While many people commented on my “trip of a lifetime” I knew before arriving in Africa that it would be the first of many trips to this amazing part of the world. I knew I would love it and I knew i’d want to come back…and that is exactly what happened!
My first view of Africa!
I felt so super excited to finally see Africa! I flew to Johannesburg, South Africa from Melbourne, Australia. The following day I flew to Kasane, Botswana to begin my African photography adventure.
5 tips for planning your first solo trip to Africa…
1). Consider what you want to see and what months you may be able to travel - this will help determine what country to visit. Or what parts of a country are best to visit within your preferred time.
2). Find someone that runs tours or a tour business that you feel comfortable to travel with. Feeling safe and trusting those around you is so important, especially when travelling to new countries and with solo travel. Reading reviews, trip reports and looking at websites are a good start, but be mindful that word of mouth referrals gives great peace of mind.
On Trip Advisor forums for example you can get good recommendations, although from my experience some tour operators highly recommended often don’t put the customer first or are not as ethical in their operations as they may seem. Finding the right tour guides and tour operators can be a lengthy research practice, but highly beneficial in the long run. Likewise if you are not booking tours, but making all the plans yourself, ensure you do some research first. If you can speak to someone that knows the area to get some recommendations it will be of great benefit.
Me in my hotel room alongside the Chobe River after I’d downloaded my first safari photos from Day 1
For my first African photography trip I decided that Botswana was the country I wanted to visit. I booked a few days on one of the boats with Pangolin Photo Safaris on Chobe River and also did a couple of drives with them in Chobe National Park. I wanted a tour operator I could trust and that understood the needs of a photographer. They were the perfect choice. Their boats are created specifically for photographers and were definitely the best boats on Chobe River for my Africa photography tour.
3). Allow flexibility with your flights and travel plans. Arrive a couple of days earlier than a planned tour/trip starts and allow an extra day at the end before you fly out. This is especially true when travelling in Africa, as some more remote airports seem to run on “African time”…which is relaxed and without punctuality.
My first Africa photography tour started in Botswana, however I stayed one night in Johannesburg for my first night in Africa. This allowed for flexibility if my first flight was delayed as I had booked accomodation at the City Lodge at the airport for night 1. I also felt safer booking this hotel as I did not need to get a hotel transfer or taxi by myself in Johannesburg. I thought that might take me a bit too far out of my comfort zone for my introduction to Africa lol!
Staying at City Lodge at OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg was a great hotel for one nights accomodation between flights.
I’d recommend staying here and would stay here again.
After a good night sleep I headed back on a plane from Johannesburg, South Africa to Kasane, Botswana. Within one hour of walking out of Kasane airport I had checked into my hotel room and was already on a photography boat for my first African Safari experience!
My return flight after my photo safari wasn’t as seamless and my plane was delayed leaving Kasane by many hours. We had all checked in and were waiting to board when we were told that there would be a delay. It ended up being a hilarious afternoon with the airport letting us back in the main airport area. The alcohol was enjoyed by a group of guys obviously on a big boys trip and it was quite entertaining watching them order pizza to the airport and then have some of them pass out on the floor. I met some lovely people and whilst some of them were very stressed as they’d be missing connecting flights, I was relaxed as I had again organised a night in Johannesburg before my flight the next day to Namibia.
Waiting for a long time at Kasane airport ready to board the plane that wasn’t there - we left many hours later than scheduled. This TV was the only thing in the waiting room apart from the chairs - I’m always fascinated with electrical wiring in different countries!
So glad I had my flights on different days, as once again my flight was delayed. This time it was my flight from Johannesburg to Windhoek, Namibia.
4). Basic camping, luxury tents, nice lodges or fancy accomodation…what is your preference, what suits your budget and what can you manage? Consider the accomodation types before confirming a trip to ensure the trip will suit you. Make sure you read itineraries and accomodations styles very well. It is not uncommon for people to book a trip and then be surprised that there is camping involved - as they just have not read the information provided to them before their trip. In many parts of Africa tourist accomodation is a lot more expensive than you would imagine, but that is due to having flushing toilets, warm showers etc that perhaps are not the norm in that area. You can save a lot of money with your accomodation choices, but do you want to travel in comfort or travel within a budget? Knowing your priorities and limitations are so important in the planning stages of your African trip.
I had one night in Johannesburg between my Botswana and Namibia flight (which was lucky because my flight was delayed by many hours) and this time I chose to stay at the InterContinental OR Tambo hotel which is just outside the airport…again so I didn’t need to get a taxi or hotel transfer by myself in South Africa. More expensive and luxurious than City Lodge Or Tambo with a coffee machine, fruit and deluxe bathroom.
5). If you would like to go to Africa… make it a priority and make it happen. This may sound obvious, but if you don’t lock in some dates then your trip may never actually happen. I had been dreaming about Africa since I was a child, after travels to Europe, getting married and having two children I thought i’d always go to Africa when the children “where older”. However as you get older you realise how many people wait until they are older to live the life they want and often it becomes too late due to poor health, tragedy or unforeseen circumstances for those people or their loved ones. We only live once and life is too short. I knew my only regret would be to never visit Africa and so decided not to wait any longer and plan my adventure!
Within one hour of being picked up from Kasane airport I had checked into my hotel and was on a photography boat on Chobe River - my first experience of an African Safari!
Words cannot express my happiness.
I initially decided to go to Africa in three years so I could plan and save for my trip. After meeting a photographer that travels to Africa every year he said to me “Why would you wait for three years? You will get there and wonder why it’s taken you so long to go there. You can tell how much you want to go and you will love it. Why wait?” So I soon heard myself saying “I’m going to Africa next year!” Whilst I had planned on saving for the trip (thus my original three year plan) once I prioritised my trip I made it happen. I am so grateful I didn’t wait any longer. Life is too short and sometimes “the right time” never comes.
I took over 1000 photos on my first afternoon safari on the boat in Chobe National Park.
The wildlife sightings were incredible.
I spoke to as many people as possible that had been to Africa and researched the countries and sought information on what were the safest countries to visit for me to travel by myself. It’s so much more cost effective for me to travel by myself than with my children and I also wanted to have some fun with my travel photography (rather than my usual wedding photography business) and enhance my photography passion and creativity. My priorities were to be safe, have an amazing adventure and to be at the right places at the right light to take some amazing photographs. I also wanted to keep the cost as low as possible, but without sacrificing those points.
My first African sunset!
Many Africa photography tours are quite expensive when you are a solo traveller. However, there are some accomodation and tours that cater for solo travellers. I hadn’t booked a tour, so there were some days when I was the only person on the photography boat or safari vehicle. Whilst some companies would charge more for this, some don’t. So make sure you know what you are paying for and what is and isn’t included.
