PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP
Africa - Botswana

Taking expressions of interest for 2024

Serviced Mobile Safari

Explore Botswana the Old School Way

We are currently taking expressions of interest for our 2024 Africa Photography Wokshop.
Following is the itinerary from our last journey, which shares what you can expect.

It's truly the adventure of a lifetime.

A Mobile Safari is a temporary canvas tented camp that is setup specifically for your safari and then dismantled when you depart, leaving no trace. These mobile tented camps are able to be dismantled and moved to a new location within in half a day, allowing you to explore multiple areas over the course of a few days utilising the same mobile camp and crew.

These multi-day itineraries where the camp is moved to new locations every day, or every few days, is where the true magic of a mobile safari lies – it’s a journey through the landscape!

The essence of a mobile safari happens when you return to camp from an activity, your safari doesn’t stop – the camp itself, the tents and the wilderness setting are all part of the experience. With a mobile safari you are on the ground and immersed into wild Africa from start to finish!

These safaris are serviced with all camp duties done by the camp crew, so guests can relax and enjoy the experience. Accommodation is in large canvas tents, with each having its own private en-suite shower and pitfall toilet. Solid single bedframes, bedding, comfortable mattresses, towels and in-tent lighting are provided.

All safaris are accompanied by a full-on crew made up of a camp manager, bush chef, waiter, tent stewards and safari assistants. The crew is responsible for setting up your tents and all other camp chores.

All safaris are led by a Botswana licensed Professional Guide who stays with the group throughout.

Authentic Africa Travel

Mobile safaris offer the very best way to experience the bush – on the ground in private canvases, disconnected from the modern world.

Immerse yourself in Nature

Re-connect by observing, listening and smelling the African bush.

Exceptional meals

Chefs cook you healthy and delicious meals on the open fire.

Journey through Botswana

Travelling between a number of locations offers the opportunity to see and experience the land.

Safari at your own pace

Guides can tailor the safari to the interest or needs of each group.

Specialist guides

The same guide stays with the group, allowing for a personal, in depth experience.

Workshop Overview

Itinerary at a glance

Stop 1

Private Mobile Camp
2 Nights

Dumela / Hello! Welcome to Botswana!” Upon your arrival at Kasane Airport your guide will help you feel immediately at home and brief you on what to look forward to on your safari. You will depart on an afternoon boat cruise on your first afternoon on the Chobe River which departs from Kasane. Following the boat cruise you will leave Kasane and start the journey driving at game drive pace and keeping an eye out for wildlife and birds.

Spend the first two nights of your Serviced Mobile Safari camping in a pristine bush campsite near the Chobe River, exploring the river banks and surrounding floodplains on game drives. The magic of a mobile camp becomes apparent as the sun sets and you enjoy drinks around the fire before a starlit dinner and a great night’s rest after falling asleep to the sounds of the African bush.

The Chobe wildlife, including Cape buffalo is drawn to the river in the afternoons and stays on to graze on sweet grasses along the river at night, leaving the floodplains in the morning after sunrise. Chobe Lions are very often seen in tow behind the Buffalo, looking for an opportunity for weakness.

Stop 2

Private Mobile Camp
2 Nights

After morning breakfast you head out for a game drive along the river, in a south westerly direction towards Savuti. After exiting the Chobe river front area at Ngoma, the drive takes you through the Chobe Enclave area, before re-entering the Park at Ghoga gate.

You will have a picnic lunch along the way, arriving in Savuti mid-afternoon. This will allow you some time to visit some of Savuti’s waterholes, and do a game drive before getting into camp later in the afternoon. A hot bucket shower will be followed by a delicious three course dinner and a nightcap by the fire.

The Savuti Lions have been a subject of many documentaries because of their unique skill of hunting Elephants. They are a regular sighting at Savuti waterholes: being Pump Pan, Rhino Vlei, Marabou Pan or Harvey’s Pan. Of late two prides dominate two areas of Savuti. The Northern Pride at Harvey’s Pan and Pump Pan area, and the bigger Marsh Pride at Marabou Pan, Rhino Vlei and Jackal Island. The other predators usually skirt around this two Lion prides, while Hyenas compete directly with them for food.

