Elephants, Elephants & Elephants of East Africa

Samburu, Tsavo & Amboseli National Parks

March 9-18, 2009

Join acclaimed elephant author and photographer Daryl Balfour (African Elephants ? A Celebration of Majesty) and well-known Kenyan professional safari guide Phil West on a safari taking in the very best elephant viewing areas in Kenya in March 2009.

The safari, which will specifically be about elephants, photographing elephants, seeing elephants, tracking elephants and everything you ever wanted to know about elephants, visits three of the continent?s best areas for seeing and experiencing truly wild elephants. (Of course, we will see other wildlife on this safari too!) We will spend quality time with scientists active in the field of elephant research while optimising our opportunities to see and photograph elephants in the remote and scenic northern sector of Samburu National Reserve, the wild corners of Tsavo East National Park and the spectacular Amboseli National Park, where we will hope to encounter elephants on the open plains beneath the stunning backdrop of the snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro. The snows and glaciers of Kilimanjaro are disappearing at a rapid rate, so this is a scene that is unlikely to be around for many more years, but the timing of our safari in March offers a good chance of snow on the peaks?with countless elephants on the plains below!

If time allows we will also arrange a special visit to the elephant orphanage where Dame Daphne Sheldrick has done such remarkable work with baby elephants orphaned by poachers, and attempt to find some of the young elephants she has returned to the wild in Tsavo East.

ELEPHANT WATCH CAMP - SAMBURU

Our first stop, after a morning flight from Nairobi , will be the stunning Elephant Watch Camp (which you can see at www.elephantwatchsafaris.com or see a great article in the September 2008 issue of National Geographic) in northern Samburu. Started and operated by Iain and Oria Douglas-Hamilton, Elephant Watch runs in parallel to Iain?s Save the Elephants foundation. Our time at Samburu will be spent visiting the elephants and chatting to some of the scientists currently doing research here.

Samburu National Reserve offers shelter to 66 known elephant family units numbering 900 elephants in total. These 66 families, which typically consist of a matriarch and her offspring, are assigned to one of three groups: the ?Residents,? the ?Migrants,? and the ?Sporadics.? As the names suggest, the Residents remain in the Reserve for most of the year, the Migrants move between Samburu Reserve and other areas, and Sporadics only pass through the Reserve from time to time.

Each elephant family is named, and each elephant within that family is named accordingly. For example, Queen Elizabeth, Cleopatra, and Anastasia belong to the Royals, (Residents) who are the dominant family in the Reserve, while Babylon , Jerusalem and Nazareth belong to the Biblical Towns, (Migrants) making random visits. Then Naivasha, Natron and Turkana belong to the Rift Valley Lakes (Sporadics) and only visit the Park in July and August.

Crossing Uaso Nyiro, Samburu? Daryl Balfour

In addition to all these families, are the ?bulls,? the adult males numbering 200 who live in solitude and wander far and wide in search of food and females, a high risk and gain strategy, and these bulls often get shot by poachers for ivory or because of crop raiding. We have already lost some of Samburu?s biggest bulls, Mungu, Picasso, Martin Luther King, Gorbachev amongst others, to the poachers? bullets.

During our 3-night stay at Elephant Watch we will endeavor to make the acquaintance of at least some of these special animals. Samburu?s elephants are generally very approachable, and close-up encounters for intimate photography should be assured.

SATAO CAMP ? TSAVO EAST

From Samburu we will fly due south to our next stop, Tsavo East National Park.Tsavo East and elephant conservation are inextricably intertwined and the ?Tsavo Story? is one of the classic tales of letting Nature take its course. We will tell you this story one evening at the fireside! Tsavo was where Daphne Sheldrick and her husband David resided, and where Daphne still to this day re-introduces and releases many of the young elephant orphans she rescues and revives. Tsavo is legendary for its massive elephant herds and big tuskers, and I have recently received pictures of a magnificent bull photographed here in September 2008 that must rank among the biggest in Africa . Of course, Tsavo is also famous (notorious) for the classic tale The Man-Eaters of Tsavo, seen on the big screen as The Ghosts of Darkness.

