Monfrotto does make a small plate that is both Monfrotto and Arca-Swiss compatible. It has a 'D' ring to help with tightening and it is a simple 90 degree turn of the plate. I forget the part number, but I think the cost was around $30.

There are many good videos on You Tube about using speedlights. They may be helpful.

Also, not sure of the flash power (output of the 430 you mentioned. The Godox line of flashes are really good and the 685 line is similar to the Canon 600 series for a much lower cost, if you decide to gain more power when bouncing light off a 15' ceiling.

I like #1 if you are a wedding/portrait photographer. It is very classy/professional looking. Number 2 is nice, much more graphic and would work for many professional opportunities.
#3 is not quite bold enough in its colors, in my opinion, but I like the design and it fits if you are doing more landscape or even wildlife photography.
Number 4 is striking.

I just convinced myself that I like all of them. Nice work by your friend.

Balance is the ideal that we should try to keep in mind. Over population, under population, are both challenges. Too cold, too hot, also challenges.

I am not a scientist, but it does seem clear that warmer than historical temperatures have happened the last few years and will probably continue. Risk is reduced ice caps at the poles, warmer ocean temperatures, more extreme weather patterns. Man made emissions do seem to be a piece of the puzzle. Should we take steps to get man made impacts back in balance? Seems reasonable in my humble opinion.

Olympus gear is very good. I have been using the 12-100 f4 Pro since early 2017 and it is my everyday, walk around lens.

As mentioned in another post reply, check the focus clutch ring. I have bumped it a number of times and wonder why I am not getting auto-focus before checking the clutch ring.

I was in Tanzania in late April, 2019. I think we were at the end of the rainy season and before it became very dry. We still had a few challenges with muddy tire tracks but overall a very good time slot. We spent 3-4 days in the Ngorongoro Crater and then 8 days in three areas of the Serengeti.

I was shooting the Olympus EM1 MKII (two bodies) and used the 12-100 on one and the P/L 100-400 ( no equivalent Oly lens at the time). About 35% of my shots were with the 12-100 and 65% with the 100-400. I don't recall exact %'s but I shot a lot at 700mm (FFE).
In dealing with dust in the dry season, consider getting a plastic rain sleeve to keep the dust off the lens or at the least keep a towel handy to put over the lens when you are driving and not actively shooting. It will help. On our Toyota Land Cruisers, the guides would close up the top when it looked like a thunderstorm was on the horizon, so we never were in a situation where our gear was at serious risk from the rain.

You will find the experience incredible, and then also think, 'once is never enough.'

My recall from Tanzania is that daylight was approximately 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM, so the 12 hours is possible, but also too much per day. We typically had a mid-day break of 2-3 hours and that worked out well.

The price stated is probably near the low end of the price range for an 11 day safari.

Tanzania can meet all of your requirements or at least the majority of them. Check out Africa Nature Photography. They led the safari I took in 2019 and it was terrific. Three days in the Ngorongoro Crater and then 8 or o days in different areas of the Serengeti. We saw all of the big 5 plus many other animals and many bird species.

Photo gear should include two bodies, one with a telephoto and one with a wider field of view. Our guides provided sand bags, so tripods and monopods were no needed.

I suspect just about anywhere in Africa would be amazing. Also check he website for Pangolin Photo as they have a wide variety of options.

This is a very creative, clever display of auto parts. I loved putting together car models in the early 1960s. I recalled that I generally looked for kits from AMT or AMF compared to the kits from Revelle. None of my models survive today.

The second is very interesting. Creative work well done on all three.

Lightroom Classic is ideal and the price is reasonable in my opinion.

You can easily organize images by date. In addition if you add key words, your ability to search and recall images is really good. I can have 1,000 images (for example) with the key word, waterfall. Note that you can have multiple key words for a single image. These images could be spread over many years and in many separate folders. But by clicking on the arrow next to the key word section, in just a few seconds, I will have all 1000 waterfall images in a grid on the screen. Another option is to set up a smart collection for a set of photos and the collection can be based on many criteria. Then any time you add a photo with that criteria it is added to the smart collection. A single photo could also be in multiple collections, but there would still only be one image on your harddrive.

I am sure other apps also have similar functions. I just know that LR is very good at having tools to organize and search for images.

An easy solution for you...the conversions are well labelled. Just don't open them!

Take a short piece of wood like a 1" x 2" with a length that allows you to slide it in the hole between the studs. Then using sheet rock screws, secure the wood. This give you a firm backing for your patch. Cut a round shaped or appropriate shaped patch and attach it to your work slat. Then use joint compound and tape to patch the seam and fill the screw holes.

It is several steps and a day or two elapsed time, but you have a complete, neat wall again.

Blackrapid straps are very good and very comfortable to wear.

Thanks for sharing you photos. You have some good shots, up close and personal.