I hosted 4 wonderful groups in 2025 on safaris to the Greater Kruger Region of South Africa. This area is so full of top tier wildlife encounters, friendly and family owned lodges, beautiful scenery, and everything you want with minimal driving between. There is no need to look elsewhere for a fullfilling wildlife photography adventure.
Highlights from this year were the always frequent leopard and lion sightings but with a growing frequency of cheetah encounters. Wild dogs never stop moving, but are growing in population in the is area thanks to conservation efforts and education of farmers.
We will only have 1 group safari in 2026 – Deadline for signing up for the last few spaces will be February 1st 2026 at $6,500 USD per shared room
Things to Love: Accommodations
One of the things to love about South Africa is the variety of lodgings available. Each one is loved, fun, unique, honors the nature surrounding it, and family owned (with no corporate presence) . Our guests have favorites out of the 3 we visit, but often it is my own tree house lodge that get the honor of #1
Unique Design Surprises
Delicious Food served under the stars
One of the Tree Houses at my Lodge
Things to Love: Beauty all around
Beyond the iconic species and the Big 5 are many beautiful and unique birds to photograph. In all the vast wild areas we see a surprising variety of savannahs, brush, mountains, and river areas. Each location we visit is different and has its own character
Beyond Expectations: Wildlife from Rare to Iconic
In South Africa, the guides can get up close to wildlife and often the big cats are right beside our vehicle. This allows great images of lions and leopards. The wildlife dogs are fast, but we can follow them and intersect their path for a quick pause in their movement. Cheetahs have never been populous in our area, but we seem to be able to find them more often perhaps thanks to the many conservation programs in our area.
Can’t Do This at Home: The water Level Photo Hide – Just for Us
Since we are residents in this Greater Kruger region, we get to know locals and discover their projects. One such project is with our friend Ian who has constructed a water level photo hide at his small lodge. After our stay in Sabi Sands for leopards, we change the daily schedule featuring the comfortable hide. We can be inside all day and night. this lets the wildlife come to us for a change. We can still drive on this hill and boulder filled reserve. Between wildlife visits to the hide’s watering hole, the break provides time to sort photos, catch up on posting, exchange knowledge of post processing techniques or even read. Nights are magical as you feel a part of the nightly rhythm of the bushveld.
We will only have 1 group safari in 2026 – Deadline for signing up for the last few spaces will be February 1st 2026 at $6,500 USD per shared room this is a super value and “undiscovered gem of the safari industry – these personal and expert – lead tours are disappearing”
