Designed for the ten-year celebration of Piper Mackay Photo Safaris, the African Wildlife Extreme safari included helicopter photography, night photography, night hide photography, low-level photography and exclusive camps. It was so over the charts in all ways I must offer it again, at least once, and I am even upping my game again and making it better!!! READ ON…….
Our first location was at an exclusive lodge with only six luxurious tented chalets: each with its own private mini pool, but we were there for the fantastic night photography hide setup with front light, side light, and backlight, controlled with different switches, and the helicopter photography over the soda lakes. The action began the first hour of the first night in the hide. We had a rare cheetah sighting, leopard, giraffe drinking, wildcat, Janet cat, porcupine, zebra, and more. It was popping with excitement. At first, it was one of those “we must have been lucky” moments, but the luck continued the second night and the two nights with my next group 10 days later! We were able to be very close to wildlife at eye level with different challenges and creative light choices. The helicopter photography experience goes without saying! EVERYONE LOVED THIS EXPERIENCE.
Next, we chartered to one of several Mara conservancies to get the off-road access needed for the best positioning and to use our low-level door to be at eye-level with the big cats! One of the many advantages of the conservancies in the greater Mara is the low density of vehicles. No other cars are in your background when you are lined up perfectly, laying low, and using a wide angle! Taking it to another level was night photography, which is highly challenging but rewarding when you capture an incredible image. A huge thanks to the Meikan Safaris team’s talent for getting into L formation, which is critical in night photography, even with the lions on the move! Next, we moved into the main Mara, and the action was non-stop.
I then joined a few clients on a private safari to search for the famous black leopard, Giza. Just driving to this reserve, we knew we were somewhere special and with only one main camp of six tents and a small sister camp with just four tents, it was basically exclusive. This place is extraordinary! The rich red soil and northern terrain were striking, with a river running through it. It had all the notable northern species, such as the reticulated giraffe, gravy zebra, oryx, etc. The regular leopard sightings were crazy good, and luck remained with us as we had an incredible sighting of Giza, the black leopard. We spotted her just after sunset, following her into the night as we can do night photography here. This place
These three weeks leading the two African Wildlife Extreme safaris and black leopard extension were filled with unique shooting opportunities and some of the most exciting ever. Once back in our Nairobi office, I said, “We must do this again, but even better!” All the places in the itinerary are limited, with extremely high demand. Still, I got space for the exact time I want to rerun this extraordinary safari in 2024. I have even been able to add in another hide location and the black leopard experience. READ MORE ABOUT IT HERE!
The first African Wildlife Extreme Safari 2023 sold out in less than an hour. The demand was so overwhelming that I added a second, which sold out almost immediately. There will only be six spots open, and my schedule is too full for 2024 to add a second one. Therefore, if you want to be assured one of the six spots for the African Wildlife Extreme safari in 2024, add your name to the priority notification list. You will receive a private email invitation to join the trip before it goes live publicly.
I am in India, leading a wildly successful Tiger and Indian wildlife safari with Shivang. I hope to have the itinerary open for registration in the next 7-14 days.
