TIGERS in AFRICA

A UNIQUE AND EXCLUSIVE SAFARI EXPERIENCE

with Daryl & Sharna Balfour

 

Join Daryl & Sharna Balfour at a unique tiger sanctuary in South Africa where you will have unheard of opportunities for seeing and photographing Asian tigers living in the wild.

 

Tigers are the most endangered big cats in the world. Probably the most iconic and recognized animal on earth, tiger numbers in the wild in their home range states in Asia have plummeted from over 100 000 a century ago to perhaps fewer than 3000 today! Despite international efforts to conserve tigers in Asia it appears that the home states neither have the will nor the wherewithal to take positive conservation measures.

 

John Varty, co-owner of world famous class-leading Londolozi Game Reserve on the western borders of Kruger Park, after visiting India and China on several occasions and getting nothing but disheartening impressions, decided to do something about the situation.

 

His far-sighted if controversial plans are to “privatize tigers” by establishing privately owned tiger game reserves wherever suitable land and prey is available. To this end he has been engaged for more than a decade in establishing tiger sanctuaries in South Africa. His initial ideas of breeding viable wild, free-ranging, self-sustaining tigers to be returned to Asia in the future, has been set aside in favour of rather turning Africa into the world’s new and premier tiger viewing destination.

 

“Why send tigers back to places where they are not adequately protected; where dead tigers are worth more than living tigers; where tigers compete for space with more than half of all mankind?” Varty asks.

 

To this end he has established Tiger Canyons in the heart of South Africa’s Karoo – now home to possibly the only population of wild tigers that is steadily increasing in numbers!

 

 

Daryl & Sharna have been involved with the tiger conservation project at Tiger Canyons since October 2009 and are convinced that sanctuaries such as this - fenced to keep tigers in and people out, and stocked with suitable prey species for tigers to hunt and fend for themselves – are probably the future of the species. We believe that in attempts to save a species it does not matter where this is done. If tigers must be saved in Africa, America, Australia rather than Asia, so be it. In February 2009 the Indian government announced they had only some 1,400 tigers left in all the reserves in that country. Two of their tiger reserves have no tigers left, while in others they are declining steadily, and even that figure of 1,400 is debatable considering it took several years for authorities there to acknowledge that tigers were extinct in the Sariska and Panna reserves. The unheralded and little known Tiger Canyons in South Africa meanwhile has seen its population grow from four to 16 tigers since 2006. John Varty is currently seeking more land, more investment in tigers, so these numbers may continue to grow and prosper.

 

Tiger Canyons is not currently a “tourist destination” in the true sense of the word. There is no accommodation and little infrastructure. Rather it is a working experiment in saving tigers to which you are invited along with Daryl & Sharna Balfour on an informal safari where you will be virtually guaranteed tiger sightings and opportunities to photograph tigers unlike anywhere else on earth. The tigers roam free in spectacular Karoo landscapes with everything a tiger needs – dense reed beds, freshwater pools for bathing and swimming, stark rock outcrops that make stunning photo settings, and open grasslands where prey such as springbok, blesbuck, wildebeest, mountain reedbuck and steenbok graze…and tigers hunt!

 

Our tiger safaris are informal and simply structured. We stay in restored historical cottages in the nearby village of Philippolis where we can cater for ourselves or eat in the one and only dining option in town. However by prior arrangement we prefer to take our meals privately with John Varty at Tiger Canyons where you will be able to enjoy one-on-one chats about his visionary project, and about his passion for the big cats. All these safaris are customized according to your needs, and start either from Johannesburg or Bloemfontein, though private charter flights can land in Philippolis, weather permitting.

 

JOIN US at TIGER CANYONS

We offer safaris to Tiger Canyons in close co-operation with John Varty and make sure that he will be on site to entertain and educate our guests about his goals and ambitions in tiger conservation. There is some fossil evidence that tigers in fact could once have roamed Africa…and it is indisputable that lions, leopards and cheetah lived alongside tigers in Asia. Sadly the Asian lions are almost extinct, and cheetah have recently been reintroduced after becoming extinct there in recent years. Our safaris can be tailored to suit your needs and aspirations and are usually best done as an add-on to another southern African safari. We can specifically recommend a combined Big Cats safari utilizing Londolozi Game Reserve, world famous for its superb leopard viewing and great lion sightings. Guests can quite conceivably be photographing lions and leopards in the morning and be sitting with tigers that afternoon!

