DanielW

It was a hassle to lug all the camera stuff around, but glad I did.

Yes, the good old iPhone camera's are getting better and better. One of the girls actually dropped her iPhone in the water while we were in the makoro's. After a nervous few days while waiting for it to dry out, she was able to get it going again, as well as all her travel pics.

Thanks Loose Cannon, my pleasure.

rts123

My sentiments exactly. Outstanding photos and a great report overall. Thanks for lugging that camera gear around so we can get a feel for what you saw!

LongingForORD

Thanks for the nice TR and Pixs.

I have also had many African adventures, and never get tired of looking at the animals, thanks for sharing your great photos. I think Botswana is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

aaron1262

Amazing photos. I'm headed that direction in a few weeks for Kruger and Victoria falls. Your report got me super stoked about the trip.

DanielW

Thank you, LongingForORD. People often ask where has been my favourite place to travel, and Africa is always at the top of the list.

Cheers, aaron1262. You'll have a great time, with happy memories that will last well after the trip is over. Kruger is an amazing place, quite big, about the same size as Israel. Well setup for everything too.

Plenty to do at Vic falls too, bungy jumping, helicopter rides above the falls, I think you can even do a micro-light flight on the Zambian side too.

DanielW

Thanks, rts123. I managed to squeeze it all into my carry-on backpack, weighed more than my check-in bag too.

DanielW

Just a Zebra crossing in Kruger.

shogunate03

Amazing TR DanielW and absolutely stunning photos! It seemed like quite the adventure and lots of fantastic wildlife to see.

I have lugged around a Canon 6D with 70-200mm, 16-35mm, and 24-105mm in a backpack and it is quite a pain to carry, but the pictures do end up being worth it.

I saw that you used both a 1.4x and 2x teleconverter - how did you like those? I have heard some good things about them but that you also do sacrifice focus speed and image quality for the extra range. At some point I would like to go on a safari and am concerned that my 70-200 is too short and that I would need a TC.

Did you end up using the TCs a lot - for example when you were shooting from the helicopter? I see that you also had a 300mm so you already had some extra range.

DanielW

Thanks, shogunate03.

Yes, I used the TC's quite abit. The 2x TC on the 300mm makes it 600mm, and is good when the animals are far away (handy for public parks like Kruger where you can't drive offroad). This shot is taken with the 300L + 2x TC:



The quality is pretty good, obviously not as good as an actual 600L, but the expense and hassle of travelling with such a big lens (no way it would fit in the carry-on luggage) means the 300mm + 2x TC is a pretty good alternative.

I used the 1.4x quite a bit too, and used it with the 300mm on the helicopter trip.

A 1.4x TC with the 70-200 would go well for going on safari, with the IQ & AF still being pretty good. The quality with the 2x TC and the 70-200 is not so great, but still quite acceptable.

FAllWay

Great trip report. This is how trip reports should be, about things you do at destinations. Not only about the plane ride and hotels.

ironmanjt

I find the iPhone takes some pretty darn good pictures, but nothing that can compete with these. Daniel, thanks for sharing - some of the best pics I've ever seen on FT!

JDiver

FanTAStic!

BTW, those antelope wading in the water taken from the helo are actually Southern Lechwe, Kobus leche, which always are found near or in the water.

Great photos, including my favourites - elephant, of course! and my favourite antelope, the noble Sable. Thanks so much for sharing!

Alba

Hello DanielW.

I have not had the opportunity to read your story, which I will and look forward to. I wanted to say to you that your pictures are some of the best photographs that I have ever seen and to be perfectly honest some are worthy of National Geographic. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your journey and photograph what you saw on your amazing adventure.

^^:-:

Alba

Absolutely agree - outstanding photographs.

sailrob81

@DanielW Thanks for posting and really enjoyed the TR. The night stop with dinner and elephants is pretty awesome.

Just a quick question. How did you find getting from the Gautrain to your hotel? Given the horror stories about Jo-Burg did you feel walking in that area (Sandton) was safe?