Near Satao Camp; Photo ? 2008 Johan Marais

We have chosen the romantic yet rustic Satao Camp (www.sataocamp.com) for its prime location with a popular elephant drinking hole right on its doorstep. When we arrive in Tsavo we will collect our own 4x4 safari vehicles which Phil and I will drive for the remainder of our safari. We will explore the magnificent countryside of Tsavo ? this is where Phil spent much of his boyhood and he knows the area exceptionally well. We spend three nights in Tsavo East.

From Tsavo we undertake an interesting drive across wild country and past some amazing volcanic formations to our next stop, Amboseli National Park .

TORTILIS CAMP ? AMBOSELI

Amboseli is where those classic, iconic images of East Africa are taken ? the spectacular conical snow-capped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro with wild animals in the foreground. These scenes are unforgettable ? and are not difficult to achieve if your guides put you in the right place at the right time!

 Near Tortilis Camp; ? 2008 Daryl Balfour

Tortilis Camp (www.tortilis.com) is one of my favourite locations in East Africa and a camp I visit every year, at least once or twice. Located on a small hill facing Mt Kilimanjaro, some of my best wake-up calls in Africa have taken place here, with coffee served on the tent veranda facing the gleaming white peaks of the highest mountain in Africa (and the highest free-standing mountain on the planet, too.)

Like Samburu, Amboseli is home to a long-running elephant research project, in fact the Amboseli Elephant Research Project is the longest study of wild elephants in the world. AERP works to understand the lives and ensure the future of nearly 1,500 elephants in the Amboseli ecosystem fed by the waters of Kilimanjaro. Studies here conducted by Cynthia Moss, Joyce Poole, Harvey Croze, Norah Njiraini, Soila Sayialel and others have created a database and knowledge of this elephant population unrivalled by elephants anywhere else in Africa. We are likely to see some of these researchers at work in the field and will endeavor to have at least one of them join us for an evening at our lodge to discuss their field work.  Our days will be spent enjoying the incredible elephant viewing and photography this park offers, and we hope to observe some of the famous herds and matriarchs such as Echo and others. We spend three nights in Amboseli before setting off for the scenic drive back to Nairobi .

DATES AND COST OF THE SAFARI

The safari runs from March 9 to 18, 2009 and begins and ends in Nairobi , Kenya . We suggest that safari particpants arrive in Nairobi on March 8 and overnight there, as our flight to Samburu departs early on the morning of the 9^th. We can assist with hotel or guest house reservations for that evening should you require them.

Our return to Nairobi on the 18^th will be about midday, early enough for most outgoing international flights departing that afternoon or evening.

The cost of the safari is US$8195 per person sharing, from Nairobi . Included in the cost of the safari will be a signed copy of the book Great Tuskers of Africa by Johan Marais, which has a classic painting of the final photograph I took before the great tusker Tshokwane trampled me in December 1992, on the cover.

All park and conservation fees, full board accommodation, internal flights & charters, house wines with meals, spirits, soft drinks and bottled water and the services of Daryl Balfour & Phil West are included in your safari fare.

For more information about this safari, or to reserve your place, please contact daryl@wildphotossafaris.com or wildphotos@mweb.co.za now!

WILD DOGS & BIG CATS OF SERENGETI

One Departure in February 2009 

FEBRUARY 15-24, 2009

Daryl Balfour?s Wildphotos Safaris are proud to offer one very special departure for 2009, taking in the very best predator viewing areas in the southern Serengeti during the wildebeest migration.

Included in this safari is the possibility of viewing the rare and endangered African Wild Dog (or painted wolf) Lycaon pictus, which was considered to be almost extinct in East Africa until recently. Discoveries of emergent packs in several areas have given conservationists renewed hope for these fascinating predators, and we have planned this safari to enable us to have the best possible viewing and photographic opportunities of these animals as well as the other predators that follow the migrating wildebeest at this time of year.

Apart from wild dogs, the trips are focussed on excellent predator opportunities, including lion, leopard, cheetah and hyaena and I am confident that this safari will result in superb photo opportunities. Of course, apart from the carnivores we will have ample opportunity to view and photograph the wealth of other wildlife the Serengeti has on offer.