Stop 3

Private Mobile Camp
3 Nights

After breakfast, you head out for game viewing in the Savuti area. Later leisurely heading to the Khwai Game Reserve, with a picnic lunch along the way. The transit to Khwai takes you through the Mababe Depression, once part of a gigantic lake that spread across northern Botswana. The sweet grasses of the depression are much sort after by grazing species like Buffalo, Zebra and Wildebeest. But they are many other types of wildlife encountered daily on this route.

After a picnic lunch, you arrive in the Khwai area early afternoon. This will give you ample time to do more game viewing before arriving in camp. You will have a Sundowner in camp and an early shower followed by a delicious dinner cooked over open fire. A night cap is a norm by the fire while re-capping the day’s sightings.

Spend the next 3 nights exploring along the Khwai River and its floodplains looking for Lion, Leopard and hunting Wild dogs. African rivers have resident species like Hippopotamus, Crocodiles and great birdlife. They are also a draw for thirsty wildlife, which in turn attracts predator life.

During your time here in Khwai there is an optional extra 45 minute doors-off scenic helicopter flight over the Okavango Delta (extra cost).

Costs

Costings for 2024 will be confirmed soon.

This cost includes:

- Comfortable walk-in tented accommodation in Meru-style tents with built-in floors and mosquito gauze at the windows and entrance. Comfortable beds include all bed linen and a towel

- Craig Parry as your accompanying photographic tutor.

- En-suite bathrooms with a traditional hot water safari bucket shower and bush loo

- Experienced, licensed professional guide for the duration of your safari

- A scenic helicopter flight to Maun from Moremi.

- Game drives and local transfers in custom-made open game drive vehicles with shade roof, game viewing seats and long-range fuel tanks

- All entrance and camping fees for National Parks and Game Reserves.

- All meals and selected drinks (wine, beer, G&T, selected soft drinks, fruit juice, bottled water, Amarula)

- Dedicated safari team including cook, camp assistant and back-up driver

- Bathroom amenities (soap, shampoo and insect repellent)

- All activities as specified in the itinerary

This cost does not include:

- International and domestic or charter flights and airport departure taxes

- Visas (these are your own responsibility to organise)

- Travel, cancellation and medical insurance (essential on all safaris)

- Optional safari excursions

- Items of a personal nature

- Tips and gratuities

- Covid-19 testing

Notes:

Single supplement = USD$ TBC

Minimum 4 guests, maximum 8.

Optional 45 mins doors-off helicopter flight: TBC

Private Mobile Camp

Chobe National Park River Front

Surrounded by dense forests, the massive river is home to all types of wildlife and bird species. The area is a mix between tranquil and exciting as the peaceful spaces on the river offer rest and relaxation while the closeness to wildlife provides excitement for the curious and adventurous.

Chobe National Park is located in northern Botswana in easy driving distance to Kasane and Victoria Falls. Chobe is Botswana’s first designated national park and, at over 11,700 km2 (4,500 mi2), is one of the largest. The greater Chobe area consists of the Chobe River, Savute, and Linyanti, which combined is home to Africa’s largest elephant population.

Wildlife in the Area

This region is made famous for its large population of elephants, buffaloes and zebras during the dry season. It is not uncommon to find herds of these species stretching into a few thousand individuals! Along with great prey densities comes great predator populations – the Chobe river front is home to many large lion prides who take full advantage of the large abundance of prey. The area is incredibly scenic and lends itself to boating activities which are an absolute must-do at either mid-day or the afternoon.

Savute, Chobe National Park

The Savute Channel is an ephemeral river in northern Botswana that winds its way approximately 80 km (50 mi) east from Linyanti Swamp to the famous Chobe National Park. The river can flow for a few years and then suddenly dry up indefinitely, its flow affected by a combination of tectonic activity and good rainfall. The channel forms part of a vast uninterrupted wilderness, a conservation area that extends across five countries. It is the epitome of Botswana’s vast, untamed lands, and with just a few luxury lodges along its low banks, offers a unique and exclusive safari experience.

The channel is a haven for wildlife where thousands of elephants, buffalo, and antelope congregate en masse in the dry season if there is remaining water. It’s the land of big predators and has featured in multiple documentaries with famous elephant specialised lion prides, fishing leopards, and large packs of wild dogs. It transforms into a green wonderland in the summer months attracting a plethora of birds and wildlife.

