Author: Andrew Beck

Canon South Africa's Product Marketing Manager Roger Machin recently visited the Wild Eye office and shared a very informative presentation and training session with our guides. With camera technology advancing at a rate of knotts it is vital that our guiding team stay up to date with the latest developments in an effort to deliver [...]

I'll never forget that moment when, during the height of the Covid 19 Pandemic, the world started to open up through PCR testing and that a negative PCR test quickly became your ticket to ride! It was a massive relief to think that things could be starting to return to normal. Then came the realisation [...]

You've heard our entire team talk about just how special the Wild Eye Mara Camp in Kenya's Mara Triangle Conservancy is - if not then where have you been hiding? I thought i'd look at sharing a guests perspective on how special the camp, the staff and the experience is. Silke Hullman is from Germany [...]

The 100-400mm focal range has to be one of the most popular, versatile and accessible focal ranges to buy into. Whether you shoot Canon DSLR (100-400mm) Mirrorless (100-500mm RF), Nikon (80-400mm or 200-400mm) or prefer to use third party lenses like Sigma (150-600mm) on your choice of camera brand, the chances are that you have [...]

The Great Migration and Hides and Helicopters of kenya's South Rift Valley is a new and exciting safari experience which runs over a 10 night perios. This is a one of a kind experience combining Kenya's Great Migration, exclusive use of low level photographic hides and scenic aerial photography over Lake Natron and Lake Magadi [...]

Lions have indeed undergone catastrophic declines since the commercialization of livestock ranching and agriculture in Africa, and are now only secure in a handful of and are on the brink of extinction in all but the largest and best-managed protected areas. Outside of these places, lions are in grave trouble. However, with funding, capacity improvement [...]

It is that time of the year when all eyes are on the hundreds of thousands of zebra and wildebeest that are currently dominating the northern reaches of the Masai Mara & Serengeti eco-system. It's a phenomenon that has captured the imagination of both wildlife enthusiasts and wildlife photographers from around the world with many [...]

South Africa attracts millions of travellers to its shores with its unique blend of old and modern Africa. It has an abundance of wildlife and scenery – from the sandy beaches, forest-covered cliffs, amazing marine life on its coastline to arid deserts, peak-filled mountain ranges and open bushveld savannah. One of the main attractions is [...]

Kenya is acclaimed as one of Africa’s premier safari destinations. With a population of approximately 47.6 million people (reported figures as of 2017) and over 40 tribes, Kenya spans the equator in East Africa and is bordered by Tanzania (south), Uganda (west), Sudan (northwest), Ethiopia (north) and Somalia (north-east). Its 550 kilometre (341 mile) coastline [...]

Africa is home to some of the most spectacular wildlife viewing on the planet, and it should come as no surprise that the vast migratory herds filling the plains of the Masai Mara and Serengeti is among the continent’s top attractions. In fact, The Masai Mara National Reserve has been voted the Greatest Game Reserve [...]

Tswalu Kalahari Reserve is a vast, magical land of infinite possibility, with sweeping vistas and a liberating sense of space - it doesn't get more exclusive than this. With a private vehicle, guide and tracker assigned to every group you'll have an unprecedented level of flexibility and exclusivity during your stay at Tswalu allowing you [...]

This trip was the realisation of a long awaited dream for one of our regular guests and is certainly one of the more unusual Private Guided safaris that we have crafted for our guests. For those that don't know, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park is a spectacular place where the red dunes and scrub fade [...]

Lightroom is without a doubt the most widely used and powerful post-processing and cataloguing software on the market. Over the years I have become intimately familiar with the software and have found a really great rhythm and workflow when it comes to sorting through, categorising and editing images. Whilst there are many, many shortcuts that [...]

After having spent last year seeing updates from Botswana on the spectacular recovery of the Okavango Delta from the grips of a drought in 2019, to say that I was excited to return to one of my favorite places in southern Africa would be an understatement. Three intrepid guests from Switzerland, Japan and Germany got [...]

The vast Jao Concession consists of 60 000 hectares (150 000 acres) and lies in the north-western area of the Okavango Delta, situated just below the Okavango Panhandle. The Moremi Game Reserve forms the eastern boundary of the Concession. The Jao Concession is found in the heart of the wetlands of the Okavango Delta. Here [...]

Scenic helicopter flights over Botswana's Okavango Delta is an opportunity you cant afford to miss. Moments after departing you’ll enjoy the breath-taking views seen only from a helicopter. Experience the crystal-clear water channels meandering their way through lagoons, while journeying deep into the lush green flood plains to explore the abundant wildlife of the Okavango [...]

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has just published a new red list of animals threatened with extinction. It shows that poaching and deforestation have put the African forest elephant in "critical" danger of extinction, with the population of the pachyderm falling by 86 per cent in 30 years. As the new symbol [...]

Odzala-Kokoua National Park has always intrigued me from the moment I first heard about it back in 2011. Ever since my first visit I simply cannot get enough of this very special piece of Africa and the Congo Basin. On the 16th of March 2020, the Directors of Congo Conservation Company and SPAC (Sabine Plattner [...]

Spending a night in a star bed, with nothing between you and the night sky, has become increasingly sought after as travellers search for authentic, unfiltered experiences immersed in nature. Star beds and sleep-outs are now offered at many authentic and luxury camps throughout Africa and these experiences come highly recommended. I have been fortunate [...]

I recently hosted guests on our very first Madikwe Safari and Marataba Conservation Experience and was fortunate enough to take the wicked combination of the Canon EOS R6 body and 600mm F4.0 IS III lens for a spin (Check out the full trip report and highlights video here). This was, to an extent, by design [...]

This was a first of a kind safari which combines a focus on photography in Madikwe Game Reserve (6 nights) with an incredible opportunity for guests to contribute directly to the conservation activities in Marataba Contractual National Park (4 nights). Despite the challenges associated with travel during this difficult time we hosted guests from both [...]