Date: July 11-21, 2025
Group Size:
- Group Size – 6 guests – SOLD OUT
Cost:
- $9,950 per person sharing
- Deposit to hold spot: $3,000/per person.
Registration: To secure your spot, use contact buddy.eleazer@gmail.com .
Leader: Buddy Eleazer
This is an excellent safari combo. Over the years, these two destinations have never failed to deliver amazing sightings! We love to combine these two destinations because:
- Chobe on the private houseboat,
- You have an exclusive, private experience. The houseboat has a total of only 4 rooms and we intentionally locate the boat each day upstream from the common tourism locations to allow a very special feeling to your trip.
- Chobe National Park is home to the largest population of elephants in the world. During the dry season, the waterfront supports over 50,000 elephants. There is more to Chobe than just these pachyderms, with more than 75 mammal species and 450 bird types, you will also encounter buffalos, impala, giraffe, zebras, impala, sable, waterbuck, puku, warthog and predators such as lions and leopards. Chobe wildlife is bonkers! It is common to have 3 to 5 species of animals in sight at all times. The challenge is to pick what to photograph first – the elephants swimming across the river, the Cape buffalo on the river’s edge, the kudu drinking or maybe the fun of baboons playing in the mahogany tree … or maybe the yawning hippos!
- From the water, we will shoot from a specially designed photo boat. We will use a custom eight-seat photo boat with fully rotating chairs and fitted with state-of-the-art camera mounts. You get the chance to get very close to the wildlife and shoot at amazing low angles.
- Staying on the river, we are allowed to go out earlier than the lodges and, most importantly, stay in the park later in the evening when the lighting is really special for shooting. Lodge based boats must be out of the park waters by sunset.
- Flat out, Chobe is the most dependable wildlife photo destination in southern Africa!
- BTW, on the Chobe, we will be on a brand-new houseboat currently under construction that will launch at the start of 2025.
- Madikwe at Jaci’s Tree Lodge
- Madikwe is known for large, black-maned Kalahari Lions, rhino herds and wild dogs. There are also cheetah, Cape buffalo, elephant and rarely seen brown hyenas in Madikwe. Combined with Chobe, this ensures you will have great sightings.
- Madikwe also has amazing kudu, impala, and zebras to name a few of the other commonly seen species. Many of these can be viewed during our mid-day break time in the awesome Terrapin Hide in the middle of the lake in front of Jaci’s Tree Lodge. This hide has eye level viewing at the water level!
- Madikwe offers off-road tracking so we can follow the primary wildlife as they forage or hunt. In Madikwe, sightings are limited to one to three vehicles maximum depending on how relaxed the animal is (not stressing the wildlife ALWAYS must come first).
- We work with well educated rangers that know fascinating details about the wildlife and also how to position the vehicle to get clean, unobstructed views. The group leader will work with the rangers to allow a variety of lighting situations when shooting, including side lighting, rim lighting and other photo techniques
- We have reserved 2 private viewing vehicles for our guests during the stay. We allow a maximum of 2 people per row to optimize viewing and allow space for camera gear.
- In addition, Jaci’s Tree Lodge is renown for large, gorgeous rooms and some of the best dining cuisine in Africa. You are ensured great food and an excellent staff to attend to your needs at both locations.
My spouse/friend doesn’t shoot. What about non-photographers?
We openly admit that we’ve designed this Africa trip for photography. However, for the non-photographer, this trip will also be extremely entertaining and enjoyable. The wildlife is there for everyone and we will give you a front-row seat. In addition, our guides are expert at identifying the various species and also at answering any questions you might have related to the wildlife. We’ve taken many non-photographers to this destination and all have enjoyed the trip. By the way, if a non-photographer wants to try their hand at shooting, we will provide a camera and lens for you to give it a try!
The planned schedule is as follows:
11 July 2025 – Arrive in Johannesburg, lodging near airport and arrival meet and greet dinner included
12 July 2025 – Morning flight to Kasane, Botswana where we will board our private houseboat on the Chobe River. That afternoon, we will go out in a specially designed photo boat to catch the wildlife as it comes down to the river’s edge to drink.
13, 14, 15 July 2025 – Each day, our ‘floating hotel’ will change mooring locations so we have a variety and landscapes and waterscapes to shoot from. We will have morning and afternoon excursions onto the water to photograph in our special photo boat.
16 July 2025 – After our morning activity on the water and lunch, we will be transferred to the nearby Kasane Airport for our flight out. Here is where the schedule may vary slightly. Currently, the plan is to fly back to Johannesburg and overnight there.
17 July 2025 – You will have a morning transfer to Madikwe. the transfer takes about 3 hours but gives you a good chance to see the South African countryside. After lunch and time to freshen up, we will head out on an afternoon game drive followed by ‘sundowners’ at a photogenic location and a night game drive back to the lodge for dinner.
18, 19, 20 July 2025 – We will have morning and afternoon game drives with brunch and high tea in between and a lovely dinner to finish each evening. Each game drive allows off road tracking of lions, elephant, rhino, Cape buffalo, wild dogs and leopards. These game drives are approximately 3 hours in length with the time varying depending on the time we wish to stay at wildlife sightings.
21 July 2025 – All good things come to and end and on this morning, we will have our last full game drive. We return to the lodge in time for a nice brunch and plenty of time to pack before our transfer back to Johannesburg. Most flights to the U.S. from Johannesburg are typically scheduled for the evenings, making for an easy connection.
What is Included:
- Four-night lodging on the Chobe River in a 5-bedroom houseboat
- Four- nights lodging in Jaci’s in Madikwe
- 8 outings on the Chobe River to see and photograph wildlife
- 8 game drives in Madikwe Game Reserve
- All required flights and ground transfers within Africa
- All meals
- Relevant Park Fees
- Alcoholic drinks such as beer, wines and liquors on the houseboat
What is NOT included:
- International airfare between your home and Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB)
- Required Namibia visa for houseboat stay on Chobe River (there is an on-line form and the cost is about $90)
- Arrival night in Johannesburg (we recommend considering City Lodge at OR Tambo Airport)
- Laundry
- Personal purchases in gift shops
- Discretionary gratuities for guides and lodge/houseboat staff
Trip Deposit and Payments
The trip has a non-refundable initial down payment cost of $3,000 per person. The remaining cost of the trip ($6,950 for sharing) will be broken into 2 equal payments with the final payment due 90 days before the trip. The general cancellation policy for this trip can be found at THIS LINK.
Necessary Fine Print:
Botswana is a stable country, but the world is changing and Africa is changing with it. We will attempt to adhere to this itinerary as much as possible. However, certain conditions (political, climatic, environmental, cultural, or wildlife migrations) may necessitate changes in the itinerary. We reserve the right to alter any itinerary at any time, if necessary. We will attempt to notify participants of changes as far in advance as possible. Costs incurred by such changes will be the responsibility of the participant.
What Do I Do Next?
Contact Buddy.Eleazer@gmail.com
Participant Information, Waiver, and Release – Participants will receive their actual waivers after making their deposit.
Trip Insurance
All participants are strongly advised to purchase travel protection insurance. Travelinsurance.com and InsureMyTrip.com are two companies that offers many different options from various vendors and allows for product comparison.