Khwai Community Concession

As the name suggests this is a community run concession by the Khwai village and has some of the most incredible wildlife sightings in all of the Delta. The area is home to a number of luxury lodges, mobile campsites and public campsites, which unfortunately makes the area a little busy and not so ‘private’, particularly in the peak season, but the wildlife viewing is of such quality that visitors are often undeterred. Due to the popularity of the area the wildlife has also become very habituated to humans and vehicles making for a unique insight into animal behaviour.

The concession shares an unfenced border with Moremi Game Reserve to the South, with the permanent Khwai river (a finger of the Okavango) being the boundary. To the north of Khwai is mopane woodland and Kalahari sands. What makes Khwai such a great wildlife viewing area is that; in the dry season, animals from the surrounding dry woodland are forced to the permanent water to drink, resulting in higher seasonal densities of wildlife from the converging habitats.

Wildlife in the Area

The converging habitats support a wonderful population of predators and Khwai has always been known to be reliable for Painted Wolves (Wild Dogs), Leopards, Lions and Hyena’s, often interreacting at kills. As such Khwai is often on the itinerary for most folks visiting the Okavango. Some of our best sightings every have been in Khwai!

Moremi Game Reserve

Covering almost a third of the Okavango Delta’s north-eastern flank is the beautifully preserved Moremi Game Reserve. Named in honour of an important Batawana tribe chief, this unique and diverse ecosystem offers rare access to an extraordinary spectrum of animals year-round. Together with the Okavango Delta, this is one of the most beautiful tracts of wild land in Africa.

Made up of luscious landscapes, Moremi is a patchwork of lagoons, shallow flood pans and forest, providing outstanding game viewing activities whether on foot, in game vehicles or by boat. At its centre sits Xakanaxa Lagoon, a maze of deep water channels and mopane forests. Here sightings of the African wild dog and leopard are the norm along with antelope, lions, giraffe and elephants.

Wildlife in the Area

A myriad of species are found within the Moremi Game Reserve including African bush elephant, African buffalo, hippopotamus, wildebeest, giraffe, nile crocodile, lion, cheetah, leopard, brown hyena, spotted hyena, greater kudu, sable antelope, black rhinoceros, white rhinoceros, plains zebra, warthog and chacma baboon. Notably, the endangered African wild dog still survives within the Moremi Game Reserve and exhibits one of the richest pack densities in Africa. In the skies, over 400 species of birds also inhabit the reserve.

Terms & Conditions

Booking Terms

To accept the offer and book the travel arrangements set out in your itinerary, you must pay the deposit set out in the invoice (the “Deposit Invoice”). We are under no obligation to you to book the travel arrangements unless and until the deposit has been received.

Payment Instructions

A deposit of 25% is due immediately after your confirmation of the safari. The 75% balance of the safari price is due 75 days prior to departure.

The price always quoted in the 'safari currency' of the host country where the safari will take place.

Guests can choose which currency they would like to be invoiced in: USD/EURO/GBP/AUD.

We will calculate the deposit payment and final payment using the exchange rates at the date of invoice. Given that exchange rates change over time the deposit payment and rest payment will differ over time. BUT the price quoted in the 'safari currency' remains fixed.

No person will be permitted to travel if any monies are outstanding. All bank charges for payments are to be covered by the client. Any discrepancies will be considered as outstanding.

Copies of bank transfers are required to be emailed upon payment. Payment must be made in the currency stated on the invoice. Airfares, taxes, surcharges might increase without prior notice - the invoiced airfares are based on time of booking. The tickets are issued after receipt of payment, should there be a difference to the original invoice, the outstanding amount must be settled prior to departure.

Cancellations

You may cancel your travel arrangements by providing written notice of your intention to do so. If you cancel your travel arrangements you will forfeit any deposit paid and the following cancellation fees will apply:

75 days or more prior to departure – you will forfeit the deposit paid;

between 75 and 30 days prior to departure – you will forfeit 50% of the cost of the travel arrangements;

30 days or less prior to departure – you will forfeit the entire cost of the travel arrangements, as shown on the Deposit Invoice, or applied because of your changes.

Enquire Now

For pricing and booking enquiries for our 2024 Botswana Photography Workshop please contact us below.