Photographic & Hunting safari?

wildfowler.250

wildfowler.250

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Right folks, this is a few years off probably but my other half is desperate to go on a photographic safari.

- Ideally looking for recommendations of low volume of visitors, nice lodgings and the usual big five,(of which I haven’t seen many either).

Any recommendations on country? Venue recommendations would be even be better? Seems like the best place to ask on here.

Now, the side quest. I’ve been over to South Africa once for plains game but if I’m flying all that way, it would be nice to try and squeeze a hunt in. The other half is pretty neutral on the hunting but isn’t keen for ‘seeing’ the shots which is fair enough. So my point is, a few days extra hunting is probably passable without boring her or being selfish. A week hunting would be a push.

I think the cost of the photographic may heavily offset my funds for the hunting side. IE I think a Cape buffalo in TZN would be out but a bushbuck / oryx/ lechwe/ waterbuck idea may work.

Am I right in thinking Tanzania / Botswana is probably the best shout for a photographic? I know Tanzania is lengthy hunts as part of a licence but can you do shorter 4-5 days in Botswana like you could in South Africa?

Is it practical to have as good photographic safari whilst on a 7 day hunting safari? Really, I’ve had my one off trip so I’d be prioritising her trip first,(not that I won’t enjoy it). But if I can blend the two, even better..

Opinions/experiences very welcome

Cheers!
 
It’s been several years, but my wife and I spent a few days in the Mikumi National Park in Tanzania and really enjoyed it. It’s easy to access from Dar es Salaam, has the big 5, has some very nice lodges, and has far less traffic than Arusha, Kruger, etc (the big name parks in Southern Africa)…

News |TANZANIA NATIONAL PARKS

Tanzania National Parks
www.tanzaniaparks.go.tz www.tanzaniaparks.go.tz

We stayed at the Mikumi Safari Lodge and found it very nice. The staff were friendly, the food was excellent, and the accommodations were very comfortable. It was under different management at the time, but it still gets very good ratings and strong reviews…

Welcome to Mikumi Safari Lodge | Tanzania

Rejuvenate your soul at a hidden gem in the picturesque region of Morogoro - the agricultural heartland of Tanzania. The lodge is a mere 30 minutes from the gate of Mikumi National Park, which has some of Tanzania’s richest concentrations of animal, bird and plant life.
www.mikumisafarilodge.com www.mikumisafarilodge.com


Another option if you prefer South Africa would be the pilansberg national park.. it’s convenient to Joberg (maybe a little more than an hours drive from the airport?), has the big 5, has numerous exceptional lodges, etc.. and there are several safari outfitters nearby in NW province ( including @Bos en Dal SAFARIS ) where you can conveniently and affordably hunt once you’re done with the park (much cheaper and easier than Tanzania)…

 
I'm in a similar situation and am combining hunting (5 days) and photo (9 days) with my family this coming summer in Tanzania. The minimum license is 7 days but you don't necessarily have to hunt that long. Whether the outfitter will allow a shorter hunt is another question. I'm not even sure my outfitter allows it -- they were handling the whole trip as a photographic trip but part of it was at one of their hunting camps. When I expressed interest in hunting they were like well we could hunt while you're at our camp.
 
We have done exactly that in Botswana during the closure. I did file a hunt report, but basically:

One night in Jo’Burg at Africa Sky
Flew to Maun
Five days or so hunting on a private ranch three hours out of maun
Flight seeing tour of the Okavango delta out of maun
Three or four days photo safari glamping cross country from maun to Kasane.
Day trip from Kasane to Vic Falls with a helo tour of Vic Falls
One day drive across the cut lines from Kasane to Maun.
Flight home with another overnight at Africa Sky.

It was an epic trip. I particularly enjoyed driving one of the cruisers in the convoy. I get a little tired of being a passenger in Africa and grab the wheel any chance I get.
 
My wife is a non-hunter, but loves to do photo safaris. We lived in Lagos, Nigeria for six years and was fortunate to do several photo safaris together and I got do several hunting safaris solo. Our absolute favorite photo safaris were to the Maasai Mara in Kenya and Chobe National Park in Botswana. In Kenya, we saw the Big 5 and it was just a spectacular trip. We went about a month before the Great Migration, so the crowds were light and the prices were a bit lower. Unfortunately, there's no hunting in Kenya. The trip to Chobe was combined with a stay in Livingstone and seeing Vic Falls. This type of trip could easily add a hunt in Bots, Zim or Zam.

