Cheers, FAllWay:). Yes, so much to see and take in for my first trip to the bottom of Africa:).

Thank you, ironmanjt, great to get such positive feedback:). Definitely a trip of a lifetime, so many opportunites to see and photo these beautiful animals up close in the wild.

Thanks, JDiver:). Most of my animal idenitfication was through google after I got back from the trip so may not be 100%:). Yes, Elephant Sands was definitely a highlight. It's a 16000 ha private reserve that is totally unfenced, so the animals just roam in and out:): http://www.elephantsands.com/

Thanks, Alba:). My second time to sub-saharan Africa, but first time taking a decent telephoto lens, so had an awesome time putting it to good use:).

Thanks, sailrob81:). I was staying at the Holiday Inn, which was only a short walk from the Gautrain station, and didn't feel too unsafe. Sandton is the 'upmarket' part of Joburg, so modern, clean with McDonalds, malls etc. Kinda boring actually, I was expecting something a bit rougher:).

I have read your trip reports and well they have left me speechless. Traveling to places that some of us only dream of. Your photos are truly beautiful. Thank you.

super awesome photos. I spent some time in Southern Africa back in 2009 (Namibia, Botswana, southern Zambia and a walk across the border into Zimbabwe) and think it's time to get back there again soon!

Thank you, lasvegaswannabe:). Got some more trips coming up so hopefully a few more TR's coming soon:).

Cheers, dereiziger:). Yes, Southern Africa is definitely one of those places I want to go back to as well.

Just a shot of the team in the Delta:):

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3827/1...ce7dc190_o.jpg

that's a great team! When I went to the Okavango Delta, it was just me, my guide, a cook and another poler. Still not sure how I managed to get into a tour on my own. It was a nice experience, but part of me thinks it would have been nicer to have others to talk to. My guide and cook were great, however!

You just made me very excited for my upcoming trip to SA! GREAT photos. What were the two telephotos you took? Canon for life!

Thanks, AJCU:). You'll no doubt have a memorable time, such a beautiful place.

The two lenses are the Canon 300L IS MkII, and the 70-200 IS MkII.

The 300 is great for sports too. Here is some tennis shots, you may recognise some of these players:):

http://www.hellophoto.co.nz/showthre...-Tennis-Champs

Those two big lenses make all the difference! :)

A Southern African Adventure
 

nice report and excellent photos as mentioned many times.

one quick note for you or others heading there. JNB has quite a few ATMs on the second level, literally directly above where you exit customs into the main airport arrivals level. of course maybe you just meant no ATMs that worked with your particular card, but just a tip in general for everyone. :)

Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos! This is hands down one of my favorite TRs. Such an amazing experience. :)

If you don't mind me asking, which tour were you on and would you recommend Intrepid? I used to drool over their website as a college student but have never been on any sort of guided tour. Also, what month did you go and do you think a lone female traveler would have any trouble doing the same trip?

I'm not a photographer so I don't really understand why you would need these two huge lenses? Can you not use a standard lens or P&S camera, use a a very high resolution, and zoom into the object? Then, when you get home just use Photopaint and "fix" the photo?

Hi embla, I have done 7 trips with Intrepid and definitely recommend them:). This is the trip I did, although they've changed the schedule slightly by staying a few more days in Zimbabwe:

http://www.intrepidtravel.com/botswa...n-africa-73631

I went in August (winter) which is the best time for the weather (not too hot or wet) and best time for game viewing too. No problems for a solo female traveller, from the 16 people on our trip, 5 were solo ladies.

Hi dieuwer2. The bigger lenses and camera give much better quality, not so obvious when they are shrunk down to web size, but really makes a difference when you enlarge them (I had 8 prints done from this trip). A DSLR with a fast lens will also let in ~100x as much light as a P&S. E.g. when we went on the night safari drive, I was the only person able to take any photo's due to the very low light levels.

Not sure what you mean to 'fix' a photo, like the 'enhance' button they use in the CSI TV show:)? You can't really improve the resolution from a low quality shot, it would be like trying to convert a VHS movie to Blu-Ray, it will still look like VHS quality.

Excellent report with absolutely stunning photography (my favorite were the two of the zebras at sunset). You're also braver than me, no way I'd have eaten those grubs :D

What was the camping situation like for solo travelers? Did you have your own tent or was it shared?
And what was the preferred mode of luggage? Did most people bring large backpacks or suitcases as well?

Thanks, CMK10, yes those grubs weren't too bad, took me a while to get used to the weird after-taste anyway:D.

They cater for pairs, so the solo travellers were paired up for tents. I had my own tent though as I was the only solo male for the first week. On the second half of the trip there was another solo guy, but as they had extra tents I still had my own tent. You can pay a bit extra to ensure you get a tent for yourself if thats what you want though.

Most people had backpacks, but there were a few suitcases too.