African Photography Tour

Pre Tour:

Fly from NA to Europe and then Nairobi.  It is recommended that you consider flying through Amsterdam to find the most favorable connection times and flight fares.

Day 1:

Arrive Nairobi from Europe in the Evening.  The recommended option is to fly to Nairobi from North America or Europe via Amsterdam.  The connection times are reasonable via this route.

Contact Ihamba travel and adventures for a travel consultation session if you need assistance booking your flight to  assistance with booking flights to Nairobi from Europe or North America.  Contact us to schedule an appointment to help you arrange your travel plans to Nairobi if you need assistance:

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Once you arrive in Nairobi at JOMO International Airport you’ll be greeted by Joseph, our tour guide, and he’ll assist you in transferring to our hotel, which is a short drive from the airport.  This is where we’ll have a tour briefing the next morning:

Included today:

• Pick up at airport and transfer to hotel.
• Dinner
• Overnight accommodation included

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Kisubi Cottages are in Entebbe.

Day 2:

After early morning breakfast we’ll leave for Lake Nakuru National Park.  

The drive to Lake Nakuru National Park is about a 3 hours on a good, paved and scenic highway along the edge and then into the Great East African Rift Valley.

Leave at 10am to allow for an early enough arrival in Nakuru for our first evening game drive and photo safari.  Are you excited!

Our goal is to get to Nakuru early in the afternoon so our evening game drive is longer.  We’re saving the best for the end of the day today!  

Evening – guided game drive. 

Black rhinos, white rhinos, Rothchild Giraffes are likely.

Lions are also commonly sighted along the route we take. 

Flamingos? Likely, but this evening is mainly a land safari.

And, lots of birds. 

There is also a chance for lions and leopards here too.  The Lions around here commonly climb tress, which is a somewhat uncommon behavior for Lions elsewhere.  

Hotel and meals in Nakuru included.

Day 3:

AM:  Boat safari on Lake Nakuru. 

Get closer to wildlife and photograph unique species like pink flamingos and many of the other 450 species of birds found here. 

PM:  Guided game drive with an expert local guide to explore Lake Nakuru National Park.

Looking for Rhinos, Lions and Flamingos

Meals: B, L, D

Key activities:  Boat Safari, Game Drive.

Day 4:

Transfer by road from Lake Nakuru to the legendary Maisa Mara.  This drive will be about 4-5 hours to our lodge inside of Masai Mara National Park.  We will get an early start today to maximize our shooting time on the Savannah later this evening.

Our lodge is perfectly positioned a short drive inside of the Masai Mara National Park Gates.  It’s location will help us to maximize our shooting time during the soft golden early morning and evening light.  The African Sunsets on the Savannah are absolutely stunning!

Wildlife sightings and photo opportunities during your guided game drives in the Masai Mara are virtually guaranteed:

We’re almost certain to see and photograph:

• lions
• hyenas
• hippos
• elephants
• giraffes
• wildebeests
• buffalos
• impalas
• zebras
• and many of the 500+ species of birds recorded here. 

We also have a good chance to see leopards and cheetahs. 

If we find leopards and cheetahs then we’ll make a concerted effort to photograph them.

AM:  Drive from Lake Nakuru National Park to our lodge just outside of the Masai Mara National Park gates.  Arrive early afternoon.

PM:  Late afternoon/evening.  Game drive in the Masai Mara.

Highlights for today:

Looking for wildlife including: 

There is a good chance to encounter leopards and cheetahs and if we do we’ll make an effort to photograph them if the scout team spots them.

We’ll also photograph the vast savannah grasslands with plenty of flat topped acacia trees.

Meals: B, L, D

Accommodations:  Enkorok Mara Camp is in Masai Mara National Park

Put a photo of the common area in Enkorok Mara Camp here

We’ve arrived at our home for the next few days.

Day 5, 6 and 7:

Key activities each day include photography game drives  on the savannah in  Masai Mara National Park and/or surrounding private wildlife reserves: 

Each day we’ll have multiple or extended all day guided game drives in Masai Mara National Park.  The Wildlife movements will dictate our exact itinerary.  This flexibility is needed to ensure that our experienced local guides can deliver the absolute best tour possible while we’re here.

Our main goal each day is find and provide you with quality wildlife photography sessions with as much of the Masai Mara’s iconic wildlife as possible, which includes: 

• Mara’s big cats (lions with a good chance for leopards and cheetahs too)
• hippos
• elephants
• giraffes
• zebras
• buffalo
• impalas
• wildebeest*
• hyenas
• and many of the 500+ species of birds recorded on the Masai Mara

*  We’ve timed the tour to coincide with the usual presence of the wildebeest herds in this part of the Masai Mara as they begin to roam along the great migration route.  It is a near 100% certainty that you will see and photograph many, many wildebeest and their young.

Meals:  B, L, D

Accommodations:  Enkorok Mara Camp inside the Masia Mara National Park.