One trip still on my bucket list is a trip to Namibia and photo safari to Etosha and a hunt for another buffalo.


375 Ruger Fan

Thread 'KENYA: Maasai Mara Photo Safari June 2017'

While not exactly a hunting report, since no hunting is allowed in Kenya, I wanted to share some photos and words about my recent trip to Masai Mara, Kenya. Call it a scouting trip for a future Tanz hunt.

My wife is a non-hunter and has accompanied me on a hunt to Namibia a few years ago. She really enjoys the photo safaris we've done to places like Chobe and Vic Falls. This year, we decided to visit a couple of friends in Nairobi and do a photo safari in Maasai Mara, Kenya. Since we live in Lagos, Nigeria, this was a short (5 hr) flight and made for a relatively inexpensive week...
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375 Ruger Fan

Thread 'BOTSWANA: Chobe Photo Safari August 2015'

Just got back from a photo safari with the wife and friends. I'll sort thru all the photos and start posting a few per day. Departing out of Lagos, Nigeria on a red-eye flight at 10:30pm, we arrived in Joburg at 5:30am on a Saturday morning. We spent the night at the airport hotel, City Lodge, and it was pretty good. Good breakfast, clean, modern and quiet rooms. Dinner menu a little light, but other than that, no issues.

Friends from Houston arrived late on Saturday. Sunday, we flew to Kasane, Botswana. Nice little airport and very little hassle. A new terminal is under...
  • Like
 
In South Africa there are many great options for photographic safaris.

Three of our personal favourites are Thorny bush which is in the greater Kruger, but it will reduce the hunting budget tremendiously, then Madikwe Game Reserve close to Botswana and 2hrs west of our home base, and as @mdwest mentioned Pilanesberg National park

All of these offer great photo opportunities and they take real good care of you and the misses.

If interested p.m me for more details and off course we can then also help with the hunting part of that trip

Regards
Gerrit
 
Most every trip I’ve done has been some combination of the two. Keeping with one outfitter for the whole thing keeps is simpler for you. Make sure someone has thought about where your guns will be while you are on photo safari. Those requirements vary by country.

Tanzania has some beautiful parks, but is less flexible in terms of hunting with the license structure etc. Namibia would be another great choice with either Etosha or Sossusvlei, depending on what you want to see.
 
Keep in mind Tanzania is a very expensive country to hunt. Your previous hunt in South Africa likely cost less than any hunt you could plan in Tanzania. Many hunting areas aside from massailand are also not easily reached by road.
Namibia would be your best bet for a new country and to combine tourism and hunting. Do a 7 day hunt for gemsbok, springbok, Hartmann zebra, kudu, and few others then combine it with a trip to Etosha National Park or Swakopmund on coast or both. Most outfitters regularly do these side trips.
 
On this hunting trip (link below): I hunted eland for one week, than took off to Etosha national park. Namibia

There are a lot of photos in report, take a look.
Too many people or not depends on how you organize.
In order to avoid crowd, I took my PH as a guide and we used his car.

Some tourists rent a car and go by themselves. Easily doable, the roads in park is well marked.

You book a lodge near park (thats what we did), one room for my guide and PH, and one for me.
Take the car, go in the morning when park opens, come out back to lodge on sunset.

Budget tourists take a guide with 20 person open van and single guide with loudspeaker. In my opinion this is crowd.

mark-hunter

Thread 'NAMIBIA: From The Smallest To The Greatest'

NAMIBIA: FROM THE SMALLEST TO THE GREATEST
NAMIBIA: Von den Kleinsten bis zu den Größten
There was no time to set up the sticks! I was shooting from the hand. The distance was about 40 meters and my hands were hard to steady.
I wanted the stick or any kind of rest badly, but that was not an option. The crosshairs came up at perfect position, but still, the crosshairs were moving too much. Holding the breath in sweat after entire morning in the bush was hard.
Slowly, I squeezed the trigger, to the best of my ability.
The rifle went “Click” instead of “Bang”, followed by the...
  • Like
  • Love
 
How serious of a photographer is your wife? If she is a avid photographer I would steer her towards a photography specific photo safari like Pangolin Photo Safaris - https://www.pangolinphoto.com/

Reason being is they are focused only on photography and have the locations where she will get ample opportunities for capturing many species up close and personal.

