South African Photo Safari with ProMediaGear
Jeff and I just returned from a 8 day African Photo Safari that we took with Tom and Derek from ProMediaGear and I will be addressing some most often asked questions like, What is an African photo safari like? What are the accommodations like? . The test requirements will change so it is very important to keep up to date with that when you have your trip planned. Part 2 will also have details on how you can join us next year for a trip of a lifetime.
What is an African safari like? Well no two safari experiences will be the same but I will be writing about our amazing 8 days in the African Bush. If you choose to go with someone other than us you need to do your research because the guide will either make or break your trip. The guide that we book our trips with has been doing African safaris for over 12 years and has an excellent working relationship with everyone including the hotel we spend our first night at in Johannesburg. Upon arriving at the airport in Johannesburg we were greeting by a driver with our name on a board. He then assisted us with all of our luggage and got us to the hotel safely.
The hotel we stayed at was built just like the Cesar’s Palace in Las Vegas and once you are inside your inside you would never think you were in Africa everyone speaks english and they even have American music playing in the casino and in the mall.
Our guides were Kevin and Tricia they coordinated a dinner at the hotel with everyone who is in our group, so we could all meet and get our morning departure information. The dinner at the hotel was simply amazing and beautifully displayed. The next morning we departed on a full size very comfortable bus for our road trip to the Private Game reserve which was about 2 hours. The trip went by very quick everyone in our group got along very well and we all enjoyed visiting. We had 2 ladies from the New York area, a couple from Atlanta Georgia and the 2 guys from ProMediaGear who is actually put the trip together they are from the Chicago area.
When we arrived at the gate to the reserve we were greeted by our trackers that would be driving us around for the entire 8 days. They transferred all of the luggage and hauled it to our rooms as all of us got on one of the Safari trucks that took us to the lodge. When we arrived at the lodge we were greeted with a song and dance by our hosts. Before we walked to our cabins we were warned to keep the doors closed and locked otherwise the monkeys will raid your room. We were assigned our tent which is very well equipped with a king size bed, Full bathroom, Coffee bar, air conditioning and a large balcony over looking the water below. We could hear all of the birds and elephants during the day and hyenas at night.
We were all given the option to stay and unpack or go out on a safari trip on our first night, well we all voted for safari so off we all went cameras in tow, except for Leslie she was just along for the ride with her husband Mark they are the couple from Atlanta. So we all loaded up into our 2 safari trucks that are all open air with a roof to help with rain and the sun. I was very happy we had roofs because as the days went by the sun was very intense for the first 2 days and then we got some rain showers during our trip. So definitely take your rain gear they have rain ponchos and blankets for everyone but don’t have covers for camera gear.
If you would like to book a trip with us please contact me here