I had such a great trip with Don, Kathy, Mark & Lynne in July, and it’s a pleasure to host Don and Kathy’s write up (with Don’s photos) of the events here on my website. Thank you Don for taking the time to write it up and I’m sure it will give future South Luangwa visitors something to think about!

I encourage you to read Edward’s excellent trip report of our 16 – 30 July 2018 safari for the details of where we went, what we saw and what it was like from his perspective. We have been on three safaris and from our perspective, this safari was simply the best. This was our second safari with Ed and it will not be the last. We are already scheduled for another in 2019 and are planning a Botswana safari with him for 2020. We were hoping for several things on this safari: to improve photographic skills and practice new techniques, learn about and observe more animal behavior, and to have a great time with friends, Mark and Lynne Siegal. This trip exceeded all of our expectations!

Photographically, we had the opportunity to work on fast action photography: a leopard taking down an impala, wild dogs consuming an impala, crocodiles killing an impala (not good news if you are an impala). Fantastic photographic opportunities included lilac breasted rollers in flight, lions mating, leopards going up trees, leopards going down trees, giraffes fighting, lion cubs, leopard cubs, elephant crossings, “animalscapes” and so much more. We also practiced panning shots to more artistically capture motion. We took advantage of what nature offered without interfering with it. We were observers of nature in perfect weather, cloudy weather and at night and photographed what we saw (including a total lunar eclipse). Ed was great at tracking the animals, locating the animals, and making sure that we were in the best position for observing and photographing. All the while he was explaining what we were seeing and what was likely to happen next. He calmly advised us on camera settings, framing options to consider, and gave us all the time we wanted at any sighting. Additionally, Ed made himself available during our breaks from the game drives to help improve our photo processing skills and critique the day’s photos.

Because of his wit and fun personality, Ed rapidly became one of our group. He was not an outsider on the trip guiding us but rather a participant in the adventure shared by five friends. All of us had great fun and so many laughs we could not count them. It was one of the most enjoyable holidays we have ever had and it just happened to be a photographic safari in a magnificent national park with a great guide who was also a superb wildlife photographer and teacher. It is also worth noting that each of the four camps we stayed in: Nsefu, Lion, Chindeni and Chamilandu, were wonderful. The accommodations, food and friendly staff were fantastic and they helped make this the very special trip that it was. We are now looking forward to our 2019 safari with Ed!

Don and Kathy Marianos

Thank you Don! It was so much fun taking you on safari, and I’m very pleased and proud to show off some of your photos below! There were so many good ones……that I decided to post them all! Who can have too many photos anyway?!