cvoleti

Excellent points. I’m flying from Honolulu to Dubai via Seoul and then on to Johannesburg.Never been to Dubai.Four days in Kruger National forest,Two days in Victoria falls and 9 days in Tanzania. Jacada is the tour operator.

Dr.Nikon Loc: Honolulu Hawaii

I had to get a ton of shots and take malaria pills before they would allow me into the country .., I spent a week in the Bush .. at Sabi Sabi .. next to Kruger .., the first thing you need to consider ..batteries ..chargers / camera cards / converter plug adapters...and as said already ... an emergency plastic bag to place the camera with lens into for the dust protection and lens change ... the open Land Rover got us so close to most of the animals .., I could have done the whole trip with a 24-70 ... and a mid range telephoto will do on the other D810.... as for weight .., your Adrenalin will be pumping the whole time .., you’ll never notice the lens weight ...

2 cameras with the lens on and ready to go .. and a blower / brush to get rid of the dust on the lens ...you’ll use it often ..

Usually there are three trips .. morning .. .. afternoon and evening that lasts until total darkness .., and when I say total darkness ... there are no lights out there .., take a headlamp... you can’t see the hand in front of your face ..

I do wish I had a small tripod 10” .. place on the roof or hood ......for the evening nite shots of the most beautiful African sunsets ..... you’ll see every star in the sky as well ..

You will know what lenses you need after the first few rides on the first day ..and definitely after the first day .., so at the hut .. have some selection of lenses .. but take only 2 with you .., both mounted each one of the D810’s ... no tel converters ..

There were only a handful of times I could have used a 200-500 ..so have a partner hold that lens if you can .., and have a partner . put the 200-500 on your DX camera .. just in case .. sometimes things happen fast .. a herd of buffalo running .. Elephants in the distance ..cheetah in the trees .. the drivers have their routes they take and know the area and the expected animal run ins like the back of their hand ...the animals stick pretty much to a seasonal pattern ... and the driver /rangers know it well ...

The urge to stand up when taking shots is overwhelming ..at least when you are in an open Land Rover like we were ... the Gun bearer must have told me 1/2 Dan times to sit down .. the animals are used to the vehicles ... but when you stand up .. wow .. a meal ..

As mentioned .. enjoy the journey .. when I film an event .., I miss the event as a photographer ... you are going as a photographer and as a tourist to enjoy all aspects of the Safari ...

Enjoy Tanzania as well .. , Aloha .. (yes .. I live on Oahu>>>)) will be anxious to see you shots ..

jedcardio

Jacada does a great job. I have used them several times. Sounds like a great trip!

h_scott

We just returned from two weeks in Tanzania. I brought three lenses and really used only two: Sigma 150-600 and Tamron 28-75 (should have left the third one home to minimize weight). Used the 150-600 for 90%+ of my shots. Used the 28-75 for animals that were too close and scenery shots. I don’t know the fine points of your lenses / bodies but I think that either the 8-200 OR the 28-300 plus the 200-500mm will serve you well. I agree with previous suggestions that you not change lenses in the bush if at all possible as well as a Black Rapid (or similar) strap to keep cameras close at hand and from bouncing around the trucks.

While riding I used a small cloth over the lens to minimize dust (this is the dry season - lots of dust if you're at all near other trucks). Tripod / monopod are not practical in the trucks in Tanzania (my monopod never came out of the suitcase - should have left it home to minimize weight). Agree that you should check on weight restrictions on small bush planes that you may be taking and plan accordingly. Our group of 12 (with several photographers) paid for an extra seat / weight on the small plane. I'm not sure the airline checked too carefully as they didn't weigh my carry on which had most of my camera gear.

Unlike other comments there is no issue standing in the trucks in Tanzania (mostly raised-roof Toyota Land Cruisers). Our tour company (Uniquesafaris.com) suggested we bring a sandal type of shoe (ie Teva's) for the trucks. These are easy on / off and Unique allowed us to stand on the seats in socks. It seems they use a different type of truck in S. Africa so the monopod issue / rules for standing may be different there.
I brought an empty bean bag and Unique Safaris brought beans to fill it. They also had several bean bags available so check with your tour operator.

I brought a combination power converter / strip that has three US type plugs, four usb ports and four international plugs. This was sufficient for all of our devices (chargers, phones, tablet). NOTE: Tanzania has recently instituted severe restrictions on plastic bags so don’t bring them! That said we learned at the Arusha airport that reusable zip lock type bags are allowed (wish we had known this before the trip)! Bring small paper bags (not plastic) and toilet paper or wipes for the ‘bush bathroom’.

Visit a Travel MD facility to make sure you have the proper shots and medications. Also bring more memory cards than you think you will need. Most importantly – enjoy the trip!