This is the ultimate photography experience for the more adventurous photographer. Not actually a workshop, this safari is simply an opportunity to join us on one of our "back-to-basics" photo-safari trips in Kenya. We camp in the African bush and drive ourselves. One of the downsides of most safaris is that they are too organised and too luxurious. Guides know that to get a big tip they have to satisfy the interests of a wide range of guests and cannot afford to waste too much time in one place. This can be very disappointing to photographers, who may be taken away from somewhere that is just beginning to look promising because the rest of the guests want to move on. As we drive ourselves, we are free to seek out the photo-opportunities and to stay as long as necessary to get the shots. Another downside to many luxury safaris is that you never really get to know the people. On the nights we are not camping in the bush, we stay in the hotels and lodges the Kenyans themselves use, not the over-priced luxury facilities designed to keep rich tourists away from the natives! Camping in the African bush does present its own challenges and is not for the faint-hearted.

For 2011 we have altered our big adventure considerably.  Instead of travelling all over Kenya, visiting numerous reserves, this year we are planning to concentrate on three reserves and spend an extended time in each so that we have more time to really focus (no pun intended) on getting results from these areas.  We have also changed the departure date to coincide with a different phase in the Great Migration.  By arriving in Masai Mara in October, we shall be there for the herds crossing back into the Serengeti.  The advantage of going at this time, instead of July when the animals arrive in the Mara, is that the grass is considerably shorter, as the animals have grazed it away.  This provides a great deal more clear photographic opportunities.  As well as the Masai Mara, we shall also be concentrating on Tsavo East and Tsavo West.

On Sunday 25th September we arrive in Nairobi at approximately 5.30am, collect vehicles and drive to Voi. We arrive at Voi around lunch time and enter the main gate of Tsavo East National Park. Tsavo East is our favourite reserve, with over 10,000 elephants and all the big cats. Antelopes of all kinds are plentiful, including Dik Dik (a tiny 12inch tall antelope), Grant's Gazelle, Impala, Gerenuk, Coke's Hartebeest and Oryx. Others you may see include Bushbuck and Lesser Kudu. Burchell's Zebra, Masai Giraffe, Somali Ostrich (blue legs instead of pink), Yellow Baboon, Vervet Monkey, Black-Backed Jackal and Nile Crocodile are all species we frequently see in Tsavo East too. In addition there are over 450 species of bird in the reserve. We camp in the reserve on our first night in Kenya! After another two days in the reserve we spend a night in a local hotel, where we can get cleaned up, re-charge camera batteries and download images to our laptops. We then spend another two days exploring Tsavo East and a further night in the hotel.  During our time in Tsavo East we will visit many amazing wildlife spactacles, including Mudanda Rock, a rocky sandstone outcrop resembling a miniature Uluru, that forms a natural dam, providing a great overview of a huge waterhole.  Kanderi Swamp is a fantastic area for game viewing.  Here we have seen flocks of over a million Red-Billed Quelea being hunted by Taita Falcons and Tawny Eagles, Lions hunting Zebra and gatherings of Elephants reaching over 500 in number!

On Saturday 1st October, we leave the hotel in Voi early in the morning and head to Tsavo West National Park. Here we will camp for four nights and visit the incredible Mzima Springs, a crystal-clear volcanic spring that is home to Hippos, Crocodiles and huge numbers of Barbel.  Pied Kingfishers are common here too.  The Ngulia Rhino Sanctury is home to an ambitious project to re-introduce Eastern Black Rhinoceros to the Tsavo Ecosystem.  The Black Rhino was once very common in Tsavo but the height of poaching in the 1980s saw the population wiped out.  This fenced and guarded area within Tsavo West is now home to over 30 Black Rhinos, most of whom were born there in what is one of the most successful re-introduction operations of large mammals in Africa.  Tsavo West provides a great variety of terrain, ranging from grassy plains to volcanic rock, with superb vistas that on a clear day include Kilimanjaro as a spectacular backdrop.

On Wednesday 5th October we head for Nairobi and spend the night in the friendly atmosphere at the Milimani Backpackers Hostel, where we can once again get cleaned up and recharge batteries before our long drive to Masai Mara the following morning.

On Thursday 6th October we drive over the Rift Valley Escarpment to the Sekenani Gate of the Masai Mara Game Reserve, spending the night in a tented camp just outside the reserve. Along the way we will stop for supplies in the incredible town of Narok, which resembles a Wild West town (if John Wayne were to come through this town at the head of a wagon train he would not look out of place!). This is the last place before the Mara (60 miles away) to obtain supplies of food, water and fuel, so we will stock up on all three here!

On Friday 7th October we drive through the Masai Mara, crossing at the New Mara Bridge and following the river round towards the Wildebeest crossing points. We will spend the next five nights camping in Masai Mara as we explore, hopefully finding Wildebeest crossing and some of the other amazing wildlife this area has to offer. Other animals we are likely to encounter include Lion, Cheetah, Elephant, Warthog, Eland, Thomson's Gazelle, Black-Backed Jackal, Spotted Hyena, Burchell's Zebra, White Rhino, Serval and various species of bird including the beautiful and intensely curious D'Arnaud's Barbet. We spend the night of October 12th back at the tented camp outside the Sekenani Gate.

On Wednesday 13th October we drive east to Nairobi, where we will spend two nights winding down in the friendly and relaxed atmosphere of the Milimani Backpackers Hostel.  This will leave time for some souvenir shopping and sightseeing in Nairobi.  Those who wish can visit the National Museum of Kenya, which is one of the best museums in the world. Among the exhibits are every single one of the 1,058 species of bird found in Kenya, as well as the early hominid skulls and the Turkana Boy skeleton, which shed so much light on the evolution of mankind.

We leave Kenya on Saturday 15th October 2011 ~ until the next time...

A full list of essential and recommended equipment will be supplied in the brochure for those attending this safari.