There is a common socializing tent in our Camp for lounging for socializing “a’ la Safari style.”  You’ll feel like you’re on a traditional English Safari from the last century, except for the fact we’ll be packing long lens hunting digital trophies that we’ll be shooting over and over again!

Key activities each day here: 

Game drives in the Masai Mara National Park in both the morning and evening.  We’ll tend to have a mid-day break after lunch during the harsh light under the mid-day sun.

Some flexibility in the daily scheduling is needed to ensure that we can assemble the best tour possible given the weather conditions and wildlife encounters that we have each day.  Our drivers, guides, and Toyota Land Cruisers are with us and working together 24/7 to deliver an amazing trip!

Day 8:

Everyone will…

Transfer by road from the Masai Mara to Jomo International Airport in Nairobi.  ~ 4-5 hour drive.

Then, Two options…

Safari only participants: The tour ends here where it started at Jomo International Airport.

Additional nights in Nairobi can be arranged through Joseph if your flights depart the next day, or if you’re continuing onto one of the extra tour activities.

BUT the Gorilla crew will continue to Uganda…

PM: The Gorilla crew will Air transfer from Jomo International Airport to Entebbe International Airport in Uganda and then overnight at

https://kisubicottages.com

Kisubi Cottages is our African liaison’s lodge.  Kisubi Forest Cottages are  short 15 minute drive from the airport and are nestled on the doorstep of the Zika Tropical Forest which provides us with good bird photography opportunities.  Joseph will host a dinner for us as we start the next leg of our journey.

The Gorilla and Golden Monkey Extension

Day 9:

AM:  Transfer by road from Entebbe to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.  We’ll stop for lunch at the Igomgo Cultural Centre after we take photos at the Equator exhibit.

8hr drive from Entebbe to Lake Mulehe.

PM:  Arrive at Lake Mulehe Safari Lodge which is close to both the Golden Monkeys and the Gorilla trek.  Over the next few days we’ll be:

• trekking endangered mountain gorillas and golden monkeys
• have a chance to see 10 other primates and 350 species of birds
• photograph the amazing background landscapes on and around the Virunga volcanos.  These volcanos and forests provide incredible African mountain scenery.
• Bwindi Impenitrable National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Add photo of the view of the Vurunga ranges.  Beautiful Sunrise photo locations nearby.

Day 10:

Early AM:

Gorilla habituation tour includes an exclusive 4 hour session with just 6 people in the group to photograph the famous Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.

It’s time to get up close and personal with Mountain Gorillas that are used to humans being in close proximity.  These gorillas will be quite relaxed around us.  This softness helps to bring out their individual personalities! 

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park staff have worked with these gorilla families for years to build their trust so that we may have this opportunity.  Please respect this privilege. 

It is required that you follow the direction of the park staff at all times during the entire trekking session.  

Our Gorilla photography permit allows us to photograph a mountain gorilla family group already habituated to humans.  We will likely be very close to individual gorillas at times.  Don’t leave your wide angle lens behind!

The park only allows a select few people to visit the gorillas each day.  Our Gorilla trekking permit counts us among those select few.  This will likely be a tour highlight for all of you. 

I include the Gorilla trekking permit fees for you in this leg of the tour.  Most other tours do not and charge extra for the permits.

Our Gorilla permits are purchased months in advance of our visit.  This day cannot be altered or refunded if you choose not to attend the gorilla trek, as with any other part of the tour.  We also travel at the schedule and pace set by the park staff.  They are experienced in setting a nice and reasonable pace for the group. Slow and steady wins the race!

In the afternoon: 

We’ll visit a community of Batwa hunter-gatherers known as the mountain forest dwelling pygmies.  These people are the traditional tribes that have evolved for centuries in this area with the gorillas.  They’ll tell us their story.

Day 11:

All day:  Photo trek/safari

Spend the day tracking and photographing the Endangered Golden Monkeys found in the bamboo forests on the slopes of the dormant Virunga Volcano within Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

Meals:  B, L, D

Day 12:

AM – ?:

After early morning breakfast we’ll drive back to Entebbe.  There is an option to fly back to Entebbe if you would rather avoid the 8 hour drive and rush hour traffic as we arrive back to Entebbe at the end of the day.

You can opt for a flight rather than the drive for $300USD from Bwindi to Entebbe.  You’ll get to sleep in a bit in the morning and then fly directly to Entebbe arriving back to Kisubi Forest Cottages on Lake Victoria in the early afternoon.  You’ll have the rest of the afternoon to relax before you meet the weary highway travelers for dinner this evening in our onsite dining room.

Meals:  B, L, D

Day 13:

Entebbe and Lake Victoria.

AM: Birding by boat on Lake Victoria in Mabamba Swamp, home to 260 bird species including the massive Shoe Billed Stork.

PM:  Possible Chimpanzee island visit $150-200

Evening – Transfer by air from Entebbe to Jomo International Airport in Nairobi.  Arrive early evening.

or 

Stay an extra night in Entebbe and continue your adventure with one of our tour add on excursions.  Post tour excursions are in addition to the tour all inclusive fee.