If she is just the weekend warrior so to speak, then something like Pilanesberg National Park would probably satisfy her. We went to Pilanesberg on our last trip as a day excursion and it was nice but they are not geared toward the photography specific experience. I am a serious photographer and while I got some decent photos, it was not the same experience she would get as going with somebody like Pangolin.

In my experience, you really need two weeks to satisfy both of you. One week of hunting and one week for photography. But, that really depends on how serious she is as a photographer. If she was willing to go with you while you hunt and carry her camera, she could get some nice photo opportunities but as you said, if she does not want to experience the kill shot, then that might not be for her.

I have taken my good camera with me and as a hunter, I found it hard to hunt and photograph at the same time.
 
Absolutely, do it.
I ve been to Africa three times, every time the hunt was followed by a tour of some part of Africa.

2013, joined by my spouse and another couple,hunt PG about an hours drive east of Windhoek Namibia, Nine animals on a ten day hunt (including a day in Windhoek and another day visiting schools etc). Hunt was followed by 20 day tour thru Namibia, from the skeleton coast north thru Etosha, caprivi, Botswana and ending up at Victoria Fall before flying home.

2018, joined by a son,hunt DG and PG at Makuya and Limpopo, followed by a week in Cape Town region. Vinyard tours, Table Mountain and cage diving with great white sharks !!!! then flying home Cape Town to Johannesburg, Had to pick up firearms there.

2019: joined by my wife (same one as in 2013), hunt 6 PG on a 8 day hunt in the Eastern Cape followed by a week long tour down the Garden route to Cape Town, then flying home from there.

Each trip was unique in itself, each trip was incredible, no regrets on any one.
 
My wife and I did this in Botswana, Okavanga Delta area for pics (very cool) and hunted at Tholo for really big kudu and eland. Honestly the pics at Tholo were better than on the dedicated photo trip.

The people you meet on a photo safari are a different sort... Be prepared for interesting conversations...

We met one couple where the wife hated every minute of the trip and the husband was taking 4000 pictures a day of sleeping lions and bugs and other stuff. She used us to vent on and he just ignored her. I have a couple of G&T's in the evening to digest the mess I listened to all day.
 
I would enthusiastically second the Pilanesberg National Park. Earlier this year I did a week long hunt followed by one day in Pilanesberg, which was the highlight of my trip. Saw 13 rhino's including a group of three at about 25' in front of the vehicle, numerous elephant, hippo and a crocidile. This was far better than the day I spent in Kruger the year before. PM me if you want the name of the service i used to go from Johannesberg up and back.
 
Very feasible and many PH’s can help coordinate. Below are two examples

2024 I took my mom (non Hunter), dad (Hunter), and girlfriend (non Hunter) to @MATTANJA HUNTING SAFARIS after my mom retired. My mom understands hunting but doesn’t want to be around the shooting or even the animal after, ant least until it’s on the dinner table. We spent several days doing a photo safari (on foot and in a vehicle) in the Greater Kruger (Klasserie), followed by 3 days of hunting (me), and a few days in Cape Town.

2025 I did a hunt in Zambia with Stang Middleton, with a friend and his wife. Following the hunt we spent a couple days at the Radison Hotel in Livingstone. We toured Chobe NP in Botswana, Victoria Falls NP in Zimbabwe and the Falls themselves. They did some other excursions and eventually Rovos Rail while I ventured off to Botswana and Namibia to fish the Okavango.

If and when I hunt Tanzania it will definitely include some sightseeing time there and in Kenya, and potentially submitting Mt. Kilimanjaro. For me the biggest hurdle right now is getting enough time off to combine hunting and sightseeing.
 
Garciamarquez1918 said:
I'm in a similar situation and am combining hunting (5 days) and photo (9 days) with my family this coming summer in Tanzania. The minimum license is 7 days but you don't necessarily have to hunt that long. Whether the outfitter will allow a shorter hunt is another question. I'm not even sure my outfitter allows it -- they were handling the whole trip as a photographic trip but part of it was at one of their hunting camps. When I expressed interest in hunting they were like well we could hunt while you're at our camp.
Click to expand...

