African Safari – but Something Different
I am regularly being asked the same question. “Is there anywhere else in the world that is as good as the Masai Mara that offers a similar game viewing experience?” I have been searching for years, but have never been completely satisfied with other options that I have explored. Parts of some alternative safaris were great, but other parts were less appealing. That has now changed. I have found a location in South Africa that guarantees a very special experience for photographers. It is a private game reserve near Durban and it is called Zimanga.
Zimanga Private Game Reserve
This park has, until recent years, been a park where you could shoot animals as trophies. The park is now under the management of Charl Senekal. He is a really keen and accomplished wildlife photographer. The only shooting that is permitted now is with a camera. The animals have now become accustomed to the fact that humans offer no danger to them whatsoever. The majority of the game drives are conducted from the excellent network of tracks/roads within the park, but we are permitted to go off-road whenever it is photographically advantageous to do so. It is a sizeable park being just short of 60 square kilometres in size. This venue has become an extremely desirable destination for photographers. All slots are now fully allocated for high season for many years to come. Photographers on Safari have been very privileged to have secured this 8 day September safari, and exclusive use of the on-site accommodation at Doonhoek, on a permanent basis.
What is Different about this venue?
Game viewing in Zimanga is done both in a traditional way and also with innovative techniques. The traditional way is from a purpose built safari vehicle. Clients will only sit on the outside two seats of a row of three seats. The middle seat will always remain empty. One key difference is that some of the animals have been chipped and can be located via an invisible tracking device. This is not an unsightly collar, but a small microchip that has been inserted into the scruff of the neck. A female Cheetah has one of these devices and can be found on most safaris. There are two male Lions and two lionesses that have been micro-chipped before being released. There is also a micro-chipped Leopard on the reserve –but it is usually in a thick bushy area and is rarely seen. All these animals are totally wild and self-sufficient, but most will be fairly easily located.
The Hides
Charl Senekal is determined to make this South Africa’s premier Wildlife Park as far as photography is concerned. He has constructed three hides designed to offer some amazing photographic opportunities not normally available to the general public. No cost has been spared in getting everything just right. Comfortable, fully adjustable, swivel chairs have been provided plus tripods and Wimberley type heads. Each hide is sunk into the ground and you photograph across a pool of water from an inch or so above the water level. The backgrounds and reflections are superb. You shoot through a very special type of glass imported from Germany. It is a specialist one-way glass that does not soften your pictures and one that makes you invisible to your subjects. There is no glare or reflections in your photos. Air conditioning is provided in each hide. More hides are currently at the “testing” or “design” stage. There will definitely be more hides in operation for 2016.
The Animals
The animals on view are fairly similar to those you would find in the Masai Mara or other parts of Africa. There are a considerable number of White Rhino. Most of these have a calf with them. Some are nearly fully grown – some are smaller. Most of the animals here are usually covered in a fine red dust. The dust adds something quite special to your photographs, even if the subjects are just everyday species. There are lots of Buffalo here and more Wart Hogs than I have seen anywhere before. The abundance of half-grown Wart Hogs may change once the four Lions are released. Add some Elephants and Leopards to the Rhino, Buffalo and Lions and you have all of the Big Five here. There are many Elephants and they are easy to find. There are a number of Nyala here. They are a beautiful antelope species –one that I have not seen before. You will also see Cheetah, Burchell’s Zebra, Southern Giraffe, Spotted Hyena, Impala, Greater Kudu, Blue Wildebeest, Banded Mongooses, Wild Dogs, Vervet Monkeys, pods of Hippopotamus, Crocodiles and Red Duiker.
