MAY 7, 2021
After landing safely in Namibia, you will be picked up by your tour guide in Windhoek and will receive your travel documents. City tour of Windhoek (if time permits). You can spend the rest of the day for the purpose of leisure and relaxation. Dinner at the world-famous Joe’s Beer House.
Click here to view lodge – https://www.arebbusch.com
MAY 8, 2021
Drive towards southwest Kalahari to the quiver tree forest near Keetmanshoop. Accommodation at Quiver Tree Guest House. Enjoy and capture an incredible sunset on the giants’ playground. Night photography under a breathtaking night sky with the famous quiver trees as motive.
Click here to view lodge. https://quivertreeforest.com/home
MAY 9, 2021
Three hour drive from Keetmanshoop to Aus. Accommodation in the Klein-Aus Vista Lodge Half-day exploration around Kolmanskop and Lüderitz. Visit of the legendary ghost town Kolmanskop.
Click here to view lodge – http://www.klein-aus-vista.com/accommodation/desert-horse-inn/
MAY 10th
Drive to Luderitz to explore the old ghost town of Kolmanskop and enjoy lunch at in the historic German harbor town of Luderitz, late afternoon drive back to Klein Aus vista for sunset over the Namib Desert. We will do an astrophotography workshop learning how to capture the breath taking night sky in the heart of the desert .
MAY 12th
Night drive to Deadvlei (+- 3 hours before sunrise) for astrophotography and sunrise over the gigantic Namib dunes. Hike up the oldest sand dune on earth to grasp the incredible vastness of the Namib Desert view. Dinner back in the luxurious Dead valley lodge plus photography review and critique.
MAY 13TH
After breakfast we will take a five hour drive to Swakopmund, the first town built in Namibia by German colonists back in 1892. Book into the Delight lodge, spend the afternoon relaxing before enjoying dinner at the Jetty restaurant, with a view over the Atlantic ocean.
Click here to view lodge – https://store.gondwana-collection.com/accommodation/the-delight-swakopmund
MAY 14TH
Enjoy a day of leisure, and relaxation. With many (optional extra activities) to choose from, ocean adventure boat cruise, 4×4 drive along the beach to Sandwich harbor where sand dunes touch the ocean or just a stroll through town. One on one photo critique, edit session and portfolio reviews with Jody will also be available.
MAY 15TH
After brunch Two hour drive to the Spitzkoppe the Matterhorn of Namibia Accommodation in the Spitzkoppen Lodge to see the thousand year old rock paintings. Sunset and astrophotography on abstract rock formations including stone arches.
Click here to view lodge – https://www.spitzkoppenlodge.com
MAY 16TH
After a relaxing breakfast five hour drive up to Etosha Safari lodge, Etosha is one of Africa’s oldest and largest game parks home to a vast variety of theAfrican wildlife population.
Click here to view lodge – https://store.gondwana-collection.com/accommodation/etosha-safari-lodge
MAY 17TH
Day game view drive through Etosha park to find the African wildlife, like Elephants, lions, rihno’s giraffe, zebra, springbuck, impala, ostrich and so much more relaxing in their natural environment. Dinner back at the Etosha Safari lodge.
MAY 18TH
Drive back to City of Windhoek
Covid tests will be done before departure on May 19th.
Overnight stay in Arebusch lodge, and a evening of sharing the highlights of the Photographic adventure tour.
Click here to view lodge – https://www.arebbusch.com
MAY 19TH
Departure from Windhoek, International Airport, Namibia.
PARTICIPATION
In order to offer the best care, the maximum number of participants is limited to 8. The minimum number of participants for the tour is 4 people.
The trip is organized by the travel guide and photographer Richard Morsbach.
Participation with English skills.
WHAT’S INCLUDED
- Two persons per room (i.e. shared double occupancy), unless single supplement option is exercised and secured at the time of payment of deposit.
- Ground Transport for the entire duration of the tour.
- All tourism taxes and park entry fees.
- All meals commencing with dinner on 07 May 2021 and finishing with breakfast on 19 May 2021
- All beverages excluding premium wines and liquors.
- Maximum Guide to client ratio of 1:3
- All accommodation/lodging costs.
- Continuous assistance with your photography and image processing by the guide.
- The services of a highly experienced local guide and driver.
- A highly experienced tour leader with great knowledge and experience of landscape photography.
NOT INCLUDED
•Airfare to and from Windhoek, Namibia.
