Choosing a Photographic Safari in Africa

One of the most important criteria when selecting your destination for a photographic safari is the time of year and the location. The reason, wildlife are on a constant quest for food and water and seasonal changes impact on the quantity of wildlife in a particular area. For the photographer the more wildlife you encounter the more photographs you will be able to take and therefore increase the chances of success. If however, the wildlife is sparse the resultant images may be few and you could return home disappointed.

The most well known seasonal animal movement is the wildebeest migration between the Serengeti and the Masai Mara, where each year the wildebeest travel over 1000 miles between the two locations in search of good grazing. So, if you arrive in the Masai Mara in February or the Southern Serengeti in October the plains will be void of game apart from the resident species, so these times are not the optimum photographic time to visit each location.

The wildebeest migration is not the only wildlife movement in Africa, many other locations have similar patterns. In the African dry season wildlife gather near water sources such as waterholes and rivers but in the wet season these animals disappear into the bush, sometimes making sightings almost impossible.

Solution

The key to success is research, find out more about the destination and the prime time to visit, there is so much valuable information on the internet to help find the ideal location and right time of year.