Wild Dogs
I have not mentioned the Wild Dogs up to now. They are South Africa’s most endangered large carnivores. They are a species that most people –if they have been lucky enough to see them at all, have only seen briefly. Here I saw them every day with exception of the one day that I devoted entirely to the birdbath hides. There are currently sixteen dogs here. The South African Wild Dog Advisory Group may decide to place some of these dogs elsewhere in the next few months, but a sizeable self-contained pack will always remain. Two of the existing dogs are collared, enabling tracking devices to easily locate the dogs at all times. I spent some amazing times with these dogs –up to three hours at a time. The one really special thing about Zimanga is that the guides will take us to the dogs on foot when access by vehicles is not possible. We were taken to a fresh kill and were allowed to sit/lie down not more than four metres away from them. After they had left the kill we lay down in an open area and the puppies came and sniffed both my cameras and me. A priceless moment that will stay with me forever. On another occasion we disembarked from the vehicles and lay in a dry riverbed watching them eat an Impala. Once again the puppies came right up to us and played all around us. It is surprisingly easy to concentrate on the dogs without collars and just to photograph those without. The photographs taken while lying on the floor are so much more powerful and impressive than those taken from a vehicle. Less than 6,000 Wild Dogs remain in the world and less than 400 are in South Africa. Some 4% of that population is currently here in Zimanga. Our 2016 tour again provided amazing experiences with the dogs. Each and every time we targeted the dogs, we had quality time with them. We spent a considerable amount of time on foot with them and witnessed two kills plus a long period of watching them try to separate a young wildebeest from the main herd.
Cheetahs
The female cheetah, as mentioned before, has a tracking implant that has been inserted under the skin. This is totally invisible and allows us to locate this totally wild animal easily and regularly. Cheetahs are not secretive animals (unlike Leopards) and we had little trouble in locating her. She was usually under a tree with a dead Impala not far away. What made our time with this cat really special was that we were once again permitted to get out of the vehicle and photograph her from about five metres away. I was allowed to pick my position and shoot from wherever gave the best lighting opportunities. Once again, this was an incredible privilege that made this encounter really special. We were also allowed to get out of the vehicle and to lie on the floor when shooting four Southern Giraffes in a riverbed. Quite an exceptional experience.
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Click here for trip report from 2015 recce
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The Lake Hide
This is a fairly large reflection hide that accommodates up to six photographers. There is a reflection pool both to the front and to the rear of the hide. They allow for both sunrise and sunset photography. Some backlit shots work well too. One side has a beautiful view across a lake and a mountain backdrop. There are some carefully places logs and branches in and around the pool for the birds to perch on. The pool is well stocked with fish and attracts a number of fish-eating birds. I spent two afternoons here and photographed Grey Herons, Giant Kingfishers, Goliath Heron, Blacksmiths Plovers, Fish Eagles, Jacanas, Sandpipers and Three Banded Plovers. The hide has its own air conditioning unit, comfortable chairs and tripods with Wimberley type heads. Fish Eagles and a Heron caught fish while we were there.
The Birdbath Hides
These are smaller reflection hides that are designed for four photographers. Both are air-conditioned and face in opposite directions. One hide is a morning hide and the second hide is designed for afternoons. Both are set up for small birds and small mammals. There are some attractive branches overhanging the water and the colours of the reflections are superb. While we were in these hides we photographed Dark Capped Bulbul, Yellow Breasted Canary, Glossy Starling, Eastern Bearded Scrub Robin, House Sparrow, Laughing Dove, Emerald Dove, Blue Waxbill, Hammerkopf, Red Billed Firefinch, Green Winged Pytilia, Green Spotted Dove, Sombre Greenbul and Village Weaver, Cinnamon Breasted Bunting, Cape Turtle Dove, Drongo, Striped Kingfisher plus male and female White Bellied Sunbirds and both sexes of Scarlet Chested Sunbirds. The animals that visited were Banded Mongooses, Wart Hogs, Impala and Langur Monkeys.
New Hides
New hides were established in 2016. The first was a mobile White-fronted Bee-eater Hide. I used an experimental one-man hide this year and got some amazing shots. The hide has to be mobile because the Bee-eaters do not always nest in the same part of the riverbank. A Vulture hide (birds flying into a fresh carcass) and a large animal watering hole (photography from water level) are also scheduled to be in operation for Autumn 2016. Our itinerary will allow me to choose our activities on a daily rotational basis. Each day some photographers will use hides while others go on safari. This will mean more room in the vehicle for those on safari. There is a maximum of 16 clients in just three vehicles permitted on the whole reserve at any one time. Some clients will be in hides so there will always be plenty of room in the safari vehicles. There will never be large groups of vehicles harassing animals at Zimanga. Another very high-tech night hide is planned to be available in time for our safari next year.
