Kariega/Shamwari/Amakhala

[Apollo18]

Any folks here been to one of these private game reserves in South Africa? If not, please ignore this thread - I'm looking for advice specific to these private reserves, not general advice about safari's.

If you do have experience of this kind of trip though, what kind of focal lengths did you use most often? This article:

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/8065882473/gearing-up-for-an-african-safari

suggests that FX + 70-200mm + a TC is sufficient on a private reserve, assuming birds are not of interest. Would you agree with this?

I'm going to Kariega in September. I'm mindful to take the following set up:

D800 + 300mm f4 VR; Df + 70-200mm f4 VR; TC14; 24-85mm

I have a 300mm 2.8, but am planning to leave it at home for reasons of weight/convenience. These days I like to travel light and shoot hand held. I am wondering though if it is worth switching the 70-200mm f4 for the 2.8 version. I'm not sure how many sunrise/sunset drives there will be (the last safari I went on only had 1-2, but that was in Tanzania).

 

[Dallas Dahms]

The private game reserve experience within South Africa is all very much the same, regardless of which ones you visit. You will get on an open vehicle with a tracker and a ranger driving and head out in the mornings before sunrise for a few hours and then again late in the afternoon.

These vehicles take you very close to the wildlife, so a lot of the time you won't need much more than a 70-200/2.8. Most of our guests use the 200-400/4 lenses. However, please do take note of a recent post I made regarding the now strictly enforced hand luggage regulations on domestic flights within SA. You will not be allowed to carry more than 7kgs of hand luggage onto a plane. You'll have to check it in, so make sure you have adequate protection in the form of a Storm case or something similar.

We're going to Shamwari for the first time in November.

 

[Apollo18]

Anyone else?

--
https://www.flickr.com/photos/114628884@N02/

 

[Apollo18]

The private game reserve experience within South Africa is all very much the same, regardless of which ones you visit. You will get on an open vehicle with a tracker and a ranger driving and head out in the mornings before sunrise for a few hours and then again late in the afternoon.

These vehicles take you very close to the wildlife, so a lot of the time you won't need much more than a 70-200/2.8. Most of our guests use the 200-400/4 lenses. However, please do take note of a recent post I made regarding the now strictly enforced hand luggage regulations on domestic flights within SA. You will not be allowed to carry more than 7kgs of hand luggage onto a plane. You'll have to check it in, so make sure you have adequate protection in the form of a Storm case or something similar.

We're going to Shamwari for the first time in November.

 

[Dallas Dahms]

Thanks for your reply. It's good to hear that a 70-200mm will cover a lot of situations. I'll be taking also the 300mm f4 VR with a TC14 for when I need a bit more reach. These two lenses, plus a couple of bodies should meet the weight limit no problem.