The safaris will be led by Daryl & Sharna Balfour, two of Africa ?s leading wildlife photographers and authors for the past two decades.

Accommodation will be in a small, rustic private mobile tented camp chosen to maximise our proximity to the best viewing areas. This is NOT a luxury camp, though guests will have spacious walk-in tents with en suite hot bucket showers and a ?long-drop? latrine toilet, comfortable beds with fresh linen, and well-prepared, tasty meals prepared by our camp staff and served either al fresco or in our cosy mess tent. A good selection of wines, beers, spirits and soft drinks are included in the safari price.

The safari is for a maximum of 8 guests each, with only 4 passengers in specially built Toyota 4x4 vehicles to maximise space, comfort and convenience.  

We have been extremely fortunate to secure dates for this exclusive safari, using a small, upmarket lightweight mobile camp that will allow us to set up camp in the heart of the best wild dog area at Piyaya or Nasera in the south-eastern Serengeti, as well as visit Ndarabit and Ndutu. The beauty of us using this camp is that it allows total flexibility and we will even be able to move it according to the movements of the wild dogs or other predators if considered necessary.

The plan is to spend 4 nights in the Piyaya area of the southern Serengeti and then move camp to the Ndutu area further west, actually sited in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area for 3 nights.

An additional benefit of this camp is that the spectacular wildebeest migration should be massed in this area during February ? the time of the annual calving when 400 000 young are born each year ? adding to the predator excitement. This area has also rewarded with good sightings of rarer carnivores such as bat-eared fox, aardwolf, aardvark and even caracal in recent years.

This safari starts in Arusha , Tanzania ( Kilimanjaro International Airport ) on February 15 followed by a charter flight from Arusha Domestic Airport to the safari area in a Cessna Caravan on the morning of February 16, seven nights in camp on an all-inclusive basis, followed by a return charter to Arusha on February 23. A night will be spent in a country hotel in Arusha at the start and end of this safari.

This safari costs US$7295 per person sharing, from Arusha.

As demand for this safari is expected to be extremely high we have set a cut-off date for bookings of December 1 this year. If you are keen to participate in this unique safari please contact us immediately!

THIS SAFARI IS EXPECTED TO BE HUGELY POPULAR AND LIKELY TO SELL OUT QUICKLY, SO DON?T BEAT ABOUT THE BUSH 

CONTACT US NOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED!

Daryl & Sharna Balfour

wildphotos@mweb.co.za

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SERENGETI MIGRATION, NGORONGORO CRATER

 & AMBOSELI?S ELEPHANTS

 19 - 30 March 2009

A Safari with Daryl Balfour

?For the wildebeest it is a period of birth and renewal. For the predators a time of plenty??

The annual migration of more than a million wildebeest across the plains of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem has neither beginning nor end, for the migration is an endless cycle as the animals wander in search of food and water. However, if there is any beginning it can only be at the moment of birth, an annual event that sees more than 400 000 wildebeest calves delivered on the short grass plains of the southern Serengeti in Tanzania over a period of a few weeks.

Join acclaimed wildlife photographer and author Daryl Balfour on an exclusive safari timed to take in this annual spectacle early in 2009. The trip, limited to a maximum of eight people and designed for optimum comfort and convenience with only four passengers to each customised 4x4 game viewing vehicle, starts from Kilimanjaro International Airport , Tanzania and will take in the Eighth Wonder of the World, Ngorongoro Crater, the Cradle of Mankind (Oldupai Gorge) and the southern reaches of the Serengeti.

We have designed these expeditions to be small enough to offer each group personal attention and optimal photographic positioning, but will still offer non-photographers superb game viewing opportunities. The Serengeti at this time of year is at its best, with great sightings of lions, cheetah, hyaenas and most of the other wildlife species the area is acclaimed for.

Enthusiastic photographers will be able to call on Daryl Balfour?s expertise in this field for assistance and advice on how to improve their skills behind the lens, or simply enjoy the fireside tales of his experiences in some of the remotest corners of Africa over the past two decades.