The Amazing Night Hide
This hide was completed in 2016. We had some incredible photography from this very special place. Typically, we enter the hide at 3PM and stay there until 10AM next morning. The hide is extremely well equipped with electricity, lighting, microwave cooker, toilets, air conditioning and beds – so that you have the opportunity to sleep when things become quieter (11pm to 5 am). The animals that come to drink are approximately 5 metres away. You are able to get frame-filling head shots with standard zoom lenses. The most common visitors are Buffalo, Zebra, Wildebeest, White Rhinos and Warthogs. You can use wide-angle lenses to capture the whole animal with its reflection, or you can zoom in and just take extremely detailed head shots. the choice is yours. Several different species of birds will visit the hide and you may also see Lions, Elephants and, if you are really lucky, a Leopard.
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Click here to see 2016 pictures from the Amazing Night Hide
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The Accommodation
We will stay at Doornhoek, the owners’ private lodge inside their park. This will avoid hour-long journeys to and from the reserve and will allow us to use their night hide. This would not be possible if we were staying outside the park. The homestead consists of 3 air-conditioned, en-suite twin rooms, plus an en-suite single room/guide room, also air-conditioned. The accommodation is ideal for groups of up to 6 individuals plus tour-leader, and groups staying here have access to their own game viewer and guide. A big drawcard for this homestead is that guests staying at Doornhoek can decide on their own itinerary in terms of time-slots for activities, or maybe getting up extra early for a session at the nearby scavenger’s hide. All rooms have separate desks to set up your laptop for image editing, with ample space and a variety of electricity couplings to make sure your equipment stays charged. Please note that the voltage in SA is 220v, so please do not use chargers with a different specified voltage! Free Wi-Fi is available at the homestead. We will have our own chef living on site who will cater for all diets. The food is excellent and there is a small swimming pool and a large lounge/dining area. Beers, wines, shorts etc are available at an extra cost.
Tuition
Each day I will spend ten minutes or so with each client, reviewing their photographic techniques. The purpose of these sessions is to ensure that everybody makes the most of their opportunities. Exposures can be tricky when backgrounds change from light to dark. Learning how to work with manual exposure settings can be a huge improvement in this respect. Help will be given to those wanting to learn new techniques. Those who are happy to continue without tuition will be left alone. The choice is yours.
Maximum of 6 Clients on this Safari
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Click here to visit the photo gallery from the 2015 recce
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Dates and Costs September 2018
£3195 from Durban Airport to Durban Airport
BOOKINGS BEING TAKEN NOW
Itinerary 2018
This safari is now confirmed and all bookings secured. 13 safaris/hide activities included.
There will be one session in the night hide. The remainder of the days will include one safari and one hide session. The itinerary is fluid and the order of events will change, but the content will remain the same.
Day 1 – Sept. 1st; Arrive Durban Airport. Road transfer to Mkuze (3 hours). Dinner
Day 2 – Sept. 2nd; Early morning and late evening safaris. Brunch, Dinner.
Day 3 – Sept. 3rd; Early morning birdbath hide. Afternoon Lagoon Hide. Brunch, Dinner.
Day 4 – Sept. 4th; Early morning safari and PM overnight hide. Brunch, Dinner.
Day 5 – Sept. 5th; Early overnight hide. Afternoon Lagoon Hide. Brunch, Dinner.
Day 6 – Sept. 6th; Early morning safari and late evening birdbath hide. Brunch, Dinner.
Day 7 – Sept. 7th; Early morning and late evening safaris. Brunch, Dinner.
Day 8 – Sept. 8th; Early morning safari. Transfer to Airport for flight home. Brunch.