WAB said:
We have done exactly that in Botswana during the closure. I did file a hunt report, but basically:

One night in Jo’Burg at Africa Sky
Flew to Maun
Five days or so hunting on a private ranch three hours out of maun
Flight seeing tour of the Okavango delta out of maun
Three or four days photo safari glamping cross country from maun to Kasane.
Day trip from Kasane to Vic Falls with a helo tour of Vic Falls
One day drive across the cut lines from Kasane to Maun.
Flight home with another overnight at Africa Sky.

It was an epic trip. I particularly enjoyed driving one of the cruisers in the convoy. I get a little tired of being a passenger in Africa and grab the wheel any chance I get.
Click to expand...

375 Ruger Fan said:
My wife is a non-hunter, but loves to do photo safaris. We lived in Lagos, Nigeria for six years and was fortunate to do several photo safaris together and I got do several hunting safaris solo. Our absolute favorite photo safaris were to the Maasai Mara in Kenya and Chobe National Park in Botswana. In Kenya, we saw the Big 5 and it was just a spectacular trip. We went about a month before the Great Migration, so the crowds were light and the prices were a bit lower. Unfortunately, there's no hunting in Kenya. The trip to Chobe was combined with a stay in Livingstone and seeing Vic Falls. This type of trip could easily add a hunt in Bots, Zim or Zam.

One trip still on my bucket list is a trip to Namibia and photo safari to Etosha and a hunt for another buffalo.


375 Ruger Fan

Thread 'KENYA: Maasai Mara Photo Safari June 2017'

While not exactly a hunting report, since no hunting is allowed in Kenya, I wanted to share some photos and words about my recent trip to Masai Mara, Kenya. Call it a scouting trip for a future Tanz hunt.

My wife is a non-hunter and has accompanied me on a hunt to Namibia a few years ago. She really enjoys the photo safaris we've done to places like Chobe and Vic Falls. This year, we decided to visit a couple of friends in Nairobi and do a photo safari in Maasai Mara, Kenya. Since we live in Lagos, Nigeria, this was a short (5 hr) flight and made for a relatively inexpensive week...
  • Like

375 Ruger Fan

Thread 'BOTSWANA: Chobe Photo Safari August 2015'

Just got back from a photo safari with the wife and friends. I'll sort thru all the photos and start posting a few per day. Departing out of Lagos, Nigeria on a red-eye flight at 10:30pm, we arrived in Joburg at 5:30am on a Saturday morning. We spent the night at the airport hotel, City Lodge, and it was pretty good. Good breakfast, clean, modern and quiet rooms. Dinner menu a little light, but other than that, no issues.

Friends from Houston arrived late on Saturday. Sunday, we flew to Kasane, Botswana. Nice little airport and very little hassle. A new terminal is under...
  • Like
Click to expand...

Bos en Dal SAFARIS said:
In South Africa there are many great options for photographic safaris.

Three of our personal favourites are Thorny bush which is in the greater Kruger, but it will reduce the hunting budget tremendiously, then Madikwe Game Reserve close to Botswana and 2hrs west of our home base, and as @mdwest mentioned Pilanesberg National park

All of these offer great photo opportunities and they take real good care of you and the misses.

If interested p.m me for more details and off course we can then also help with the hunting part of that trip

Regards
Gerrit
Click to expand...

318AE said:
Most every trip I’ve done has been some combination of the two. Keeping with one outfitter for the whole thing keeps is simpler for you. Make sure someone has thought about where your guns will be while you are on photo safari. Those requirements vary by country.

Tanzania has some beautiful parks, but is less flexible in terms of hunting with the license structure etc. Namibia would be another great choice with either Etosha or Sossusvlei, depending on what you want to see.
Click to expand...

375Fox said:
Keep in mind Tanzania is a very expensive country to hunt. Your previous hunt in South Africa likely cost less than any hunt you could plan in Tanzania. Many hunting areas aside from massailand are also not easily reached by road.
Namibia would be your best bet for a new country and to combine tourism and hunting. Do a 7 day hunt for gemsbok, springbok, Hartmann zebra, kudu, and few others then combine it with a trip to Etosha National Park or Swakopmund on coast or both. Most outfitters regularly do these side trips.
Click to expand...

mark-hunter said:
On this hunting trip (link below): I hunted eland for one week, than took off to Etosha national park. Namibia

There are a lot of photos in report, take a look.
Too many people or not depends on how you organize.
In order to avoid crowd, I took my PH as a guide and we used his car.

