Kenya / Zanzibar Photo Odyssey - August 2011

From Nakuru we continue down to the Masai Mara, where we will spend a total of 6 nights: 3 nights at Fig Tree Camp, followed by 3 nights at Mara Serena Lodge. Each lodge is in a different part of the Mara, with different geography and different animals. Our visit has been timed to coincide with the maximum likelihood of encountering the legendary Serengeti Migration, as millions of wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle cross into the Mara from Tanzania, including at river crossings close to our accommodation. We'll also encounter the predators (such as lions and cheetah) that follow the herds, along with many birds, antelope, hyena, crocodile, hippopotamus, giraffe, elephant, buffalo, leopard, and rhino. And along with the wildlife, we will also encounter many of the Maasai people. You will also have the option of a hot-air balloon ride over the plains one morning.

We then return to Nairobi and say goodbye to our drivers. We will be returning to the hotel we stayed at on the way in, so some passengers may have left extra luggage in storage there while on safari. When we leave Nairobi the following day (the 28th of August) this is the end of our stay in Kenya. Some participants may leave us here, while most will continue with us to the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar.

Off the east coast of Africa, Zanzibar has a complex history, with spice production and trading, slave markets, Portugese forts, sultans' palaces, dhow harbours, and beautiful white beaches on the Indian Ocean. This will be a dramatic change from the parts of Africa we will have experienced in the preceding fortnight! We will spend our first two nights at Tembo House in Stone Town on the west of the island, and then at Blue Bay Beach on the east coast. In Stone Town breakfast is supplied at our hotel, whereas our hotel at the beach supplies both breakfast and dinner. After four nights on the island we return to Dar es Salaam on the 1st of September for connecting international flights.

In Stone Town we've organised a guided walking tour of the city and markets, along with time to visit many other local features. Transfers to/from the airport and between Stone Town and the east coast are included, and in fact on our way to the east coast we'll tour the countryside's spice-producing areas.

Instructor/Guide

David Burren David is a photographer and teacher based in Melbourne, Australia. His own photography is based around widlife and nature images, but extends to some commercial work as well as teaching and consulting in digital colour and workflow management. He's an accredited member of the AIPP, an Associate of the Australian Photographic Society, and an Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop Lightroom. David conducts photography workshops in Australia and around the world and teaches at a tertiary photography college in Melbourne. His work has already taken him to all seven continents, including to Kenya and Tanzania.

Equipment and education

As with all our photo odysseys, David will be available prior to the expedition to help you with advice regarding photographic equipment and techniques. During the trip David will be available to assist you with your photography, and will circulate around the group and the vehicles to offer advice as needed.

Some participants may wish to travel light, bringing only battery-powered hard drives (such as sold by Canon, Epson, Hyperdrive, Vosonic, etc) for backing up their images from each day. We expect most photographers will be using digital SLRs, although we may see some film being used as well. A long lens of 300-500mm is highly recommended, especially with IS/OS/VR stabilisation. Wider lenses are also useful of course. Tripods will not be of use in the vehicles, although they may be useful at camp and at scenic outlooks. All our accommodation will have electricity for charging batteries.

Some may instead bring a netbook computer and standard USB drives for backing up and reviewing images, as well as accessing email and the web from several locations on the trip. Some may instead bring a bigger laptop to fulfill these tasks. Certainly you will get a lot of benefit from being able to critically review your images within a day of taking them, especially if you will be revisiting similar locations soon after.

As well as providing the benefit of his wildlife photography expertise (including his previous experience photographing in this region) David will be using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom to manage and process his own photographs during the trip, and will provide tuition to members of the group so they can do the same. There are many different ways of using this software and David can help you refine your own workflow, as well as giving you feedback and critique on your images.

Whether you're shooting digital images in JPEG or RAW format, David will be able to help you reproduce the colours of the scenes you capture: often a step that gets forgotten.

At the end of the trip you'll be provided with a GPS log containing a timestamped trail of our journey, which you can use to "geocode" your photos, to draw maps in Google Earth, etc.

Cost

Kenya: The first part of the trip is the 13-night Kenyan portion, starting and ending in Nairobi.
The cost of this is AU$6295 per person sharing a twin room. If you need a room to yourself there is an additional cost of AU$1770.

Zanzibar: The second part starts in Nairobi and ends in Dar es Salaam. It has been priced separately to allow maximum flexibility in bookings (some people on the Kenyan portion of the trip might not have time to continue to Zanzibar).
The cost of this component is AU$1895 (twin-share: the single supplement is AU$480). This includes the airfares from Nairobi to Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam, but not the AU$85 ticket taxes.

This does not include airfares before/after the trip, tips, laundry, travel insurance, visas, vaccinations, etc. Lunches and dinners in Nairobi and in Zanzibar (except as mentioned above) are also not included in the package due to the variety of activities we will be undertaking in these locations.
If you want to take a hot-air balloon ride over the Masai Mara you should book this through our agents prior to the trip to avoid disappointment. Note that as of the time of writing the price is not known, but we expect it to be over US$500 per person.

A 10% deposit is required to secure your place on the trip, with the remainder of the trip cost due 90 days prior to departure (i.e. mid-May 2011).

Booking

African Travel Specialists in Melbourne are coordinating the bookings for this trip on behalf of LuminOdyssey. Please contact them directly to make bookings and payments, after downloading the PDF booking form. Especially if you're travelling to or from Australia, they can also arrange international flights etc.

If you have any questions about the trip in general, and especially about the photography side of the trip, please head on over to our contact form!