 

CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT VISITING THE TIGERS in AFRICA

daryl@wildphotossafaris.com or wildphotos@mweb.co.za

 

 

 

 

 

 

WILDPHOTOS SAFARIS

BIG CATS of the MAASAI MARA 

MARCH 14-21, 2011 

 

Daryl & Sharna Balfour invite you to join them in a new departure in Kenya’s acclaimed Maasai Mara National Reserve. Although we have run special wildebeest migration safaris in August and September each year for the past decade we have had consistently good game viewing in the Mara at other times of the year as well. In fact we have on occasion felt that without the distractions of the migrating herds of wildebeest and the pressure we all feel to locate river crossings each day, the Mara can be at its best outside of the migration period. To this end we have scheduled two new safaris in the Mara during March 2011. As we have done in past years for the migration, we will set 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 taking better photos of your safari-in-a-lifetime, while our resident naturalist guides, Pierre Burton and Phil West are among the best in East Africa and will ensure that your safari is both memorable and informative. The Mara is undoubtedly one of the best places in Africa to see and photograph the big cats – lion, leopard and cheetah – and we will spend much of our days tracking and photographing them.                        

 

An exclusive “mobile” private tented camp offering top quality catering from our four experienced and qualified chefs, with seven tents accommodating a maximum of 12 guests, will be erected solely for the use of these safaris, at a secluded and private location in one of the best game viewing areas of the Maasai Mara. The camp will feature spacious walk-in safari tents with a choice of large queen-sized beds or comfy twins, each with private en-suite ablution facilities featuring a fully enclosed dressing room with washbasin and clothing racks, private HOT bucket showers in a fully 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 truly spectacular linen-covered candle-lit tables set with fine china and stemware.

 

We have endeavored to recreate the atmosphere of the original mobile hunting camps of the past with our camp, and this is the way Ernest Hemingway, Teddy Roosevelt and Robert Ruark experienced and wrote about Africa, (with many more modern luxury trimmings, of course) and is the best way to avoid the over-crowded mass-market tourism of the bigger commercial lodges and safari hotels. We place a premium on the wildlife experience too, with our guides being among the best in the industry not only in finding and locating the game, but also being informative about the country, its people and its wildlife. Our guides are all thoroughly experienced at ensuring you will have the best position and angle to optimize your photography and will offer advice and assistance whenever required.

Your eventful and full days will be spent exploring this, the northernmost limits of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, seeking the area’s abundant wildlife – which at this time of the year should include the big cats for which the Mara is rightly famous as well as many other of the usual plains game species along with elephants, giraffe and Cape buffalo. Our guides will do their utmost to ensure you an experience of a lifetime.

 

Our daily schedule, which we adjust and fine-tune according to the likes and needs 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 (closed toasted sandwiches)  for a mid-morning stop out in the wilds. We return to camp around 11.00am 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, and our chefs and camp staff are totally adaptable to our ways!

 

The Maasai 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  Big Cat Live and we are likely to see many of the lions, leopard and cheetah that have become the stars of this TV series.

 

Birding in the area is also excellent, and first-time visitors to the area are sure to see a number of “lifers”.

 

Transport will be in comfortable customised Toyota 4x4 safari vehicles equipped with cooler bags with cold drinks and water, with a maximum of four guests to a vehicle (as opposed to the East African safari norm of six –eight, or even nine). Each person will have their own open window as well as a large open roof hatch overhead. Ample large beanbags are provided for the use of photographers in all vehicles, and we assure everyone of opportunities to capture award winning images!

 

All safaris begin and end in Nairobi on the safari dates specified below. You should make your own flight or other arrangements to be in Nairobi on the morning of or the day before your safari begins. SAA and Kenya Airways offer daily flights to Nairobi from Johannesburg.  Delta Airlines are introducing direct flights from New York sometime soon, while BA, Kenya Airways, Virgin, Swiss, Air France and KLM also offer direct flights from the UK and Europe. We use a private charter flight in a 12-seater Cessna Caravan C208 direct from the domestic Wilson Airport to the Maasai Mara at 14h00 on the day your safari begins, and returning to Wilson Airport at the end of your safari, arriving about 12h00 well in time for outgoing international connections.

 

Most international flights to Nairobi arrive in the early morning, allowing guests to transfer from the international JKIA airport to Wilson Airport on the same day. For those flights arriving the evening before we can offer suggestions of places to stay in the city, either in hotels or private guest houses or B&Bs. 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 2011 safaris are:  March 5-12 (SOLD OUT) and March 14-21.

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 Maasai Mara, full board in camp, all drinks including beer, fine South African wine, spirits and soft drinks, all 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, Pierre Burton and Phil West, are among the leading naturalist-guides of East Africa and are indeed involved in the training of other up-and-coming guides in Kenya.

