Jon Paul,
Some thoughts,
First, the Ngorongoro Crater (not gorge - you're thinking of Ol Duvai) and
Serengeti (they're next door) are perhaps the best game park combination
in East Africa, though there are many others. For instance, Lake Manyara,
where the lions climb trees; Masai Mara (a continuation of Serengeti on
the Kenya side of the border), Amboseli for millions of elephant and the
best views of Kilimanjaro, Tsavo for the great quintessential African
vistas and the wonderful Mzima Springs with its crystal water, where you
can see what hippo get up to under-water (not always a very edifying
spectacle). A night at Treetops or one of the alternatives is also
worthwhile. The view of Mount Kenya at dawn is breathtaking, and finding
yourself amidst semi-alpine flora on the equator in the high Aberdares is
quite a surprise. You'll need some warm clothes up there.
If you haven't been to Africa before, a word of warning. This is not the
developed world. Bob's advice about buses is strictly for the
ultra-budget conscious. Kenya is more sophisticated than Tanzania, and in
the game parks and tourist hotels standards are reasonable. Elsewhere,
it's another matter.
I never had a longer lens than 300mm in Africa (with 35mm), and found it
adequate for most things except birds. Often you can get quite close to
bigger animals, and because you are often operating in low light at dawn
and dusk, I would go for speed as much as for length. My most used lens
was the M 75-150mm, but that was a few years ago.
There's a lot to be said for zooms, because Africa is dusty, and the less
often you take the lens off the camera the better. Also, you sometimes
have to move fast and you may be in crowded places, like tourist
mini-buses, where you don't want to be changing lenses the whole time.
Don't bother with climbing Kilimanjaro unless you're young and VERY fit.
It's damned hard work, and most people never make it. They end up cold,
miserable and exhausted at 15,000 feet with mountain sickness. But if you
ARE young and VERY fit, don't let me put you off.
If you do go diving or snorkelling, make sure you know what stone-fish
look like. The water off Zanzibar and other islands (like Mafia -
http://polepole.com/ ) is usually very clear. A good island to vist for
non-diving reasons is Lamu, on the North Kenya coast. An unspoilt old
Arab trading/slaving post, it has no cars and if you want to go somewhere
you hail a passing dhow (well, a dug-out canoe with lateen sail).
Echoing someone else's advice, if you haven't already started on the
anti-malarials, start NOW. Malaria is the world's biggest killer disease
after AIDS (I think), and it's rife on the East African coast. If you get
it, it can knock you back for six months, if it doesn't kill you. I speak
from experience. Don't ignore other medical advice, either.
Despite all the problems, it's well worth going to East Africa, and the
time to go is now, because the animals won't be there for much longer.
Nowhere else gives you quite the feeling of going back for millions of
years, to a time when man was insignificant.
Have a great trip.
John
On Sat, 22 Oct 2005 23:31:52 +0100, Jostein <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hi Jon Paul,
I think you will find 200mm a little short for the wildlife, if you're
still considering the 50-200.
However, I do believe that zoom lenses are sensible in a dusty
environment. Even if the lenses themselves can suck in some dust while
you use them, the lesser number of lens changes will protect the CCD
better. However, if the rains have begun, it's maybe not too bad.
If you're doing a lot of safari, I suggest you bring a battery charger
that will also plug into a 12V socket in the car, such as the GP
TravelCharger. If that's not an option, you'll need more than one extra
set of batteries if you bring a portable disk.
A light and convenient protection against rain could be a couple of
standard hotel shower-caps.
Gee... It's already 14 years since my study trip to Zambia and Malawi...
I will need to go back some time.
<sigh>
Jostein
----- Original Message ----- From: "Jon Paul Schelter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2005 11:39 PM
Subject: Re: Advice on travel to East Africa
Thanks for the heads-up, I'm all fixed for vaccinations and
anti-malarials, and I'll try to keep up some healthy paranoia.
Do I really want to do this? You've gotta be kidding, I've wanted to do
this _forever_.
I'm very much an amateur photographer, and I see this mostly as a great
learning experience from a photography standpoint. If I come out of it
with a few pictures worth printing, I'll be ecstatic.
thanks again,
jp
Don Williams wrote:
The last time I did this kind of thing I didn't have enough bodies
with the right lenses on them to hand when they were needed. It was
much easier when I used guns ... mea culpa. Take as much as you can
and then get someone to help carry it at the other end.
Long lenses are essential. I did get some good results on 6x6 ... by
accident. Expect that all your cameras will be absolutely full of
dust. Perhaps you shouldn't take the lens off your *ist D at all if
you're taking one. In Nairobi things get stolen ... fast. Don't put
you camera bags down anywhere ... hang on to them. Also don't forget
your prophylactic medication. And remember the Malaria parasite is now
resistant to many of the anti-malarials that were effective a decade
ago. Drink bottled water or beer.
Aaaaargh! Do really want to do this?
Don
Jon Paul Schelter wrote:
PDML,
I was off-line for a while, but I'm back, with a query:
I'm planning a last minute trip to Kenya and Tanzania, (I found a KLM
seat sale from Toronto to Nairobi, for 1300$CDN taxes in) and was
wondering if any of you have good advice both on the subject of
things to do, and how best to get around, as well as on photographic
techniques/equipment.
We're leaving in a week, for 3 or 4 weeks, and I'm most interested in
seeing and photographing wildlife, and doing a bit of treking,
possibly diving in Zanzibar. It'll probably be into the small rains
when we get there, and we're looking into a safari of some sort in
either or both of the Rift Valley + Masai Mara (Kenya) or Ngorongoro
Gorge + Serengeti NP (Tanzania). (this looks like a good toor
company: http://www.intoafrica.co.uk/comexpken.htm ) I have a friend
who's travelling seperately, and is looking to climb kilimanjaro
while we're down there, so that 's also an option. I want to pack as
light as possible, since I'll be carrying everything on my back.
My equipment: ist DS, 1G SD card, FA35/2, A50/2, DA18-55 kit lens,
Tamron 70-300/5.6-6.3, a decent tripod, a couple smallish camera bags.
I need: spare batteries, charger, 1 or 2 spare 1G SD cards. something
to store more pictures on (iPod, portable HD)?
My wish list: a bigger camera bag, a wide lens (DA16-45, DA14), a
faster long lens ( would the DA 50-200 be long enough? ), a monopod
(instead of the tripod)?
The 16-45+50-200 would be a decent minimalist kit, covering most of
what I'd need, but not giving me much in terms of lower-light ability.
I don't think I can afford or carry anything like a pentax or sigma
200/2.8 or 300/2.8.
I'd like to spend as much of my money as possible doing things,
rather than buying gear, but I don't want to be kicking myself
because I'm missing something critical.
Any advice you can offer would be much appreciated.
JP
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