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Question:

I am travelling to the following game parks this summer and will be using an F100 with a 300/f4 attached.

Specific parks are:

Mudumu in Namibia

Chobe in Botswana

Hwange in Zimbabwe

Olkavanga (from Mokoro boat - best approach??)

I have heard that the safari vehicles may be open sided, unlike those I have used in Kenya and Tanzania where one can shoot using a beanbag on the vehicle's roof.

I am most concerned about this, and am wondering if you have any experience with what types of vehicles are used in these specific parks, as well as strategies or devices to assist in the use of long lens setups from such vehicles (assuming that this is the case as far as the vehicles are concerned). Any advice is appreciated. Please help. I am deeply concerned about this.

Many Thanks,

Answer:

You didn't mention whether your trip was solely as a photographer or as a tourist wanting to get some decent pictures. So I really don't know what advice I should give you or how specific I should be.

The vehicles that you will be travelling will vary from park to park and in fact will vary from tour companies or lodges in each park. You should contact your safari organizer to find out what vehicles they will be using.

I can tell you that in Etosha, Namibia the vehicles are completely enclosed. The lodge that my group is staying at is just outside the park, they use open vehicles on they're own property and closed for in the park. The last time I was in Mudumu there were only closed vehicles, I stopped going there because there was very little wildlife, so much of it had been destroyed by poachers and the war. There are so many better places to visit.

In Chobe, Botswana you'll probably be travelling in open sided/top vehicles, this is one of my favourite areas. In the Okavango, you don't want to be in a Mokoro for wildlife photography (birds are OK).

Hwange is another fantastic park; I can't remember the vehicles restrictions there, as I have always travelled there with a friend of mine who owns a Land Rover. But I seem to recall that only enclosed vehicles are allowed in the park.

As for your equipment, the 300mm might be a bit short. You might want to look into getting a 1.4x teleconverter, or a longer lens. But again it depends on what type of images you are after. I don't use a bean bag per say, I use a couple of socks rolled up and placed in a Zip Loc bag or a mono pod.

Hope this helps you a little.