Some tourists rent a car and go by themselves. Easily doable, the roads in park is well marked.

You book a lodge near park (thats what we did), one room for my guide and PH, and one for me.
Take the car, go in the morning when park opens, come out back to lodge on sunset.

Budget tourists take a guide with 20 person open van and single guide with loudspeaker. In my opinion this is crowd.

mark-hunter

Thread 'NAMIBIA: From The Smallest To The Greatest'

NAMIBIA: FROM THE SMALLEST TO THE GREATEST
NAMIBIA: Von den Kleinsten bis zu den Größten
There was no time to set up the sticks! I was shooting from the hand. The distance was about 40 meters and my hands were hard to steady.
I wanted the stick or any kind of rest badly, but that was not an option. The crosshairs came up at perfect position, but still, the crosshairs were moving too much. Holding the breath in sweat after entire morning in the bush was hard.
Slowly, I squeezed the trigger, to the best of my ability.
The rifle went “Click” instead of “Bang”, followed by the...
  • Like
  • Love
Click to expand...

WyoBull said:
How serious of a photographer is your wife? If she is a avid photographer I would steer her towards a photography specific photo safari like Pangolin Photo Safaris - https://www.pangolinphoto.com/

Reason being is they are focused only on photography and have the locations where she will get ample opportunities for capturing many species up close and personal.

If she is just the weekend warrior so to speak, then something like Pilanesberg National Park would probably satisfy her. We went to Pilanesberg on our last trip as a day excursion and it was nice but they are not geared toward the photography specific experience. I am a serious photographer and while I got some decent photos, it was not the same experience she would get as going with somebody like Pangolin.

In my experience, you really need two weeks to satisfy both of you. One week of hunting and one week for photography. But, that really depends on how serious she is as a photographer. If she was willing to go with you while you hunt and carry her camera, she could get some nice photo opportunities but as you said, if she does not want to experience the kill shot, then that might not be for her.

I have taken my good camera with me and as a hunter, I found it hard to hunt and photograph at the same time.
Click to expand...

Neil Molendyk said:
Absolutely, do it.
I ve been to Africa three times, every time the hunt was followed by a tour of some part of Africa.

2013, joined by my spouse and another couple,hunt PG about an hours drive east of Windhoek Namibia, Nine animals on a ten day hunt (including a day in Windhoek and another day visiting schools etc). Hunt was followed by 20 day tour thru Namibia, from the skeleton coast north thru Etosha, caprivi, Botswana and ending up at Victoria Fall before flying home.

2018, joined by a son,hunt DG and PG at Makuya and Limpopo, followed by a week in Cape Town region. Vinyard tours, Table Mountain and cage diving with great white sharks !!!! then flying home Cape Town to Johannesburg, Had to pick up firearms there.

2019: joined by my wife (same one as in 2013), hunt 6 PG on a 8 day hunt in the Eastern Cape followed by a week long tour down the Garden route to Cape Town, then flying home from there.

Each trip was unique in itself, each trip was incredible, no regrets on any one.
Click to expand...

dogcat1 said:
My wife and I did this in Botswana, Okavanga Delta area for pics (very cool) and hunted at Tholo for really big kudu and eland. Honestly the pics at Tholo were better than on the dedicated photo trip.

The people you meet on a photo safari are a different sort... Be prepared for interesting conversations...

We met one couple where the wife hated every minute of the trip and the husband was taking 4000 pictures a day of sleeping lions and bugs and other stuff. She used us to vent on and he just ignored her. I have a couple of G&T's in the evening to digest the mess I listened to all day.
Click to expand...

forshoes said:
I would enthusiastically second the Pilanesberg National Park. Earlier this year I did a week long hunt followed by one day in Pilanesberg, which was the highlight of my trip. Saw 13 rhino's including a group of three at about 25' in front of the vehicle, numerous elephant, hippo and a crocidile. This was far better than the day I spent in Kruger the year before. PM me if you want the name of the service i used to go from Johannesberg up and back.
Click to expand...

