It’s dusk and in front of me is an old battered buffalo, busy chomping away by the water. He’s seemingly unaware of the two young lions, perhaps brother and sister, gradually creeping forward, keeping low in the grass. It can only be a matter of time…
I’m in Botswana watching from a boat in the Chobe River. Equipped with 360 degree camera mounts, I have the big zoom lens of my Canon 80D focused on him, as does a bunch of other amateur photographers.
Because this trip is not only about seeing some of Africa’s wildlife, it’s about capturing the big game — on camera. We’re all staying at the Pangolin Hotel in Kasane nearby.
Each guest is loaned a camera and goes out morning and afternoon, tutored to take better pictures by a photographic guide.
I started my own snapper adventures in the Okavango Delta, around 400 miles to the south west. Getting there had involved flying from Johannesburg to Maun, then transferring to a smaller 12 seater plane and crossing the Delta to land on a makeshift airstrip near the village of Khwai — then a bumpy ride in a bush vehicle overland to Pangolin’s other lodge.
This really is the middle of nowhere where villagers still risk life and limb, venturing out into the bush, to cut the grasses. They sell them for thatch, earning money to buy school books and uniforms for their children. I bump into two of them as I set out in the late afternoon, on their way home.
But sometimes they don’t make it. This is lion country.
I’m whisked off to see a big male and smaller female waking from their afternoon nap. They’re hungry so we watch them stealthily stalking an impala. Unfortunately, night is falling and when it gets too dark to see anything we return to camp.
That night my fitful slumber is disturbed by the roaring of lions, braying of hyenas and the chomping of hippos.
Next day, I’m given my camera with its 150-600mm zoom lens and Dan, my instructor takes me through the basics of safari photography. Never switch off the camera, always give the subject enough room in the frame and remember to leave space for hidden legs of animals in water. His one bush survival tip is “Never panic!”
Later, I’m put to the test when I’m about to enter a hide to observe elephants at a water hole. There’s a solitary bull who I think will make a good shot so I point my camera.
He’s not pleased, trumpets loudly and starts to charge. Of course I jump straight into the safety of the hide.
Dan is amused. He tells me that it was only a mock charge — if the elephant holds his head high and has his ears forward, there’s nothing to worry about. I prefer watching from safety; the elephants come so close to the hide that the dust thrown up by their huge feet sullies my lens.
My other indispensable companion is Wax, the spotter driver. Over the next few days he tracks leopard and lions in a landscape with no roads or discernible features.
He fords deep rivers and bludgeons through intractable parts of the bush in pursuit of his quarry. Along with the big cats we stumble across a huge herd of around 150 elephants, complete with babies and wait to catch hippos throwing their heads out of water in that classic hippo yawn.
After three glorious days I take another small plane to Kasane, on the Chobe. Pangolin has a brand new hotel here on a hill overlooking the river. It’s also equipped with an editing room, as an important part of the tuition is looking at your pictures and suggesting how you can improve.
On the river, their boats are equipped with those custom camera mounts which allow you to sit and pan 360 degrees.
The Chobe is stacked with game. Mornings finds hippos munching on grass on the bank, and huge crocs sunning themselves with their jaws wide open. Baboons play by the water and waterbucks come to drink.
There’s time to linger, observe all, and also to get those special shots. Afternoon sees large herds of elephants playing in the mud, and a sighting of an elusive leopard in a tree.
There are also game drives through the National Park twice a day. One memorable morning I get to see four of the big five — lions, leopards, buffalo, elephants, all close enough to almost touch, only missing the Cape Buffalo to complete the set. In the evening we run across three lionesses with six-month-old cubs, all out to play, just having fun.
Some of my fellow guests have only used their phones for pictures before and I see their joy as they get acquainted with their new toys, big lenses and all.
They come away with shots of animals of a quality they could only dream of, all thanks to the patience of our tutors and the skill of the trackers.
And the old buffalo being stalked by the two young lions? As the light sinks the cats get closer and we hold our breath, cameras ready to capture the kill.
Suddenly the buffalo turns and charges the lioness. She gives ground and wanders off into the distance. The young male just looks on, helpless, uncertain of how to proceed.
Sometime in the future they’ll have the experience to take on a beast of this size. Just not today.
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