Back in November 2016 we started working on a Photography Tour to South Africa for some Photographers from the UK. These photographers are all members of a Photography Club around Birmingham in the Midlands, UK.
They requested a trip that included Cape Town and parts of the Cape Peninsula, Kamberg Valley Hideaway in the Drakensberg and Northern Zululand for some incredible game viewing.
Working with Lori Kelly from Zulu Sun Safaris and Elaine Bradshaw, we put together this trip and on the 1st September 2017, these adventurous photographers arrived at Kamberg Valley Hideaway for a 3-night stay!
They requested a trip that included Cape Town and parts of the Cape Peninsula, Kamberg Valley Hideaway in the Drakensberg and Northern Zululand for some incredible game viewing.
Working with Lori Kelly from Zulu Sun Safaris and Elaine Bradshaw, we put together this trip and on the 1st September 2017, these adventurous photographers arrived at Kamberg Valley Hideaway for a 3-night stay!
Lori had spent the previous week guiding our photographers around Cape Town, Hermanus and part of the Western Cape in search of the Cape Flowers. By the sounds of it they had an extremely busy week and had captured some wonderful shots. Now they had arrived at Kamberg Valley Hideaway for a slightly more relaxing stay with the hope of adding some landscape and birding shots to their collection of photos.
The photographers arrived just in the Golden Hour of light before sunset and were very quick to unload their bags (and of course their cameras) from the car and head to the dam for some photographs.
The first sunrise was stunning. There was a heavy frost, mist rising off the dam and a clear blue sky! Every photographers dream!
Dinah also captured a beautiful shot of a kingfisher on the reeds around the main dam that first morning.
After breakfast, we headed next door to the Cheese Farm and then took a walk down to the Little Mooi River at the end of our property.
The photographers arrived just in the Golden Hour of light before sunset and were very quick to unload their bags (and of course their cameras) from the car and head to the dam for some photographs.
The first sunrise was stunning. There was a heavy frost, mist rising off the dam and a clear blue sky! Every photographers dream!
Dinah also captured a beautiful shot of a kingfisher on the reeds around the main dam that first morning.
After breakfast, we headed next door to the Cheese Farm and then took a walk down to the Little Mooi River at the end of our property.
We then took a drive to Kamberg Nature Reserve for a picnic lunch (of guess what...cheese)! and then made sure we were back in time for sunset at Kamberg Valley Hideaway. Sadly there were no clouds this evening, so the light was not as good as the first evening.
That's the thing with photography, sunrise and sunset are different every day, so you have to make sure you give yourselves enough days and therefore opportunities to try and get that perfect shot!
That's the thing with photography, sunrise and sunset are different every day, so you have to make sure you give yourselves enough days and therefore opportunities to try and get that perfect shot!
The second morning saw our photographers heading out for sunrise again and then after breakfast we headed out to a location to photograph some of the Mountain Bikers that were taking part in the annual Kamberg Classic MTB event. Our enthusiastic photographers enjoyed capturing some shots and trying out a few different techniques, including panning!
Next we decided to visit Highmoor Nature Reserve for a picnic lunch and to see what other shots we could capture in this stunning Nature Reserve that is only 8kms from Kamberg Valley Hideaway.
There were a few wild flowers coming out in the areas that had been burnt earlier in the year which was great to see. A splash of colour amongst the dry grassland. Also it was clear enough to get a full view of the Giants Castle Mountain Range.
Next we decided to visit Highmoor Nature Reserve for a picnic lunch and to see what other shots we could capture in this stunning Nature Reserve that is only 8kms from Kamberg Valley Hideaway.
There were a few wild flowers coming out in the areas that had been burnt earlier in the year which was great to see. A splash of colour amongst the dry grassland. Also it was clear enough to get a full view of the Giants Castle Mountain Range.
The next morning the sunrise was different again. More mist and some frost again. I captured this time-lapse shot from the warmth of our sunroom, but our intrepid photographers were out braving the cooler morning air again!
Cheryl captured a great shot of several common waxbills adorning the reeds in the river that feeds our smaller pond.
Cheryl captured a great shot of several common waxbills adorning the reeds in the river that feeds our smaller pond.
Sadly our wonderful group had to leave that morning, but they were heading to Northern Zululand for more adventure and for some wildlife viewing. I hope they had some incredible sightings at the various game reserves they visited.
Dinah, Cheryl, John, Mike, Peter and Barry, it was an absolute pleasure having you all visit us at Kamberg Valley Hideaway. I look forward to seeing some photographs and if I get their permission, I will share them on another blog update.
Also, thanks to Elaine and Ken for bringing the group to Kamberg. It was a pleasure having you both to stay too and I hope the following week was a huge success with lots of great wildlife to be seen!
Dinah, Cheryl, John, Mike, Peter and Barry, it was an absolute pleasure having you all visit us at Kamberg Valley Hideaway. I look forward to seeing some photographs and if I get their permission, I will share them on another blog update.
Also, thanks to Elaine and Ken for bringing the group to Kamberg. It was a pleasure having you both to stay too and I hope the following week was a huge success with lots of great wildlife to be seen!
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