Mtn_Infantry said:
Very feasible and many PH’s can help coordinate. Below are two examples

2024 I took my mom (non Hunter), dad (Hunter), and girlfriend (non Hunter) to @MATTANJA HUNTING SAFARIS after my mom retired. My mom understands hunting but doesn’t want to be around the shooting or even the animal after, ant least until it’s on the dinner table. We spent several days doing a photo safari (on foot and in a vehicle) in the Greater Kruger (Klasserie), followed by 3 days of hunting (me), and a few days in Cape Town.

2025 I did a hunt in Zambia with Stang Middleton, with a friend and his wife. Following the hunt we spent a couple days at the Radison Hotel in Livingstone. We toured Chobe NP in Botswana, Victoria Falls NP in Zimbabwe and the Falls themselves. They did some other excursions and eventually Rovos Rail while I ventured off to Botswana and Namibia to fish the Okavango.

If and when I hunt Tanzania it will definitely include some sightseeing time there and in Kenya, and potentially submitting Mt. Kilimanjaro. For me the biggest hurdle right now is getting enough time off to combine hunting and sightseeing.
Click to expand...

Thanks folks. This gives me a lot of options. I’ll look up Pilansberg, that’s a new one to me but it’s popped up a few times on here.

Good to know a mix of photographic and hunting is common. Outfitters seem to appreciate this is the norm as well having had a look. She’s not mad keen on photography. Just more wants a ‘non-hunting’ majority to the trip.

I’m quite keen on Botswana. Namibia seems more popular for hunting but seems less appealing from a photographic/greenery point of view.

I’d love to do a cape buff hunt but I think budget may say eland and a few other things. I’ve done kudu and a few species already.

I presume you would need a full 7-10 days for a cape buff anyway? I’m requesting prices but most are a flat rate and not a trophy fee like a South Africa situation?

A tracking eland hunt would be fun. I’d like a warthog as well. But otherwise I’m pretty easy as a second trip.

Cheers!
 
My most recent safari was 7 days hunting in the Free State and Limpopo and then 4 days in Kruger, it was fantastic. My wife and youngest daughter were with me , neither are hunters but went out on some hunts and did camp stuff on other days. The camp had a spa and other activities for non hunters.
Even squeezed in a day of fishing for all and a day of dove hunting for me.
 
wildfowler.250 said:
Thanks folks. This gives me a lot of options. I’ll look up Pilansberg, that’s a new one to me but it’s popped up a few times on here.

Good to know a mix of photographic and hunting is common. Outfitters seem to appreciate this is the norm as well having had a look. She’s not mad keen on photography. Just more wants a ‘non-hunting’ majority to the

I’m quite keen on Botswana. Namibia seems more popular for hunting but seems less appealing from a photographic/greenery point of view.

I’d love to do a cape buff hunt but I think budget may say eland and a few other things. I’ve done kudu and a few species already.

I presume you would need a full 7-10 days for a cape buff anyway? I’m requesting prices but most are a flat rate and not a trophy fee like a South Africa situation?

A tracking eland hunt would be fun. I’d like a warthog as well. But otherwise I’m pretty easy as a second trip.

Cheers!
Click to expand...

A true tracking hunt for eland in the Kalahari is one of the best hunts in Africa.
 
wildfowler.250 said:
Right folks, this is a few years off probably but my other half is desperate to go on a photographic safari.

- Ideally looking for recommendations of low volume of visitors, nice lodgings and the usual big five,(of which I haven’t seen many either).

Any recommendations on country? Venue recommendations would be even be better? Seems like the best place to ask on here.

Now, the side quest. I’ve been over to South Africa once for plains game but if I’m flying all that way, it would be nice to try and squeeze a hunt in. The other half is pretty neutral on the hunting but isn’t keen for ‘seeing’ the shots which is fair enough. So my point is, a few days extra hunting is probably passable without boring her or being selfish. A week hunting would be a push.

I think the cost of the photographic may heavily offset my funds for the hunting side. IE I think a Cape buffalo in TZN would be out but a bushbuck / oryx/ lechwe/ waterbuck idea may work.

Am I right in thinking Tanzania / Botswana is probably the best shout for a photographic? I know Tanzania is lengthy hunts as part of a licence but can you do shorter 4-5 days in Botswana like you could in South Africa?

