My safari to South Africa was a disaster...

Messier Object wrote:

Sorry to hear of this.

It seems to me that your safari operators didn't do a good job of ensuring that everyone got to see what they came to see.

It's a difficult situation and what people don't realise very often people fall out with each other in safari vehicles. I don't know how common it is but I fell out with the two elderly couples in Botswana and someone fell out with me in Kenya.

The same tour operator does birding holidays in the Kruger and you could claim the two birding couples could of booked that holiday instead. However if they did then there was a chance the lack of bookings for the mammals Kruger trip could of meant the holiday wouldn't go ahead.

I did the sensible thing and make sure I go into the other safari vehicle. The birders were nice people BTW and I took the best option in a bad situation. I also chat to other people about this but I also pointed out it wouldn't made a big impact on our lack of big cat sightings.

At the outset, the guests should have been briefed, and there should have been guidelines on what the guides would stop for.

The guide did instruct the birders not to stop for every brown bird we come across. However, I did the best thing possible and joined the other vehicle. That way, the birders get what they want and I get what I want.

You can't blame the birders, blame the operators

The birders did have the option to go to a birder holiday instead and most people in my group were into their birds. So like it or not I was out numbered  7 to 3.

Our recent trip to S Africa included 8 days in safari lodges with 2 x 3hr drives each day. They concentrated on the "big 5" . There were plenty of birding opportunities and we did stop for spectacular views of eagles and vultures, and other interesting birds, and the guides always pointed out new birds, but never did the birds take priority. As a birder myself I was more than satisfied with how it went. And BTW mammals were more than 90% of my photo subjects.

Approx 50% of the photos taken with GH5 + 100-400 were birds. That said the birding vehicle did stop very often and one birders did admit he used to be an extreme birder. I just hope they don't do the Sabie Sands's cat safari.

Final note the safari only became a clutter...... due.

• Anti malaria tablets making me ill
• shooting JPEG by mistake
• Lack of cats
• Too many birders.

If we had more sightings of big cats then itv wouldn't be a problem.

Peter