PATRICK BRAKSPEAR recalls the highlights of going on safari with Ken Duncan, one of Australia’s most renowned landscape photographers.

It was a dream come true – 15 privileged souls on a two-week safari in Africa with Ken Duncan. Five countries, seven destinations, one Kiwi, one Yank, a Pom and the rest Aussies.

The morning after arriving in Johannesburg, we took a flight to Amboseli National Park in Kenya. The attraction: the best views of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest (and only snow-capped) mountain. Coming in to land at the airstrip we caught our first scenes of the ‘real’ Africa: umbrella-shaped acacia trees, giraffe and zebra on the open savannah.

A storm was building and we had hardly climbed into our vehicles when the rain came down. With the fresh smell of rain on dry earth in our nostrils, we set off on our first game drive of our safari. Immediately we saw zebra, buffalo, thompson’s gazelle and crowned cranes.

Then, as if on cue, the clouds began to clear and the sun shone through to reveal, like the opening curtain on a stage, Mount Kilimanjaro in all its glory. What a sight to behold! The light (after the rain) was incredible. All you could hear were the sounds of camera shutters!

After sundowner drinks with ‘Kili’ as our backdrop (and our first Tusker lagers, the very good local beer) we headed back to check in at our camp, Tortilis, named after the trees that dominate the area. This is a typical safari camp, with spacious walk-in tents under thatch, ensuite bathrooms and a front verandah looking out at the bush. The central dining, bar and lounge area is set high on a ridge with stunning views across to Mt Kilimanjaro.

The following day brought the first of many early starts as we joined our guides and set off in search of wildlife. It wasn’t long before we intersected elephant groups moving through the Park. We were getting some great photos of the babies and protective mothers before being rudely interrupted by a rather testy young bull, flapping his ears and trumpeting at us. The morning was filled with wonderful sights and sounds, and time just seemed to fly.

After a hearty late breakfast a visit to a local village was arranged. What photographic heaven! The local people, the Maasai, are extremely colourful in their dress, with the women wearing intricate beadwork and the men made up with braided hair and painted in ochre. As Ken said: “I really enjoyed meeting some native people, especially the colourful Massai who look so good in photos.”

The children provided the most entertainment and seemed undaunted by the cameras and ‘outsiders’ milling around their village. The young warriors came brandishing tall spears and wearing their traditional Maasai red and black patterned blankets. The whole setting of the huts, cattle and dust was just ‘so Africa’!

Following lunch and a great game drive, we arrived just before dusk at the top of a ridge that offered stunning views across Lake Amboseli. With vistas all around us we enjoyed a gin and tonic as we watched the sun go down before an early departure to Tanzania.

But Ken wasn’t done with the mountain yet, so it was up at sparrows for another opportunity to get ‘the’ shot, using the morning light that is so important in Africa.

We then headed south for the Tanzanian border, and on to Arusha, a tourist hub from where we branched off towards the Ngorongoro crater and the Serengeti.

Just as the sun was setting we arrived at our next overnight stop, E’unoto Lodge. This Maasai-inspired lodge is set below a rising escarpment (part of the Great Rift Valley), a little off the beaten track, and set amongst traditional villages. After dinner it was early to bed as we planned to spend the morning with some of the local Maasai families and experience their lifestyle first hand.

Morning with the Massai
The light was perfect, the setting fabulous and the people very accommodating. The shutters were certainly working fast and furiously – a young woman with her babies, elders gathered together, young men chanting to that deep African beat.

Afterwards, we headed off and passed through the Ngorongoro entrance and found ourselves standing on the edge of what is one of the world’s largest calderas (collapsed volcano). An amazing vista spread before us – even more amazing in that at the bottom lived thousands of wild animals. We moved down into the crater and were astounded by the sheer number and variety of the wildlife around us. It was wonderful to see our first rhino, plus wildebeest, zebra, gazelles, buffalo, jackal and a plover with its wings outstretched to protect its nest containing three intricately patterned eggs.

Back at our lodge we cleaned up and met at the bar for a pre-dinner drink. The lodge has been sited on the edge of the crater and built to blend into its surroundings with the clever use of volcanic rock. The rooms are heated (it’s rather cool up on the rim) and face out across the crater. I couldn’t wait to get a glimpse of the sunrise!

Up early and down to the bottom of the crater again, where there was a pride of lions languishing around in the long grass. We stopped in at a secluded spot where the hotel had arranged a fully laid out lunch right down on the crater floor – tables with tablecloths, silver and glasses, chef, barbecue, beers in the esky and wildlife all around.

After lunch, the group voted to head back up to the crater rim for sunset. We found a fabulous lookout and took in the whole scene as the sun slowly sank into the horizon.

The next morning it was time to set off for the Serengeti, only a couple of hours’ drive away. As we drove the numbers of wildebeest kept growing until there were hundreds of thousands of them spread across the open plains. This was the famed migration (the annual pilgrimage by 1.5 million wildebeest to follow the green grass and ultimately calve in this southern section of the Serengeti). A truly awesome sight.

We found two big lions feeding off a buffalo carcass, just off the road, with hyenas coming in from all sides. But the drivers had heard of more good lion sightings over the radio, so we headed off in that direction with haste and came across three glorious males lying out in the open with an audience of wildebeest and zebra watching intently over them from a discreet distance.

Later, when we opened our picnic lunch boxes, we heard an intermittent squeaking sound. Looking carefully in the general direction we suddenly saw a cheetah about 100 metres away. It was calling out for its partner or cubs. So there we were, in the middle of the Serengeti, having lunch with a cheetah walking directly towards us! We kept an eye on its progress as we ate our meal – there’s no rush in Africa!

Finally we drove up to the cheetah who was still calling out and pacing - a lovely specimen, so sleek, lean and graceful. Then we headed for home, seeing more lions, including four males on a wildebeest kill.

Next day we set off early, taking a quiet back road to a lovely area of the Park teeming with giraffe, zebra, waterbuck and elephants. Just as we were about to reach our designated breakfast spot we noticed a pride of lions – and they had spotted a topi (a large antelope) – the hunt was on! How amazing to have front row seats to a lion hunt.

The lionesses fanned out, smelt the breeze and ever so slowly made their way toward the topi. It was a good approach but the topi was onto them and dashed off before the final rush. With their breakfast thwarted they settled for a drink of water from a puddle on the road – right in front of the vehicle.

But we had a plane to catch to Cape Town on our way to Namibia. We flew into Windhoek and took a charter flight directly into our lodge in the Namib. Sossusvlei Desert Lodge is the closest lodge to the famous Sossusvlei dunes and has its own private entrance to the Namib Naukluft Park.

The dunes were a highlight for many in the group – the light and shadows are constantly changing, as is the setting, from towering sand dunes to desolate valleys. We had also managed to secure special permission to stay in the Park after 6pm, which meant that we had the place to ourselves.

We all thought it would be hard to top the dunes for scenic splendour, but I have to say that the first sight of the Victoria Falls is one to savour. Ken was out there at sunrise and took some great shots as the sun rose above the mist and spray and a rainbow appeared above the Falls.

Finally the end of the safari was upon us, and on the last afternoon the group climbed aboard a cruise boat on the Zambezi River for sundowner drinks and a farewell dinner – a wonderful way to finish an epic journey together.

* The next African Encounter safari with Ken Duncan is planned for September 2006.