Itinerary at a glance:

March 19: Fly to Kilimanjaro International Airport , Moshi , Tanzania , transfer to New Arusha Hotel for overnight, briefing etc

March 20: transfer to Arusha airport for a private charter flight to Ndutu Lodge in the southern Serengeti region, for 4 nights

March 24: Morning drive via Oldupai Gorge ? the Cradle of Mankind ? to Ngorongoro Crater with picnic lunch and afternoon spent on the Crater floor. Overnight Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge for 2 nights

March 26: Return to Arusha later afternoon for shopping (Tanzanite, Tsavorite gemstones, curios etc); Overnight New Arusha Hotel.

March 27:  We travel by good tarred road about 2 hours to the Tanzania/Kenya border where we cross into Kenya then drive cross-country to our next camp, the luxury tented Tortilis Camp, facing Mt Kilimanjaro on the western edge of Amboseli National Park . We spend three nights here.

Amboseli National Park is one of the treasures of East Africa , and probably the best place on the continent for seeing and photographing elephants really close. This is where the classic images of the snow-capped Mt Kilimanjaro with animals, particularly elephants, in the foreground are taken, and we have timed our safari to give us an excellent chance of seeing the mountain with heavy snow cover. Apart from elephants, Amboseli also offers good viewing of a multitude of other wildlife species.

March 30:  Travel by private charter flight to Nairobi ?s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport , arriving about midday, for onward flight connections.

Expanded itinerary information:

Due to the arrival times of flights in to Kilimanjaro, the first night of the safari will be spent in a comfortable hotel in the heart of Arusha. Meals will be for your own account here, as many guests opt for room service after their late arrival.

The first day on safari will see guests travel by road through the bustling safari capital of Arusha before taking a private charter flight across Maasailand and over the scenic Ngorongoro highlands to the renowned Ndutu Lodge, ideally situated under classic umbrella-thorn acacias in the heart of the southern Serengeti. At this time of year Ndutu buzzes with international photographers and film crews, attracted by the spectacle provided by the wildebeest.

The next four nights will be spent at Ndutu Lodge, from where we will head out early each morning, exploring the grassy plains and woodlands in the area, tracking the massed herds of wildebeest and zebra, watching the birth of new calves if we?re lucky, and seeking predators such as lion, cheetah and hyaena on the hunt. The area also teems with other wildlife, including elephants, eland, various gazelle species, Kirk?s dik-dik, giraffe and, if we?re lucky, the elusive leopard. Last year I was rewarded with a record 18 different cheetah in one day, as well as my best ever sightings of aardvark in 22 years of photography!

On leaving Ndutu we will travel by road across the Serengeti plains, visiting Oldupai Gorge, the ?Cradle of Mankind? en route to the famous Ngorongoro Crater, home to a very high density of lions, some of Africa?s best black rhino viewing, spectacular elephant bulls and a wide variety of other game species including Thomson?s and Grant?s gazelles, Coke?s hartebeest and golden jackals.  At Oldupai we will enjoy a brief informal lecture about the palaeo-anthropological diggings and discoveries that have taken place here over the years, by, among others, the famous husband-and-wife team of Louis and Mary Leakey. After enjoying a picnic lunch on our way up into the highlands from Oldupai we will spend the afternoon in the Crater floor. That night we stay at the Ngorongoro Sopa Hotel situated right on the crater rim, overlooking the crater itself. After an early start the next morning we?ll tour the crater floor once more.

The last day of the Tanzanian leg of our safari sees us bidding farewell to the Crater and making our way back overland to Arusha where we spend the night at the same hotel in town. There will be an opportunity in Arusha to shop for the acclaimed and rare Tanzanite and other gemstones, which are mined at the only known deposit on the planet near the town. I have an excellent contact with an international wholesale dealer here, and high quality stones at bargain prices can be expected.

From Arusha we travel by paved road to the Kenya border, about 2 hours away, where we pass through Immigration and Customs formalities and enter Kenya . From here we turn east and travel across country to the spectacular Amboseli National Park .

