There is something magical about waking up early on a Botswana photo safari, knowing each day will be different but full of photographic surprises. Wildlife abounds here; as always, each location offers a slightly different mix of animal diversity.
River Time
After our small safari group welcome dinner meet-up in Johannesburg and an easy morning flight the next day, we were at our lodge on the Chobe River in northern Botswana. By afternoon, we were off on the first portion of our tour, which involved exploring the river by specially designed safari boats.
Planning a safari during the dry season takes advantage of the added concentrations of wildlife dependent on the river’s quenching waters. While here along the Chobe River, our time was very well spent on these river boat safaris. With the river making up the northern border of Chobe National Park, there is no shortage of animals—especially elephants—to photograph. With the myriad herds of elephants here making the trek to the river’s meandering flow, we had plenty of opportunities to compose images of these fantastic denizens drinking, bathing, swimming, and feeding within a short distance of our watercraft. I don’t believe any of our travelers ever tired of watching or capturing images of elephants from eye level so close to the boat as we experienced.
When not engaged with elephant photography, cape buffalos, giraffes, impala, crocodiles, baboons, and hippos provided even more subjects to focus on. I am always amazed and gratified by how everyone enjoys photographing near hippos, photographing their curious stares from slightly above the surface of the river’s calm waters.
The red lechwe antelope is quickly becoming one of my favorite river wildlife subjects. Adapted to marshlands, the beautiful lechwe has become the animal I associate with the flooded regions of Botswana. Always leery and happy to keep a safe eye on the photographer, and an even safer distance, I enjoy watching and photographing their stealthy movements through the tall marsh grasses.
While lions are common in Chobe National Park, they are less likely to be observed or photographed from the river. This year, on our third-morning river safari, we were treated to a photo opportunity with a pride of seven lions when they ventured down to the shoreline area and settled in for a morning rest in the shade of the river’s tree line.
I would be remiss if I didn’t take this opportunity to mention the delight of photographers visiting Botswana at the diversity and approachability of the birdlife. Photographing by boat along the Chobe is easily the best way to capture the most variety of birds southern Africa has to offer. All birds were close at hand, including eagles, egrets, bee-eaters, and kingfishers, adding extra color to our safari photographs.
While our two daily river safaris filled our day, evenings continue to be extra special, mainly when we are out on the water for sunset. The river presents one of the most tranquil places in Africa to be for that last hour of daylight. As flocks of whistling ducks and egrets head to their overnight roosts, the river fills the foreground with the reflected glow of the evening sky, well after the sun has vanished below the horizon.
On to the dry
Our two-and-a-half-hour charter flight from the Chobe River landed us at a small airport a short distance from our second safari location in the middle of the arid Limpopo Valley. Here, we continued on to photograph the area’s wildlife with daily game drives and visits to the eye-level waterhole hide. This year’s season was especially dry, with the region receiving only 25% of its annual rainfall. In the dry conditions, every footstep of a wildebeest or zebra would let go of a puff of dust from the parched ground. Our safari lodge, as always, provided us with some of Botswana’s most experienced guides to find the most elusive wildlife the area has to offer.
Our safari location here is one of the best locales for finding and photographing Africa’s otherwise secretive leopards. Our team of guides did not disappoint. Each safari drive found us in the presence of three to four different leopards. When I began to think some of our photographers would tire of photographing leopards, the next cat would re-kindle the excitement of the moment, and the shutters would begin clicking with fervor again. One particular leopard photo opportunity, one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, included a mating sequence between an older, well-known female and a young adult male, all within a short telephoto lens range.
It wasn’t just the leopards that made our safaris here so special; it was the multiple times we caught up with the local pride of lions and had some fantastic encounters photographing the king and queen of beasts in various situations and light. Lions and leopards are always expected and welcome subjects for our safaris. Still, we had an added surprise when, on the last morning, after a chase to catch up with two wild dogs that ventured into the area only to get a quick glimpse before they departed the area, a female cheetah showed up with four new cubs in tow. Careful not to approach too close or quickly to put the new mother off, each of our travelers had the chance to photograph this adorable family in the morning light of our last safari.
With so much going on during our safari drives, I nearly forgot to mention the photography from the waterhole hide. Safe and comfortably tucked inside the ground-level blind, we photographed the almost constant coming and going of the area’s wildlife. Here again, the elephants did their best to steal the show. Whether just drinking or bathing, it’s difficult not to be impressed when you witness this and take it in full frame with a wide-angle lens. Nevertheless, the impressiveness of witnessing the caution, beauty, and grace of giraffes working their way up to the waterhole and then slowly lowering their long necks for a tall drink of water was another show-stealing moment for us. Most of the time, the waterhole hosted a large number of impalas with their escort troop of baboons. Other visitors that made for great photographic encounters were elands, kudus, and zebras.
With the reliable water source of the waterhole, it was an exceptional location for photographing the birdlife. One particular morning, again, a visitor who would reliably steal the show was a diminutive pearl-spotted owlet who would try to catch some of the waterhole’s smaller birds when they came in for a drink.
There are plenty of great places to do a photographic safari in Africa. Still, these two Botswana locations continue to highlight some of the best animal eye-level photography one could experience.
Botswana was the first place I was introduced to African photo safaris. I remember feeling as if I had found the soul of natural Africa, and I continue to be amazed at how this feeling persists today. The difference today is that I enjoy sharing this special place in the world with other photographers so they can appreciate it at the same level as I do. I look forward to the next trip when I can introduce some new photographers to Botswana’s wildlife up close and personal.