 

We have been able to maintain our daily rate at our 2009 rate. The fully inclusive cost of the new seven night safari is US$5695 per person sharing. A single supplement of $1950 may be payable for single tent occupancy. Please note that due to currency fluctuations and other possible increases and surcharges beyond our control the tour price remains subject to change. A 30 % non-refundable deposit will be payable to confirm a booking. Full payment is required 100 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.

 

Daryl & Sharna Balfour have been among Africa’s leading wildlife photographers and authors for the past 24 years. They have published more than a dozen best-selling coffee-table books including: Simply Safari; African Elephants – A Celebration of Majesty; Chobe – Africa’s Untamed Wilderness; This is Botswana; ETOSHA; and Rhino – The Story of the Rhinoceros.  Their work is represented worldwide by several of the world’s leading image libraries, and they have been published in magazines such as National Geographic, Audubon, BBC Wildlife, Africa Geographic, GEO, Stern! and numerous others.

 

 

 

SERENGETI MIGRATION, NGORONGORO CRATER

 & AMBOSELI’S ELEPHANTS

 9-20 April 2011 (to be confirmed)

 

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 2010. The trip, limited to a maximum of four people and designed for optimum comfort and convenience with only four passengers to a 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, along with Amboseli National Park in Kenya, perhaps Africa’s premier elephant watching destination and the place where those classic shots of snow-capped Mt Kilimanjaro are taken.

 

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 computer, 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:

April 9: Fly to Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and onwards to Kilimanjaro International Airport, Moshi, Tanzania, transfer The Bay Leaf Hotel or Arusha Coffee Lodge for overnight, briefing etc

April 10: transfer to Arusha airport for a charter flight to Ndutu Lodge in the southern Serengeti region, for 4 nights

April 14: Morning drive via Oldupai Gorge – the Cradle of Mankind and site of many of Mary & Louis Leakey’s most famous anthropological finds – to Ngorongoro Crater with picnic lunch and afternoon spent on the Crater floor. Overnight Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge, for 2 nights

 April 16: Return to Arusha late afternoon for shopping (I have an excellent wholesale contact for superb Tanzanite, Tsavorite gemstones, or curios etc); Overnight The Bay Leaf Hotel or Arusha Coffee Lodge.

 April 17:  We travel by 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 3 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 up close and personal. 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.

April 20:  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, Tanzania, the first night of the safari will be spent in a comfortable boutique hotel in the heart of Arusha, or a guest lodge in the midst of coffee plantations on the outskirts of town.. 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 scheduled 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 23 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, seeking the Crater’s legendary big tuskers, black rhino and big cats. Ngorongoro Crater is also great for birding, particularly raptors and flamingos.

 

 

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 Tsavorite and other gemstones, Tanzanite being mined at the only known gem-quality deposit on the planet near the town. I have an excellent contact with an international wholesale dealer here, and high quality stones at genuine 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, April 22, sees us bidding farewell to the mountain and the elephants before boarding 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 (Arusha),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 April 9, and for departure from Nairobi on the afternoon or the night of April 20. Contact us for information on flights if required, as I will be flying from Johannesburg to Arusha via Nairobi on April 9 too. I have not had good experiences with the “direct” flights to Kilimanjaro from Johannesburg and have preferred in recent years to fly via Nairobi, using SAA or Kenya Airways to Nairobi and Air Kenya/Regional Air from there to Kilimanjaro.

 

The cost of this safari is US$8495 per person sharing. The single supplement is $3495.

 

The price includes:  Full board accommodation sharing double rooms except in Arusha, the scheduled charter flight from Arusha to the Serengeti, all viewing and park entrance fees including 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.

The price excludes:  International flights, drinks, laundry, airport departure taxes, Tanzania and Kenya visas where required (available on arrival at the airport or border post) 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 !

wildphotos@mweb.co.za                    www.wildphotossafaris.com

Elephants, Elephants & Elephants of East Africa

Samburu, Tsavo & Amboseli National Parks

February 2011

 

Join acclaimed elephant author and photographer Daryl Balfour (African Elephants – A Celebration of Majesty) on a safari taking in the very best elephant viewing areas in Kenya in February 2011 (dates to be finalised according to preferences).

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 River, Samburu

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; Tsavo

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!

Elephant herd & Kilimanjaro, near Tortilis Camp, Amboseli NP

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 over 10 days in February 2011 and begins and ends in Nairobi, Kenya. We suggest that safari particpants arrive in Nairobi the night before the safari and overnight there, as our flight to Samburu departs early on the first morning. We can assist with hotel or guest house reservations for that evening should you require them.

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

The cost of the safari is US$8395 per person sharing, from Nairobi. 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 are included in your safari fare.

Two-day-old calf sleeping under cow, Samburu

For more information about this safari, or to reserve your place, please contact

daryl@wildphotossafaris.com or wildphotos@mweb.co.za now!