This is where the classic African scenes of wildlife ? in particular elephants - with the snow-capped peaks of Mt Kilimanjaro are taken. Amboseli is without doubt one of the best places in the world to observe large numbers of elephants going about their daily lives. The Amboseli Elephant Research Project, under the leadership of Cynthia Moss, has been studying the elephants here for 40 years now, and every elephant in the park is known, most by name! (I suggest you read Cynthia?s book, Elephant Memories, if you are at all interested in the lives and behaviour of these wonderful animals.)

We spend 3 nights in Amboseli at the luxury tented Tortilis Camp, located on a small hill facing Mt Kilimanjaro. Italian-owned, Tortillis offers great cuisine, much of it with an Italian flavour!

Our last morning at Amboseli, March 30, 2009, sees us bidding farewell to the mountain and the elephants before we board our private charter flight to Nairobi ?s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport , for connection with onward international departures.

Flight Details:

International flights from your home to Kilimanjaro , Tanzania and back again are for your own account and arrangement. You should plan on being in Arusha for the first night in our lodgings on March 19, and for departure from Nairobi on the afternoon or the night of March 30. You can either fly from the USA via Johannesburg with SAA or Air Tanzania or via Amsterdam on KLM. There are daily flights from Johannesburg

Contact us for information of flights if required. There are excellent direct flights from South Africa to and from both Arusha and Nairobi at the start and end of the safari.

The cost of this safari is US$7995 per person sharing. The single supplement is $3795.

The price includes:  Full board accommodation sharing double rooms, the private charter flight from Arusha to the Serengeti, all viewing and park entrance fees including three visits to the crater floor, the private charter flight from Amboseli to Nairobi, all drives in customized four wheel drive transport and two experienced professional guides including professional wildlife photographer Daryl Balfour and Kenyan guide Mike Cheffings.

The price excludes:  International flights, drinks, laundry, airport departure taxes, Tanzania and Kenya visas (available on arrival at the airport) and items of a personal nature, and meals at the hotel in Arusha.

For further details on prices and availability please contact us now as these safaris have sold out rapidly in previous years.

CONTACT US NOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN JOINING US !

www.wildphotossafaris.com

wildphotos@mweb.co.za

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DARYL BALFOUR?S WILDPHOTOS SAFARIS

WILDEBEEST MIGRATION 2009

?THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH?

&

?THE WORLD CUP OF WILDLIFE!?

Once again in 2009 Daryl Balfour?s Wildphotos Safaris will be offering a number of exclusive wildebeest migration safaris in Kenya ?s acclaimed Masai Mara National Reserve. As we have done in past years, we will be setting up an exclusive private tented camp, accommodating a maximum of 12 guests.  Acclaimed South African wildlife photographers and authors Daryl & Sharna Balfour will be on hand to offer insights into this wildlife spectacle as well as specialist advice about how to take better photos of your safari-in-a-lifetime. The annual wildebeest migration, one of the natural wonders of the world, has been termed ?the greatest show on earth?  as well as ?the world cup of wildlife?  by past guests, and it is truly something that is impossible to describe or even adequately film or photograph.

 An exclusive private tented camp ? a new camp used for the first time in 2007 - offering top quality catering, and flush toilets  will be erected solely for the use of these safaris, at a secluded private location in one of the best game viewing areas of the Masai Mara. The camp will feature spacious walk-in safari tents with private en-suite ablution facilities (private HOT bucket showers in an enclosed attached cubicle and a flush toilet for each tent), while meals will be taken under the stars or in a large, airy mess tent at linen-covered tables set with fine china and stemware. This is the way Ernest Hemingway and Robert Ruark experienced and wrote about Africa , and is the best way to avoid the over-crowding mass-market tourism of the bigger commercial lodges and safari hotels.

Your eventful and full days will be spent exploring this, the northernmost limits of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, seeking the area?s abundant wildlife - including the migrating herds of wildebeest and zebra that by this time of year should be massing for their return to the Serengeti in the south. We have timed these safaris hopefully to coincide with the best possibilities of seeing the spectacular river crossings, when tens of thousands of wildebeest & zebra pour across the crocodile-infested Mara River . We have a 100% record over the years of showing our guests these crossings, often with spectacular crocodile action too!

