shot of that cheetah.

Feb 13, 2022 at 10:02 PM

robert_in_ca
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p.8 #4 · p.8 #4 · African safari talk...recommendations?

ChrisHA wrote:
Totally awesome Robert!!!! I love the white flowers this year and sorry that I'll miss you at Ndutu.

Thank you Chris and likewise, sorry we'll miss each other here. I have to say the juxtaposition of the flowers and a 500+ lbs male lion feeding is really something.

Feb 13, 2022 at 10:05 PM

robert_in_ca
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p.8 #5 · p.8 #5 · African safari talk...recommendations?

I took this driving out to Ndutu from Arusha, along the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater.

Feb 13, 2022 at 10:08 PM

robert_in_ca
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p.8 #6 · p.8 #6 · African safari talk...recommendations?

Lion cubs on the move.

Feb 14, 2022 at 04:45 AM

CPWarner
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p.8 #7 · p.8 #7 · African safari talk...recommendations?

It would be good if this thread could be also in the "Trip Location Advice & Meet-ups" Forum. That is where I go on FM to get this kind of input, not the gear forums.

Feb 15, 2022 at 08:42 PM

robert_in_ca
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p.8 #8 · p.8 #8 · African safari talk...recommendations?

Here's a few quick shots of a female and younger male black rhino. The male was trying to mate with the female but she wasn't having it.
Ngorongoro Crater, TZ

Feb 21, 2022 at 01:50 AM

Primus
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p.8 #9 · p.8 #9 · African safari talk...recommendations?

Came back yesterday from an exhausting but deeply satisfying trip. Probably the best so far in terms of sightings - the quality, not the diversity. I truly believe the animals are less now than they used to be when I first went to Kenya in 2007. Still, there are opportunities for some wonderful experiences.

Here is a detailed report.

We went to Lentorre camp in the Shompole conservancy for the first three days, then the Mara Bush camp in the main reserve, then Naboisho conservancy - Kicheche Valley camp and finally the Mara North conservancy - the Kicheche Mara camp.

1. Lentorre is a beautiful camp, the tents are huge and very well done. There is a night-game hide, on the lines of Zimanga and Mashatu, but it is not that productive due to the fact that there is a stream nearby and also since we had a lot of rain before and during our time there, so animals are not forced to come for water to the hide. Still, our group did see a leopard one night, plenty of white-tailed mongoose, a striped hyena, an African wild cat (rare sighting, I am told), impala, genet, waterbuck, hamerkops mating in the morning. Others have seen elephants, giraffe and other game but we did not.

The camp also has a bird hide for day time use. The food was excellent - the best of all the camps above. The game drive is not productive either because the area is huge and ours were the only vehicles there (two groups) and so spotting is difficult. We did see a large herd of elephants from the helicopter ride we did out to lake Magadi but could not find them on the ground. The flight over Lake Magadi with flamingos and patterns in the lake was fantastic, highly recommended.

All in all, Lentorre is still maturing as a place to visit, would recommend it if you have never done a night-hide and for the helicopter ride over the lake. Tents and food is awesome. Beware of high number of mosquitoes and it is very hot there, but each tent has its own pool and there is also a big pool for common use.

More......

Feb 21, 2022 at 08:41 AM

Primus
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p.8 #10 · p.8 #10 · African safari talk...recommendations?

Continuing.....

Next stop was the main reserve in the Mara. Staying at the Mara Bush camp. They have changed the chef since 2020, because the food that was good before is now excellent, almost as good as in Lentorre. The tents are very good, nice size, running hot water in the morning and evening.

Everything to drink other than water is charged but is not a problem.

The experience in the Mara this time was very good. Not too many cars, at the leopard sightings maximum 12 or so and the same at the lion pride. In the past I had counted 25 of them. On the Talek side there were no other cars when we went looking for the Cheetah group of five.

We had a fantastic sighting of the big Topi pride with 24 lions (14 cubs in all) in the morning mist, lof of playful activity with the cubs. Also saw lions eating a huge crocodile that had been killed before sunrise. Our guides told us they had never seen it before.

Saw the leopards Fig and Bahati - good sightings.

Also had the best Serval sighting I have ever had, lots of time with it in the early morning as it hunted in the grass.

Also managed to see the cheetah coalition. Sadly, four of the group killed the fifth one just a few days before we got there, so we only saw the remaining four, that too on the second day of an all morning drive spent simply looking for them. One downside of fewer people is that spotting is much harder.

We got some bad news a few days later, apparently one cheetah died of wound sustained possibly in a hunt, so now the famous Five Boys are reduced to just three.

The male lions in the Mara are among the best I have ever seen, one in particular in the Musiara marsh was mating so we got only a glimpse in the bush, but he is said to be the most magnificent of all in the entire reserve.

Overall a very satisfying visit to the main reserve.

More....

Edited on Feb 21, 2022 at 09:01 AM · View previous versions

Feb 21, 2022 at 08:52 AM

Primus
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p.8 #11 · p.8 #11 · African safari talk...recommendations?

Kicheche Camps.....