Is it practical to have as good photographic safari whilst on a 7 day hunting safari? Really, I’ve had my one off trip so I’d be prioritising her trip first,(not that I won’t enjoy it). But if I can blend the two, even better..

Opinions/experiences very welcome

Cheers!
Click to expand...
My wife and I have enjoyed several photographic safaris, but as she doesn't hunt she brings her Nikon when I bring a rifle. I would suggest contacting Guy Whittall at Roger Whittall Safaris in the Save Conservancy. You'll see all of the Big 5 and Cape buffalo are pretty affordable. Better yet, Guy now has a guide and driver for photographers, so your wife can go out for her agenda while you are hunting. Turgwe camp is splendid and she'll take hundreds of photo just from the cabin or patio looking over the river. You'll see her at lunch and dinner, but if she chooses to ride with you, Guy is a wonderful wildlife guide and a good birder.
 
wildfowler.250 said:
Right folks, this is a few years off probably but my other half is desperate to go on a photographic safari.

- Ideally looking for recommendations of low volume of visitors, nice lodgings and the usual big five,(of which I haven’t seen many either).

Any recommendations on country? Venue recommendations would be even be better? Seems like the best place to ask on here.

Now, the side quest. I’ve been over to South Africa once for plains game but if I’m flying all that way, it would be nice to try and squeeze a hunt in. The other half is pretty neutral on the hunting but isn’t keen for ‘seeing’ the shots which is fair enough. So my point is, a few days extra hunting is probably passable without boring her or being selfish. A week hunting would be a push.

I think the cost of the photographic may heavily offset my funds for the hunting side. IE I think a Cape buffalo in TZN would be out but a bushbuck / oryx/ lechwe/ waterbuck idea may work.

Am I right in thinking Tanzania / Botswana is probably the best shout for a photographic? I know Tanzania is lengthy hunts as part of a licence but can you do shorter 4-5 days in Botswana like you could in South Africa?

Is it practical to have as good photographic safari whilst on a 7 day hunting safari? Really, I’ve had my one off trip so I’d be prioritising her trip first,(not that I won’t enjoy it). But if I can blend the two, even better..

Opinions/experiences very welcome

Cheers!
Click to expand...
Good day sir,

We may have exactly what you are looking for for both you and your wife.

We are situated in the Lowveld area of South Africa, bordering the Greater Kruger National Park. This allows us to offer a very well-balanced experience, combining both hunting and high-quality photographic safaris in one seamless trip.

We offer Cape buffalo hunts within the Greater Kruger area, as well as private, personalised photographic tours into the Kruger National Park, departing directly from our main camp. This setup works particularly well for couples where one partner wishes to focus on photography and wildlife viewing, while the other would like to include a short hunting component.

All our hunts and photographic tours are:
• Low-volume and fully personalised
• Flexible in duration (ideal for short add-on hunts)
• Ethically conducted and professionally guided
• Priced realistically and competitively

This makes it possible to prioritise the photographic safari experience, while still allowing for a discreet and enjoyable hunting opportunity without detracting from your wife’s experience.

We would be happy to discuss a tailored itinerary that suits your time frame, expectations, and budget.

Kind regards,
Derian Koekemoer Safaris
 
Last price list that I had from my Tanzania outfitter (3 years old) was $19,500 plus trophy fees and “suggested” tips and miscellaneous expenses for a 7 day hunt.

I would recommend, an Area to hunt around Vic Falls. A trip to Chobe and see the falls. Lots of game and activities for everyone one.
 
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'68boy wrote on JG26Irish_2's profile.
Do you still have the Browning .375? If so do you want to sell and how much? DM me please
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HENRY GRIFFITHS SAFARIS
HENRY GRIFFITHS SAFARIS
Full trigger cam cull video!
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bpdilligaf wrote on Bejane's profile.
Be careful of hunting Chewore South, the area has been decimated.....


Curious about this. I hunted Chewore South with D&Y in September and they did tell me it was there last hunt there.

Which outfits shot it out?
•••
HENRY GRIFFITHS SAFARIS
HENRY GRIFFITHS SAFARIS
Impala cull hunt for camp meat!

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HENRY GRIFFITHS SAFARIS
HENRY GRIFFITHS SAFARIS
Blesbok cull!

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