Today you will arrive in Johannesburg. We will pick you up from the airport the moment you arrive and transport you to the Hilton hotel in Sandton. At your own leisure you can refresh, and relax by the pool. We will meet as a group for pre-dinner drinks, where you will meet all your fellow travelers, the people you will spend the coming 12 days with! During dinner we have ample time to get to know each other a little bit better and we will introduce you to your roomy for the coming days.

Today we will head for the bush! Early morning we will be picked up by a private bus at the hotel. We will fly with a small aircraft from Johannesburg to the Hoedspruit airstrip, where we will be welcomed by the lodge staff.

Upon arrival we will check into our rooms, quickly refresh and meet for lunch. Directly thereafter we will give you a crash course / refresher course Wildlife Photography, so you’re all set to go for the afternoon game drive!

The aim of this photo tour is wildlife photography, but nature being nature we can’t predict what we will see. So before we go out, we have a chat to our ranger & tracker to discuss the current situation out in the bush. Depending on weather, previous animal activity and other factors, we make a plan for the afternoon.

During the game drives both the ranger and the tracker look out for the best animal sightings. The tracker is locally born and raised in the bush and has an unbelievable eyesight when it comes to tracking animals. He sits on the bonnet of the vehicle and looks for animal footprints, broken branches, flattened grass and even smell. The trackers know like no other where common animal paths can be found and where animal hiding places may be.

Depending on what we see, we will stay out in the bush for 3 to 4 hours, before returning to the lodge for a tasty dinner and an early night. It has been a long day after all!

We will wake up before sunrise at 5am, have a quick cup of coffee or tea, a small bite to eat and head out into the bush again. Basically the same story like yesterday, but we will now continue where we left the bush last night. The tracker may continue to follow animals tracks he found, or can bring us to a great sighting straight away.

Back in the lodge we have breakfast together, whereafter everybody has about an hour or 2 spare time to enjoy the beautiful location we stay in. Go for a swim, read a book or start downloading the many photos you’ve taken so far!

Directly after lunch we will sit down as group and review the first day. We will discuss the sightings and have a look at each other’s photos (you can share photos at your own discretion). We will load the photos onto a big screen and give compliments and constructive feedback. During the reviews we merge in another workshop wildlife photography, giving you useful tips for this afternoon. Before you know it, it will be time to head out into the bush again!

Depending on the time we get back to the lodge, we may light a bonfire, play some games or head into the bush for some night time photography and light painting! This will be very exciting since being in the darkness of the bush at night, you will be emerged in the sounds of nature and overwhelmed by the millions of stars. Hear the lions roar, the leopards cough, the elephants trumpet and the crickets chirp! But don’t worry, our ranger and tracker will guard over us, so we can fully focus on the milky way!

After our morning drive and breakfast we will pack our bags and say goodbye to our friendly hosts, who have started to feel like family already. But the farewell can’t take too long, because one of the most exciting moments of this tour is about to happen!

Our private helicopter is warming up its engines already, waiting to take us for a dazzling flight through one of South Africa's wonders of nature: the Blyde River Canyon. The flight gives you endless opportunities for sensational aerial photography.

After leaving the canyon behind us, we won't fly back to Ngala, but straight to our new home for the coming 3 days: Kirkmans Lodge in the world renowned Sabi Sands Game Reserve!

After arrival at our new sensational lodge, we will download our photos, chat about our new home and discuss the ins- and outs of Sabi Sands Game Reserve.

The coming three days will be fully focused on tracking down and photographing the famed leopards & lions of Sabi Sands. There is no other part of the world where the viewing of these fascinating animals is better, so fasten your seatbelts and let’s go!

Since we have our private vehicles, rangers & trackers, we can stay out in the bush as long as we want and go wherever we want to go. We only stop when everyone in our group has the photos they want.

During the breaks in between the photographic game drives, we organize workshops & masterclasses focused on organizing and post-processing of your photos (Lightroom & Photoshop) and we look at more advanced techniques you can use, to improve your photography during the game drives.

The Sabi Sands Game Reserve is not only a haven for wildlife, the scenery can’t be forgotten either. So whenever the light is perfect, we will stop to take landscape photo’s.

Unfortunately, today it is again time to say goodbye. However, with the excitement of travelling to Phinda Private Game Reserve there is no real reason to be sad! The 1 hour long flight sees us flying over Swaziland, towards the south-eastern part of South Africa. We land only minutes away from our lodges and will be picked up by the rangers who will be guiding us for the coming 4 days. We should arrive just in time for lunch and establish ourselves in our private lodge!

We will start the afternoon with a quick rundown about the reserve we are in. This very unique environment definitely needs some explanation, since it has quite complex ecosystems. This does improve your appreciation and understanding of our new location, which will also increase the changes of taking the photographs we are after. After afternoon tea we head out for the bush and see what we can find.

Once back in the lodge and after dinner, we will head onto the lawns of our private lodge to do some serious astro photography. The open plains with some dead trees make for perfect photo framing, and we will experiment with different techniques and light painting fun!

Today is birding day! We will go straight to a bird hide, which has been built on the edge of a dam, overlooking trees and the nearby reeds. Over 300 species of birds are recorded to be living in this area, so bring your super-tele-photo lens (or borrow ours), and click away! We will give you bird behavior training, so you can predict what the bird is going to do. This increases your likelihood of taking amazing photos! The hide gives great shelter, so the birds won’t notice that we are there.

