Penda Photo Tours

My Fiancee and I have just returned from this trip and I have to say that it was a fantastic experience. Our primary reason for taking this trip was to photograph the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. We did 2 separate treks to visit two different gorilla families and we were able to get very close to them and to capture some amazing images. They are so human-like and engaging.

We also participated in several “game drives” where we saw countless animals and birds including elephants, lions, zebra, giraffes, kob, waterbuck, impala and more. Another highlight was a boat trip on the Kazinga channel where the sheer abundance of wildlife along the shore was mind blowing, especially the large number of hippos.

The accommodations were all beautiful and very comfortable, blending comfort with the jungle experience.

Kaleel Zibe, the photographic instructor on the tour was also excellent, patiently providing instruction and tips for how to best capture and then present images of the wildlife.
This is a great trip with multiple different experiences rolled into one and I can highly recommend signing up.

Alan is an excellent photography teacher. He is very patient and gives everyone attention while out on safari. 

Our Penda trip was organized and comfortable, so we could concentrate on the photography. 

A week with Alan will elevate your photography skills and being in the African Bush opens the mind. I highly recommend this trip and any Penda Photo tour.

I have been on two Penda Photo Tours, covering safaris in South Africa and Botswana. Both were exceptional – the two countries are different in lots of ways. This gives different photographic opportunities in each. I wish I was free for this trip!

An outstanding experience. The wildlife was exceptional and the opportunity to refine existing photography skills and learn new ones coupled with gaining a greater insight into the habits of the extensive wildlife from Alans comprehensive knowledge and experience made for a rewarding trip.

This was a fantastic trip, where we lost count of the number of Leopard sightings. In addition the private reserve is home to Lions and Elephants making it a great destination for photographers and wildlife lovers alike. Alan is a great photographer, always on hand to lend assistance, both in the field and back at base.

I attended this tour last Nov/Dec 2017. Accommodation is “hostel” like, with normally 4 sharing in bunk beds. Sigle accommodation in a private hut is available at extra cost. Food is basic but you are in the bush, not a hotel. Great atmosphere created by the team, and no one is “left out” even if they can be “difficult” Game drives are evry day (nearly) a few days are dealing with the local children at their school and the garden where they grow produce to help keep them self sufficient, selling the excess in the market. Another day we were clearing the bush from an invasive plant , this is in a private game reserve, in return the group have access to the park. The main game park used is only 20 min from the lodge, sometimes a day and night drive are included. vehicles are open top 4 wheel drive vehicles specially designed, max 7 persons in a vehicle. Rotation of seating is compulsory on a daily basis not every hour or so. So 2 photographers have the 2 middle seats, 1 is usually occupied by your tour leader. so external seating is more normal. First few days are usefull for beginners as you will be given a LOT of help understanding your camera, this is carried on throughout your visit and then tuition using Lightroom as well. Weekends are free time, normally though the weekends are used for external trips which you have to pay for eg Kruger national Park. Every game drive and trip is very well organised with safety paramount. In the local Private game parks the vehicles can go off road, but in the national Parks the vehicles MUST stay on the roads, and you cannot get out of the vehicle. So tripods even monopods pretty useless a bean bag would be more usefull. Inevetively the animals are very often far from you so you will need at least a 400mm lens 3 inc myself had 150-600mm zooms, which had to be hand held within the vehicle, the results though were superb. Some of the group had very basic cameras with “kit lenses” and still produced excellent images so don’t be deterred. When viewed afterward it was difficult to determine which camera/lens combination took which photo. There are some “tests” within the grounds of the lodge where so many images had to be produced within a certain time period. One of those a Macro lens would have been a great help, but due to weight and airlines I did not take one. There were occasional showers on some of the drives so a light waterproof top is a good idea as well as a fleece. Driving in an open top vehicle at speed to and from the drives you get cold, and there are night drives. 2 drives were at a tented camp where you stay overnight with both day and night drives included and some astro photography. Sorry for such a lengthy submision, but hope it’s useful.