Which would you buy?

Thanks again to all for the great suggestions about our trip. My son ordered the 100-400mm today and he is very appreciative of all the information your provided.

Here is our itinerary, any suggestions you have about the areas will be greatly appreciated:

We will have a private vehicle and driver throughout our trip. Only my son and I will be in the vehicle with the driver/guide.

From Arusha to Mt. Meru Game Lodge for the night, then two days in Tarangire National Park.

Third day drive to Ngorongoro Crater and we will be staying at the Ngorongoro Serena Lodge. Two days in and around the Ngorongoro Crater.

Sixth day, we drive to Lake Manyara and then fly to Serengeti National Park. Two days at the Serengeti National Park.

Ninth day from Serengeti National Park to Arusha.

We are very excited about this once-in-a-lifetime trip. Just me and my son. Any and all suggestions you may have would be of great benefit to us, no matter how small they are. I am concerned about recharging batteries, off-loading digital images to some media to bring home, substitutes for tripods, what not to miss while there, and which wines are best.

By the way, I am just overwhelmed by the friendly, helpful, nice, considerate, and knowledgeable folks at this site. I am becoming a life member today!

Best regards to all, and thanks again,

Bill

Bill-

when I get a few minutes in the next day or so, I will reply back with a long, drawn out response for you. I am kind of surprised that you won't be driving from Ngorongoro to the Serengeti. The drive back to Manyara and then a flight to Serengeti will take about the same amount of time, if not longer. Just curious. Will you be going on any game drives at Lake Manyara?

There is so much you will learn along the way, and I hate to spoil it for you, because the first time is truly amazing.

But there are some small things that I think I can help out with. More info to come later....

-Andy

abiggs wrote:Bill-

when I get a few minutes in the next day or so, I will reply back with a long, drawn out response for you. I am kind of surprised that you won't be driving from Ngorongoro to the Serengeti. The drive back to Manyara and then a flight to Serengeti will take about the same amount of time, if not longer. Just curious. Will you be going on any game drives at Lake Manyara?
-Andy

Andy: Apparently not. I gather we drive to the area then fly on to the Serengeti. Am I missing an opportunity? I can always ask to amend travel arrangements. Guess I should have booked with you instead. But then, I am new here and had no idea that you did trips like this. Sorry. Bill

Couple of thoughts here. First, if it's just you and your son, then you're in good shape because you're the master of your own itinerary. If you want to stay with an animal or bird for hours, you're free to do so. That's the way I've always done it and it really is a wonderful experience.

In terms of the itinerary, 9 days in 4 parks is pushing it a little bit. I'm heading back in May/June and am spending 14 days in 4. The travel between is wearying, although I'm told the road from Tarangire to the Crater is now paved all the way to the park gate. (Bone jarring is a quite accurate description of the ride.) Bottom line for me: take absolutely as much time as you can. If you can afford to add days, I would highly recommend it. (If not, it'll give you an excuse to get back soon.)

Second, I would be tempted to drop one spot from your list and Lake Manyara would be my candidate. Tarangire will be great for birds at that time of year I'm told, though I'm not sure with the underbrush how much you'll see of large mammals. To drive from Tarangire to the Crater will take a bit of time, but you go right by Manyara in making that trip, so your current schedule calls for backtracking - hence Andy's quesiton. Any time you can free up I would spend either in the Crater or in the Serengeti. And it makes sense, IMO, to drive from the Crater to the Serengeti. It's a bit of a long trip, but at that time of year it should be a game drive trip at the same time. (And I would recommend not taking the detour to Oldavai Gorge, even though it's only about a 1/2 hour drive out of the way.) Our first time there, we had only 1.5 days in the Crater, one full day and one half. That's the standard tour and I think that's a bad mistake. We'll do 4 days there again this year. You may pass the same spot on more than one occasion on all four days and see something different each time. In sum, the only flight I think you'll need to take is from the Serengeti back to Arusha.