We stayed only two nights at the Kicheche Valley camp in the Naboisho conservancy. This is a huge place. We had massive rains the day we arrived and everything had turned into a river. Difficult to walk in the camp and drive anywhere. Yet, things were easier the next morning and we had one of the best leopard experiences ever with a one year old male leopard snatching the kill from the mother, then dropping it from the tree, being chased by jackals and almost getting nabbed by hyenas. There were possibly just 2-3 other cars with us.

Also saw lots of cheetahs there, no elephants. Lion pride encountering a buffalo but no hunt.

Kicheche Mara in the Mara North......

Very big conservancy, almost half of the mara triangle itself. Great elephant sighting with a one week old baby, a huge tusker in masth, lots of cheetahs, one with originally seven, just a single baby now. Lot of birds (I love birds), one mating pair of lions, very close sighting of the male and female. No leopard here though - nobody saw one in the five days we were there.

One day a large lioness walked right up to our tent and past it, in broad daylight, just as the wife was going to walk to the main tent for tea before the afternoon game drive. We were in the last tent in the row. Scary moments.

Overall the experience in the conservancies is well worth the money you pay for.

As for gear, I realize this is a Canon forum (ex-Canon user myself), but I am now a Sony user. Most of my pictures were taken with a 400 2.8 prime on an a1 body, about half again with a 70-200 2.8 MkII on another a1. The 400 lens is absolutely superb. I never needed to use any TCs, just used the APS-C option a few times. The 70-200 is also a fantastic lens, much better than Mk1.

Happy to answer any questions. Will post some pictures later, too many to process right now.

Feb 21, 2022 at 09:00 AM

artsupreme
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p.8 #12 · p.8 #12 · African safari talk...recommendations?

Primus wrote:
Kicheche Camps.....

We stayed only two nights at the Kicheche Valley camp in the Naboisho conservancy. This is a huge place. We had massive rains the day we arrived and everything had turned into a river. Difficult to walk in the camp and drive anywhere. Yet, things were easier the next morning and we had one of the best leopard experiences ever with a one year old male leopard snatching the kill from the mother, then dropping it from the tree, being chased by jackals and almost getting nabbed by hyenas. There were possibly just 2-3 other cars with us.

Also saw...Show more →

Great information Primus! Can’t wait to see some of your photos. You are one of the few I’ve seen post who’s happy with a max focal length of 400mm. Most people I have talked to said they wish they had a.600mm + extender with them. Sounds like they are getting a lot of rain? I wonder if this is the end of the drought conditions that one of the other members was discussing?

Feb 21, 2022 at 12:00 PM

seaninsa
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p.8 #13 · p.8 #13 · African safari talk...recommendations?

Nice thing about the conservancies is they limit the amount of vehicles on a sighting usually.

Feb 21, 2022 at 02:59 PM

dentedcamera
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p.8 #14 · p.8 #14 · African safari talk...recommendations?

Primus wrote:
Kicheche Camps.....

We stayed only two nights at the Kicheche Valley camp in the Naboisho conservancy. This is a huge place. We had massive rains the day we arrived and everything had turned into a river. Difficult to walk in the camp and drive anywhere. Yet, things were easier the next morning and we had one of the best leopard experiences ever with a one year old male leopard snatching the kill from the mother, then dropping it from the tree, being chased by jackals and almost getting nabbed by hyenas. There were possibly just 2-3 other cars with us.

Also saw...Show more →

Thank you for your thoughts, it sounds like you had some wonderful sightings! I'm spending 9 nights at Kicheche Bush Camp this October so I'm glad to see you had a good experience.

I'm bring my 200-400 with the built-in 1.4x extender as my longest lens, hopeful that being able to go off road will get me a bit closer. Looks like 400mm worked out great for you which is reassuring.

Edited on Feb 21, 2022 at 03:03 PM · View previous versions

Feb 21, 2022 at 03:01 PM

seaninsa
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p.8 #15 · p.8 #15 · African safari talk...recommendations?

I personally like Sentinel Mara. it is located in the Marsh area. With the Marsh Pride making a comeback you are very close to the action.

Feb 21, 2022 at 03:01 PM

Primus
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p.8 #16 · p.8 #16 · African safari talk...recommendations?

artsupreme wrote:
Great information Primus! Can’t wait to see some of your photos. You are one of the few I’ve seen post who’s happy with a max focal length of 400mm. Most people I have talked to said they wish they had a.600mm + extender with them. Sounds like they are getting a lot of rain? I wonder if this is the end of the drought conditions that one of the other members was discussing?

Yes, I found the 400 to be quite adequate. In the past I have taken the big 600 f4 and the 200-600 lens with me, even then i found I was mostly under 400mm in focal length. This time I used the 2X TC just once to see how the images looked at a place where the flamingos were quite far. I did not like the effect. In low light, hand holding a lens that becomes 800mm is difficult for me.

The 400 2.8 wide open is a super sharp lens, with an incredible bokeh in addition. I can hand hold it easily and of course the images do improve on a bean bag.