Our daily schedule, which we adjust and fine-tune according to the likes and wants of safari participants, usually involves a pre-dawn wake-up call followed by tea, coffee and a light breakfast in the Mess before we head-out in search of the day?s offerings. Each vehicle is equipped with a ?tea & coffee basket? along with freshly baked cookies, cinnamon buns or even egg & bacon jaffles for a mid-morning stop out in the wilds. We return to camp around 11.30am for a slap-up brunch, after which most safari-goers enjoy a well-earned shower and siesta. Afternoon tea is served around 3.30-4pm followed by the afternoon drive. Sundowners are often enjoyed in the field, (if we have the time with all the wildlife viewing!) after which we return to camp for pre-dinner drinks at the fireside followed by a three-course dinner. Some days we may modify this schedule and take a picnic lunch with us, staying out all day as we explore further afield. The animals and the wilderness dictate our schedule ? we place more emphasis on the wildlife experience than we do on camp timetables!

The Masai Mara is renowned for its predators ? lions, leopards and cheetah are there in abundance - all attracted by the large numbers of herbivores, and is regarded as one of the best wildlife viewing destinations in Africa by Daryl & Sharna Balfour, as well as by many other top wildlife photographers and film makers. The Mara is specifically featured in the BBC?s acclaimed documentary series Big Cat Diary and we are likely to see many of the lions, leopard and cheetah that have become the stars of this TV series, as well as the stars of the film crew itself!

Birding in the area is also excellent, and first-time visitors to the area are sure to tick off a number of ?lifers?.

Transport will be in comfortable customised Toyota 4x4 safari vehicles with a maximum of four guests to a vehicle (as opposed to the East African safari norm of eight or nine). Each person will have their own open window as well as a large open roof hatch.

All safaris begin and end at Nairobi ?s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on the safari dates specified below. You should make your own flight or other arrangements to be on (or at the airport simultaneously with the arrival of) South African Airways flight SA 182 from Johannesburg, which arrives at 14h50 local time daily. This flight is the recommended means of travel to Nairobi from South Africa and departs Johannesburg daily at 09h35. The return flight is SA 183 out of Nairobi, departing about 15h40 daily and arriving back in Johannesburg at 19h00 SA time. Delta Airlines are introducing direct flights from New York to Nairobi in 2008, while BA and KLM also offer direct flights from the UK and Europe . We have a private charter flight direct from Jomo Kenyatta International to the Masai Mara shortly after all guests have passed through immigration formalities in Nairobi, and returning direct to JKIA at the end of your safari, arriving about midday well in time for outgoing international connections.

Should you require hotel accommodation and transfers in Nairobi either before or after your safari, we will be happy to make these on your behalf.

The cost of the safari excludes airfares to Nairobi , allowing you to make your own personal flight arrangements, utilise frequent flyer air miles, arrive from other destinations, etc.

Dates for the 2009 safaris are: August 29 -Sept 4; Sept 5-11; Sept 12-18; Sept 19-25

The cost of the safari includes a private charter flight by 12-seater Cessna Caravan upon arrival in Nairobi on the start day of your safari, to the Masai Mara, full board in camp, all drinks, park fees, services of the camp staff (including complimentary daily laundry), and the assistance & guiding of world-renowned wildlife photographers and photo-journalists Daryl & Sharna Balfour. Our other guides, Phil West, Johann du Toit and Pierre Burton are among the leading guides of East Africa and are indeed involved in the training of other up-and-coming guides in Kenya .

The fully inclusive cost of the tour is $4995 nett per person sharing. Single supplements are $1995 nett but are limited to 2 singles at this rate. Please note that due to currency fluctuations and other possible increases beyond our control the tour price remains subject to change until full payment has been received by the operator. A 25 % non-refundable deposit will be payable to confirm a booking. Full payment is required 90 days prior to commencement of the safari. The price does not include the airfare from your home to Nairobi , visas, airport departure taxes, curio purchases, gratuities for guides and camp staff or other personal expenses.