Now on the specific questions, I don't have a clue about the wines. Same on the beer, although my son & daughters all prefer Kibo! Rather than a tripod, you'll want a beanbag for the vehicle. While I've brought my own, all the vehicles I've been in have provided beanbags. Shooting out the roof with a beanbag - when you've only got two photogs - should be easy. Just remember to get low and use the windows as well - a little more difficult with a beanbag but still possible if the bag's not overfull. On charging batteries, I've brought a car charger and that's worked very well for my cameras, less well for my digital wallet where it toasted the charger. The lodges all will have power but you'll need an adaptor. The Crater's Serena was wonderful trying to help me when all my two DWs died. (Tried to FedEx in add. microdrives, albeit unsuccessfully.) If you're both shooting digital, bring a pair of converters, although only one car charger will be necessary. (Check on the power output of the vehicle; I was told that European vehicles have a different output that U.S., but it's not clear what you'll find in your vehicle.) On offloading to digital memory, well that's another story and you may want to start another thread on that one. In the past I've used two Digital Wallets, but they're now out of business - richly deserved I might add. I've switched to a SuperdigiBin, with 40G. Has worked satisfactorily to date, but I'm still contemplating bringing a laptop as well. (Would push my camera-related stuff over 50 pounds total!)

What not to miss while there? If I had one suggestion it would be to take your time. I don't know how many times we would be watching a lion or leopard or ... and another vehicle would come up. They would stay a few minutes and then leave. If the lion or whatever is truly asleep, then maybe it's time to move, but so many times even if they're not actively hunting they will rouse from time to time and you'll have opportunities for good shots. One last suggestion, your guide has primary viewing responsibilities, after all he is the guide. However, he's also got to drive, and I like to stand with my head out the top to get a better view. So my son, daughter, guide and I have had a little friendly competition about who "finds" what. Last trip we saw only one leopard and I was the one that spotted it. (I was the only one with the necessary angle.) You'll likely see more if you really work at it.

I've had a great time going and relish the prospect of returning this summer, this time just with my son. (Only other suggestion would be for you to switch to Canon so that you can trade off on the lenses! )

Rich

I completely agree with Rich about doing 4 parks in 9 days. That is pretty tough to do. Lake Manyara is a very interesting place, but I would rather load up my time and Ngorongoro or Serengeti. Manyara hasn't been the same since the el ninyo floods a few years back. The soda lake rose to a point where it killed off a bunch of vegetation. I think 1997 was the year.

Anyway, if you think you can afford the weight, the Kirk Enterprises window mount could be a good idea. But if there are only 2 of you, you are pretty set, and you can use a bean bag. It is just nice to have a lower view on some shots, where you are at eye level to your subject.

I am headed over there on January 1, and I will be leading the Luminous Landscape workshop, along with Michael Reichmann. It will be interesting to see what digital wallet type devices show up on the trip, and which ones, if any, have issues. Good scientific experiment, I guess, in an evil sort of way. That is why I always have 3 ways to deal with offloading my images. I have 2 Trippers and a laptop.

Beer. Ok. Here is my favorite topic. Take my suggestions with a grain of salt.

Safari Lager = the 'real' man's beer in Tanzania. Instant respect from the locals. Highest alcohol content of local beers. Tastes decent, too.
Kilimanjaro Lager = the 'woman's' beer. I guess they think of the beer like we think of Coors Light.
Kibo Gold = Not bad, but not that easy to find, either. (my dog is named Kibo, named after the volcano of Kilimanjaro)

If you REALLY want to impress the locals, go for Konyagi. Konyagi is the Tanzanian gin, and isn't that impressive, and is only 70 proof. But when you are camping out in the middle of nowhere for a week at a time, Konyagi and bitter lemon soda is a killer combination. The locals refer to Konyagi as 'bapaa kubwa', which literally means 'big and flat'. The bottle is flat shaped, and is big. Just a totally worthless side story.

I go to Africa regularly. My usual kit is three 35mm film bodies and three lens, 28-135, 100-400 and 600. The latter two are most used and in particular the 600 with X1.4 converter. The converter is almost a permanent attachment to the 600.

Often you will get to within 30-40 feet of most animals, sometimes closer. At this distance a 600 with a 1.4 converter, a crowned crane (about 4ft tall just about fill the frame, so does a lion) and a reasonable size image can be achieved with a medium sized bird.

I would strongly recommend the 100-400 for sheer flexibility with pretty good resolution, and if it were possible, concider renting a long lens such as the 600. This will also give the chance of using such lens without the expense of a huge capital outlay. Rental usually would include insurance. Make sure this aspect is covered as repair is expensive. If you get hooked, start saveing!!!

Although I take a tripod (a Gitzo 1548 for stable support the weight of the 600+X1.4+body) for evening sunset/sunrise and bird (eg finches, waxwings) shots at camp, the primary support is a bean bag whilst in the vehicle.

Whaterver you take, you will have a great time.

Hari

Whenever possible, use a lens without converters. No matter how much you pay for a converter it will never out perform a lens of the same length. I know you can get great pictures with a converter. In Bill's case, the converters will aid him in the weight problem he is going to face in flying around Africa.