I did not miss the 600 at all. My friend with the 600 had to keep going back to his 100-400 as there was often too much lens. I too had to switch to the shorter (70-200) lens quite often especially shooting elephants and the big cats. Only when there was a small bird to photograph did I miss the 600 but even then, with 50Mpx to play with, it was not a problem.

A lot depends upon what you want to do with your images in the end. Unlikely that I am going to blow up a small bird into a poster print, even if I do, these days software is so good that PS can do it for you.

As for rains, it seems that for the past 3 years, rains have come 6-8 weeks earlier in East Africa, maybe it is a pattern that marks the effects of climate change, I don't know. However, it is a nuisance for the drivers and guides and often for us photographers as well, although a boon for the animals and sometimes do make for beautiful backgrounds. So it is a mixed blessing.

Feb 21, 2022 at 03:19 PM

Primus
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p.8 #17 · p.8 #17 · African safari talk...recommendations?

seaninsa wrote:
Nice thing about the conservancies is they limit the amount of vehicles on a sighting usually.

yes, they have strict rules about this. Only five vehicles are allowed at any time and when a sixth one appears, they wait off site for a while until the second one to arrive at the scene leaves. Everyone follows this rule. The only exception is the first to reach a sighting where they 'own' the sighting and do not have to leave unless they want to. Everyone else has a time limit, usually 15 mts or so. Of course if there is no more than 5 vehicles you can stay for as long as you want to.

Feb 21, 2022 at 03:23 PM

Primus
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p.8 #18 · p.8 #18 · African safari talk...recommendations?

dentedcamera wrote:
Thank you for your thoughts, it sounds like you had some wonderful sightings! I'm spending 9 nights at Kicheche Bush Camp this October so I'm glad to see you had a good experience.

I'm bring my 200-400 with the built-in 1.4x extender as my longest lens, hopeful that being able to go off road will get me a bit closer. Looks like 400mm worked out great for you which is reassuring.

We stayed at Kicheche Bush in 2020, had a wonderful leopard sighting of Tito bringing in an impala kill and her young female cub going up and down the tree. Lots of lion prides with cubs and elephants too. I think the 200-400 with built in TC will be absolutely great for you. The food there is not so great and the manager a bit too chummy, but otherwise it is a very nice place, the area is small but animal density is quite high.

You might find 9 nights there a bit much though, perhaps consider splitting it between Bush and Mara North or Valley. They all offer different things. Sometimes the animals move away to another area, the elephants in particular.

Feb 21, 2022 at 03:27 PM

artsupreme
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p.8 #19 · p.8 #19 · African safari talk...recommendations?

Primus wrote:
Yes, I found the 400 to be quite adequate. In the past I have taken the big 600 f4 and the 200-600 lens with me, even then i found I was mostly under 400mm in focal length. This time I used the 2X TC just once to see how the images looked at a place where the flamingos were quite far. I did not like the effect. In low light, hand holding a lens that becomes 800mm is difficult for me.

The 400 2.8 wide open is a super sharp lens, with an incredible bokeh in addition. I can hand...Show more →

Hmmmm, you got me thinking now...maybe I'll bring a 400 2.8 with 2x TC instead of the 600/4. Did you find you were able to fill the frame with your 400 often to avoid cropping? Everyone else seems to be wanting the 600/4 out there, but maybe you were able to get closer to the animals.

Feb 21, 2022 at 03:31 PM

Primus
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p.8 #20 · p.8 #20 · African safari talk...recommendations?

artsupreme wrote:
Hmmmm, you got me thinking now...maybe I'll bring a 400 2.8 with 2x TC instead of the 600/4. Did you find you were able to fill the frame with your 400 often to avoid cropping? Everyone else seems to be wanting the 600/4 out there, but maybe you were able to get closer to the animals.

There is a lot of variability in how close the animals come to you. I also feel that the frame-filling images sometimes leave one feeling there is something missing. A bit of the environment I think adds to the story. Also, at times there is not enough room around the subject as it is.

During my recent trip, rarely did I feel I needed more reach, having too much lens can be a handicap sometimes. Here are a few random images from my trip, did not have time to select much, took too many as it is...

The Serval is at 200mm, I did some adjustments mainly exposure and slight vignetting. I also shot it at 400 mm, but it came very close to our vehicle as you can see here.

The rest of the images are all at 400mm, f2.8, wide open. No adjustments done at all, no sharpening, no color balance, straight OOC. Note the African Pygmy Kingfisher is super sharp. I could not have taken the flight shot if it was much bigger in the frame, as it is it almost flew out of it. However, I did find some other birds did not let us get as close and I did wish I had more reach then, but overall was very satisfied with just 400mm

All of these are completely uncropped, at full 50 Mpx. Lots of room left for further repositioning and printing large if needed.

Sony a1 with 70-200 f2.8 MkII lens at 200mm, f2.8, ISO 1000, 1/1000 sec

Sony a1 with 400mm f2.8 lens at 400mm, f2.8, ISO 250, 1/1250 sec

Sony a1 with 400mm f2.8 lens at 400mm, f2.8, ISO 200, 1/500 sec

Sony a1 with 400mm f2.8 lens at f2.8, ISO 200, 1/500 sec

Feb 21, 2022 at 07:15 PM

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