Bringing Photographers Closer to Their Natural World
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Kenya Safari Return to Roger Devore's Bio Page
©Roger Devore ©Roger Devore
Kenya A message from Roger Devore: After several years of enthusiastic encouragement from Jack McLeod, I finally traveled to Kenya for a safari in January, 2007. What I found was wildlife that surpassed anything that I had ever imagined. Through Jack’s guidance and leadership, we visited three separate locations and observed and photographed all the famous African species and many others that were just as intriguing from a photography stand point. Every day in each location was different and we were constantly stopping to photograph new wildlife in new situations. I decided while we were there that I wanted to go back sometime in the future with a workshop. I queried our guides about prime times to visit and decided there is no bad time to visit Kenya. On the advice of our lead guide David, I chose to schedule the workshop in August which would be in the middle of the huge wildebeest and zebra migration in the Masai Mara. Since I returned home, I have been corresponding with the safari outfitter and have finally worked out all the details. Following are all the details for this once in a lifetime trip.
Kenya is a country about the size of Texas that has preserved much natural land in reserves and parks. We will visit the three very best areas in the country. We will start out in Samburu National Reserve northwest of Nairobi. This reserve is a wonderful location to find the ever illusive leopard. There are also large numbers of elephants in the Samburu and the area also has four species that are not found anywhere else in Kenya, gerenuk gazelle, reticulated giraffe, Grevy’s zebra, and the Somali ostrich. From the Samburu, we will next travel south to Lake Nakuru. Here we will find thousands of flamingos along the lake side. This is also wonderful country for pelicans, fish eagles, and rhinos. Our last stop will be the crown jewel of Kenya, the Masai Mara. This is the best of big cat country with cheetahs and lions seen daily and leopards also frequently found. Elephants and rhinos are both very abundant in the Mara and this is also the scene for the huge migrations of wildebeest and zebras. Here is a day to day schedule of our trip in the first session (second session): Aug.22 - depart U.S. Aug. 23 - arrive in Nairobi, we will be met by our safari outfitter and taken to the Karen Blixen (of Out Of Africa fame) Cottages in a Nairobi suburb to over night. Aug. 24-26 - Samburu Reserve, we will fly from Nairobi to Samburu instead of the six hours drive many other safaris do. Here we will meet our guides that will be with us for the rest of the trip. We will spend three nights in Samburu. Aug. 27-28 - drive to Lake Nakuru. We will spend two nights at Lake Nakuru. Aug. 29-31 - drive to Mara and spend three nights at first Mara location. Sept. 1-4 - move to a different location in the Mara and spend four more nights. Sept. 5 - fly back to Nairobi (again avoiding the long drive). Day room at Karen Blixen Cottages. Depart that evening to fly home. Our drivers will drop us at the airport. Sept. 6 - arrive back in U.S.
At most locations, we will stay in tent camps, but to call these quarters tents is a grave injustice. They do have canvas sides, but these tents are very large, they must be at least 10 foot height on the inside. They are built on decks with a hard floor and thatched roofs that cover the entire tent. Additionally, each tent has its own bathroom with a shower and flush toilet. All the tents also have four poster beds and electricity. These camps preserve the old safari image and also have the benefits of a modern motel. Each morning your wake up call will be someone delivering coffee, tea, or hot chocolate to your room.
We will travel in very versatile, specially modified Land Rovers. These vehicles are designed for eight passengers plus the driver, and may trips fill them up with people. We will put three photographers in each vehicle. Each person will have his/her own row of seats to spread out with camera gear. Additionally, each person will have their own overhead hatch to work from. This allows a full 360 degree view for photographing, no matter where the subject is located. The Land Rovers are four wheel drive and very ruggedly built to handle mud and river crossings. The animals are accustomed to these vehicles being around in the parks and basically ignore them. It is not uncommon for a lion to walk right up to the van. Our drivers/guides are the very best in Kenya. Each of them is licenced by the country and have over twenty years of experience. Besides being skillful drivers in every situation, they are also all extremely knowledgeable about all the wildlife that we will encounter. They are eager to answer any questions and always ready to position the vehicles for the best light and location for each photograph. We have hand picked the guides for photo safari experience and we know them for our prior safari. By the time you leave to head for home, you will have new Kenyan friends that have led you the past two weeks. On the last safari, the persistence of our drivers got us thirty minutes of unobstructed photography with a leopard. At one point, there were at least ten different vans looking for this leopard, but all the other vans except ours gave up and left before the leopard appeared from its hiding place. The experience of our drivers made for some wonderful leopard images.
A typical safari day starts at 6:30 am as we depart camp for sunrise and the warm early morning light. Our drivers will bring along a box lunch for each of us for breakfast and we will stop and eat sometime during the morning. We will continue to photograph until around 11:00 - 12:00 pm. When the sun gets high and the light gets bad, we will return to camp to down load, recharge, and have lunch. There is also time for a swim at the camp pool or a nap. At 4:15 pm, we will meet again at the vehicles and head out for our second game drive. This one will be shorter and we will be back at camp soon after sunset at around 6:30 pm. We will then have dinner and coordinate our next morning wake up call. Species we are likely to see and photograph:
Birds:
What is included: all accommodations and meals all government hotel taxes and service charges all land transportation in safari vehicles all National Park / reserve entrance fees all Kenya internal air transportation as specified in itinerary all portage and airport assistance all bottled water KPSGA certified guides Temporary Flying Doctor (AMREF) emergency evacuation to Nairobi Not Included: air fare from U.S. to Kenya laundry, beverages (coffee and tea are included), and other personal expenses tips to camp employees gratuities to driver/guides Visa fees Non Photographer Option I will also offer one seat at a discount in each vehicle as a non photographer location. This person will ride in the front of the vehicle next to the driver and will have full access to left front window. This person will not have access to an overhead hatch and can photograph only from the window in the door. This extra person will not affect the other locations in the van and each photographer will still have the same area available if we add a person in the front of the van
Cost: $7300, $8300 single room Non Photographer discount $1000 If requested, we will help you find a roommate, but if not found, you will be at the single rate. Deposit $1000 required at registration, balance due Apr 01, 2008. Cancellation penalties (dictated by outfitter): Outside 120 days - 50% of deposit 120- 60 days prior - 100% of deposit + 10% of balance of trip Inside 60 days - no refunds We recommend trip insurance for this trip. Travel to Kenya For at least the past decade, the U.S. State Department has issued a travel advisory for travel to Kenya. I believe this started with the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi around ten years ago. Jack did extensive research with the State Department and the U.S. embassy in Nairobi concerning the dangers of a trip such as this safari. Traveling anywhere in today’s climate is not riskless, but both agencies agreed there would be minimal danger in this trip. The person at the embassy said she was not afraid at all in Nairobi and she was making plans to bring her parents over for a visit. We will spend minimal time in the cities and almost all of our time in the parks. We will be met at airport by our outfitter and driven by private van to our motel. We will not be traveling alone, but always escorted. Our outfitter has been leading safaris for many years and U.S. photo workshops have been operating in Kenya for twenty years without incident. We believe that Kenya is no more dangerous than many other places through out the world where Americans travel every day. If you a person interested in wildlife photography, Kenya is unequaled anywhere on earth. The number of animals, variety of species, and the proximity to our van make each day a new and different adventure. Kenya is now actively preserving its wildlife, hunting is illegal everywhere in the country. No where else can give you this type of photo experience. I hope you can join us and witness the Kenyan wildlife yourself. We anticipate this workshop will fill quickly, so sign up soon if you want to go. See more Kenya images at www.devorephoto.com/kenya2007.htm |