•Non-mealtime snacks and drinks
•Credit Card surcharges
•Any purchases of a personal nature.
•Tips and optional activity extras
•All premium wines and liquors.
•Travel Insurance
*Final payment is due by April 19th, 2021. At this time the deposit becomes non-refundable.* Questions? Please email: mail@jody-macdonald.com or info@namibadventure.com
EQUIPMENT
Camera Equipment
With the focus being on landscape, astro and wildlife, you will ideally need to cover a focal length of 16-400mm.
Landscape The landscapes on this trip mostly require mid- and telephoto focal lengths as a lot of it is vast, rolling dune landscapes, which look best when compressed with a longer lens. Expect to use your mid-range lens and a polariser a lot.
Astro This trip has been planned to fall perfectly around the winter solstice new moon – as most of the scenes face West, there are not many compositions that allow an astro shot with the evening milky way. For only this brief period of the year, one can shoot a bright galactic core setting on the western horizon in the early morning hours. Having a dedicated astro lens like the Sigma 20mm f/1.4, Nikon 20mm f/1.8 will make a huge difference to your astro shots.
Wildlife For at least one day of this trip and possibly a second, we will be camping at a birdlife paradise – expect flamingoes as far as the eye can see, surrounded by pelicans, dune lark and countless other species of birds. There are also Jackal, Oryx, Springbok and we hope to see the resident Brown Hyenas that predate on the flamingoes. To capitalize on this, it is critical that you have a 400mm lens – if you have anything longer, we highly recommend that you bring it along.
Shipwreck Seascapes The shipwrecks will be a subject in what is a typical seascape shoot. Bring along your full filter kit including polarizer, ND’s and grads. You will not only use it for this, but for most of the sunset/sunrise shoots.
Panoramas This section of the desert is panorama paradise with its sweeping views. Make sure you have a solid tripod with a spirit level or leveling base.
Tall Tripod A lot of the shooting is done on sloping dunes, so it is critical that you have a tripod with some extra length – please do not bring compact/travel tripods as you will spend most of the time bent over your tripod.
Laptop to review and edit images
Note: If you need to purchase a good tripod, we can offer you an extra discount for a Gitzo tripod. Please contact Jody at mail@jody-macdonald.com for details.
Keeping Your Gear Clean Expect a lot of sand and wind – keeping your gear clean in this environment can be challenging. We advise that you keep your bodies and lenses in individual dust bags within your camera bag to protect it from sand blowing into the camera bag. Bring a paint brush and be ready for a daily gear clean session.
MEET YOUR LOCAL GUIDE
RICHARD MORSBACH
My name is Richard, I had the privilege to grow up in the great desert country Namibia. Both my father and grandfather worked for nature conservation in southern
Africa and gave me a lot of knowledge and passion for nature whenever we travelled to hidden places in Namibia. I have been involved in adventure sports and tourism for over fourteen years. For this reason I have been working as a tour guide for almost 8 years. I started photography right after school and had the fantastic opportunity to take my camera on all my adventures.
All this led to my great passion for nature and the desire for adventure. Today it is my pleasure to lead people through my country.
To find out more about Richard, please go to www.namibadventure.com
R E F U N D A N D CA N C E L L A T I O N P O L I C Y
If a participant decides to cancel his reservation, he/she can do so a t any time by communicating it as soon as possible to the official e mail address of one of the two organizers. H owever, you should keep in mind that the cancellation by a p articipant would create management difficulties in bookings as well a s the risk of not reaching the minimum number of participants for t he trip (and consequently the need to search for a new person). F or this reason: – If the cancellation request is submitted MORE than 90 days (before d eparture), you may receive a full refund of the booking fee. – If the cancellation request is presented LESS than 70 days before d eparture, you will receive a refund 25% less of what you paid. This i s to cover the lodge and transport costs that need to be paid in full b efore the tour. – If the cancellation request is presented LESS than 60 days before d eparture, it will NOT be possible to receive a refund of the booking f ee. – Unless the customer that desires to cancel his/her booking brings i n another person who is willing to take his/her place by paying the t otal amount of the trip itself. – If you are not able to make the tour due to your country or region b eing in lock down or travel restrictions, you will be given a voucher t o participate in a following photographic safari. This voucher would b e valid for 9months from the first safari that was booked and paid i n full. – Should the tour be canceled due to unforeseen reasons or r estrictions by the Namibian Government. The full amount paid ( deposit or full fee) will be refunded in full to you.