THE WILD DOGS OF BOTSWANA

AUGUST 12-19, 2009

The Kwando Private Game Reserve in northern Botswana has developed a reputation as being one of the best, if not the best, places to observe wild dogs in southern Africa, perhaps the whole of Africa. The dogs have denned and produced pups within a few kilometres of our camp every year save one for the past 8 seasons and we have planned this safari to tie in with the probable emergence of the new pups from the den, one of the most exciting spectacles in wildlife viewing. 

This safari is limited to four persons only and we will spend 4 nights at Kwando Lagoon camp on the Kwando River, the closest facility to where the dogs usually locate their den (in 2008 we were less than 25 minutes from the den site), followed by 3 nights at the new Little Kwara Camp, on the eastern edge of the permanent waters of the Okavango Delta.

Kwando Lagoon Camp is a classic tented camp built on raised wooden decks overlooking a tranquil lagoon off the Kwando River (which becomes the Linyanti River and subsequently the Chobe River on its journey to join the Zambezi near the Botswana border with Zimbabwe at Kasane). In recent years it has become one of my favourite camps in Botswana , both for its excellent game viewing as well as its traditional old safari style ? none of that ?Gucci game lodge? frippery here!  The camp exists for the game viewing and there is none of the pressure of many other camps to return from outings to fit in with the camp kitchen timetable?

The Kwando concession is the most remote in Botswana , situated as it is in the far north-eastern corner of the country bordering on to Namibia ?s Caprivi Strip , and Lagoon Camp is undoubtedly the most remote and isolated in the country too.

Apart from its wild dogs ? as already mentioned they have denned here every year apart from one over the past 9 years ? the region is renowned for its lions and elephants and other big game. Sable and roan antelope also occur here, while Kwando makes a special effort with its night drives, often following predators hunting until late in the night.

From Kwando Lagoon we move to the newly built Little Kwara Camp. Beautifully located on high decking under spectacular jackalberry, sausage and knobthorn trees, this luxury tented camp is situated on the very edge of the permanent waterways of the Okavango Delta. I have chosen this camp to give a complete change from the activities of Kwando Lagoon and while game drives will certainly be an option (and wild dogs, lion, cheetah and leopard all occur here in numbers) we will also be able to undertake boat and mokoro (traditional dug-out canoe) outings. Kwara in fact has easy boat access to the two largest expanses of open water in the Okavango Delta, Gadikwe and Gobega Lagoons, my old stamping grounds when running a safari camp in the Delta back in the 1980s.

This safari is limited to four persons only and will have the sole use of vehicles and boats for the duration of the safari. We have also chartered a large 8-seater Airvan aircraft for our party to avoid the stress and hassles associated with flying in small aircraft, particularly insofar as excess baggage is concerned. Charter flights in Botswana usually limit passengers to 15 kilograms of baggage each, including camera gear, so we have eliminated this hassle by using a larger aircraft!

The safari cost of $8400 per person sharing includes all accommodation, meals and drinks at both camps; all activities including drives and boating excursions; medical evacuation insurance with MRI; daily laundry service at both camps; all park fees and government tourism levies and taxes; private charter flights between Maun and the camps and back to Maun.

The scheduled flights on Air Botswana from Johannesburg to Maun and back have NOT been included in this quotation, but these flights can be booked on your behalf. Please let us know if you require this service.

A deposit of 25% will be required to confirm your booking within 21 days of making your reservation.

Please contact us now should you be interested in this safari.

Daryl & Sharna Balfour  wildphotos@mweb.co.za Tel +27-13-7440611

BLUE WATER EXTREME DIVING

Daryl Balfour has spent the past several months investigating new areas of operation for WildphotosSafaris and is now able to offer diving safaris to some of the world?s best Freediving hotspots.

Among the trips we can offer include Freediving with Orcas and Whale Sharks and cage diving with great white sharks for amazing underwater photo opportunities, as well as freedive spearfishing for the ultimate trophies of giant yellowfin tuna, dogtooth tuna, wahoo and even billfish.