We should still be in time to catch the tail-end of the bird migrating season, spotting some European birds who have stayed over winter in the warmer South African climate. But, nature being nature, you will never know when the European birds are heading back home.

Depending on how we go, we might stay in the hide or the surroundings for lunch, or we may head back to the lodge. The same goes for the afternoon. We may go for another birding session, or we might focus on other animals or scenery.

Tonight a big bonfire is a guarantee, and some glasses of wine or gin tonic (or something non-alcoholic if you prefer) will be enjoyed. Life’s good! We will discuss all the sighting we have had so far on this trip, and check whether there are still specific animals or landscapes we want to see. Together with our guides we will make a plan for tomorrow.

Today will be our last full day in the bush, so the aim is to see & photograph anything we haven't seen so far. We will follow the plan we made during last night’s dinner, and head out to be as productive as we can!

The last night in the bush should be a night to be celebrated! So, like every night we will have a delicious dinner, but tonight we make it super special! We will share our stories, and feast on the best of local cuisine!

The last day, the last drive. It is sad to leave, but by now we will be full of memories (and so will be our memory cards), impressions and have stories for months to come!

After our last game drive we have a little farewell ceremony and head for the airplane that will take us back to Johannesburg.

Arriving at Johannesburg we all go our own ways. If you want to extend your stay in (South) Africa, please let us know. We have many exciting extension packages available, which can be booked through us, organized by our preferred tour operator in South Africa.

If you can't wait to be one of the lucky ones to experience this Photo Tour, you can book by clicking the button below!

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It doesn’t matter! Our tours are all about the nature, wildlife and photography, and we travel with guests of all skill-levels. Whether you are a pro or just a beginner, we would love to have you on one of our Photo Tours! We take the necessary time to teach you how to take the perfect wildlife and nature photos. We only start taking snaps ourselves when all of our guests are happy and comfortable with their own cameras. Until that moment, we are there to support you and give you advice! When you book your Photo Tour with us, you will receive our “Guide to Ultimate Wildlife & Nature Photography", which will help you prepare for the trip of a lifetime. On the first night of the actual trip we will issue the same in a hard copy version – it’ll come in handy when we are out in the bush!

Although our Photo Tours are, as the name suggests, centred around photography, we would absolutely love to welcome your partner if he or she would like to join us. However, it is important to note that the focus of our tour guides will be on those who are taking photos. That said, with the stunning surroundings in which we’ll be immersed, the tours are just as enjoyable for those who don’t want to take photos all the time. Besides this, we will have the loan equipment with us as well. If it’s not already in use, we can guarantee you that your partner won’t be able to resist the temptation of trying to take some shots him/herself as well!

There are some key items you have to bring, such as your camera gear, clothing suitable for the season of the tour, and some other basic items. When you book your Photo Tour with us, we will send you a packing list based on the specific tour, which will help you prepare and ensure nothing is left behind.

You don’t need professional camera gear to join our Photo Tour. However, a DSLR camera with zoom lens will come in very handy. Remember, you can use our loan equipment (a canon DSLR body, free of charge!) and play with our professional lenses on our tours. Please let us know before you book if you would like to borrow a camera, since we only have limited availability and don’t want to disappoint anybody. Last but not least, we also have guests joining our tours who don’t take photos at all. They just join us for the amazing nature, fabulous atmosphere and once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Simply contact us via one of the options below: – Send an email to info@krijnvandergiessen.com – Call us on +791 5 66 263 831 (I’m a Dubai-based photographer, so the number calls out to Dubai. Please feel free to use FaceTime if you want to avoid the call fees) – Fill out this contact form Once you’ve let us know you are interested, we will send you all the information you need to book your Photo Tour!

You can download our Terms & Conditions here.

Krijn van der Giessen Photography has organised the Travel Guarantee via STO Garant. Please read all about this on this page.

Absolutely. Photo Tours are safe as long as you listen to the professional guides and rangers. They are in charge on our tours. Keep in mind that we are in nature and animals can always behave in an unpredictable way, but risks are kept to a minimum wherever possible. If you have any concerns, please feel free to contact us so we can personally answer any questions you may have about safety.

You don’t have to share a room, but it is the standard option for our tours. If you’d prefer a room to yourself, this will come at an additional cost. Please refer to the pricing section of each specific Photo Tour for full details. We do recommend sharing a room with someone else. We’ve learnt from experience that people sharing a room develop a very special friendship. Sharing such an amazing trip with someone you don’t know creates a bond you won’t experience if you opt to stay by yourself. Room-mates are always chosen based primarily on gender, but we can’t guarantee same-sex sharing as this depends on the mix of guests with which we will travel.

To secure your spot on one of our Photo Tours, an initial payment of 20% is due. A further 30% is due 180 days prior to the tour, and the remaining 50% is due 90 days prior to departure. Paid amounts are non-refundable.

We make use of Canon camera gear ourselves, but we welcome all brands of cameras on our tours. Canon, Nikon, Sony or any other brand – they’re all welcome with us!

English is the main language of our tours. Since we travel with people from all over the world, it is important to have a basic understanding of the English language (it is the most universal and easily accepted for this type of adventure). Since Krijn is from a Dutch heritage, he is fluent in Dutch as well.