Of Wildlife and Photography

Co-owner Stavros Eleftheriou weighs in on how to make the best of wildlife and photography in Limpopo-Lipadi:

“As a passionate wildlife and nature photographer, Southern African and East African destinations have always been on the top of my list. I consider myself lucky to have the opportunity to travel to Africa for work which allows me to combine business with pleasure. My lovely wife Sara is also in love with the African bush, so working hard to convince her to follow me has never been an issue, on the contrary.

Brian Jackman wrote: Everything in Africa bites, but the safari bug is worst of all. How right he was! And here we are both, having to suffer the consequences of this safari bug. Since our first safari, Sara and I decided that we have to figure out a way to buy a holiday home in Africa.
Long story short, after a year of researching options and possibilities, we ended up making the African bush part of our life by joining the Limpopo-Lipadi family. The whole model of having a share at Limpopo-Lipadi made sense.

We just returned from Africa, where we spent 11 nights at the Reserve towards the end of August. For all of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere, August is supposed to be nice and warm (not necessarily for all of us living in the United Kingdom).

In Botswana however, it is the last month of winter, which can be surprisingly cold (relative to temperatures seen in Africa), especially early in the morning or late in the afternoon. We had some lovely sunny days, and took advantage of the swimming pool and the newly built communal area with the open bar and sitting area. We also experienced colder days, sitting around an open fire, having our food and drinks served at the comfort of our lodge.

Now, to animal sightings and my photography passion… If the expectation is to see animals as in places like the Sabi Sands in South Africa, the Serengeti in Tanzania, the Masai Mara in Kenya, the Okavango Delta in Botswana etc, get ready to be disappointed. This is not because there are no animals on our Reserve, let me be clear. Managing a fenced reserve has its unique issues – it is not an easy job. There are balances to be kept. The number of predators and enough prey that will be able to reproduce without declining, elephants that graze and bring down trees (too many of them can change the landscape dramatically) are just some basic examples that need to be considered.

Nature finds its way and balances are created as long as there is no human interference (fence). In our case however, keeping and protecting rhinos (with poaching on the rise in Botswana) is an important reason for keeping a fence. But I digress – let me go back to the point I wanted to make.

You have to put some work into finding the animals, let alone get a chance for great photography. The Reserve is huge, the vegetation is dense and there are very few cars out that would allow for communication between drivers in case of a sight, if you’d compare it to commercial lodges. This is not necessarily a bad thing, the low footprint is one of the main draws. Different places offer different experiences, and this is how it should be.

Can it get any better? I suppose it can, up to a point, without affecting the overall concept of minimal footprint.
In my humble opinion, Limpopo-Lipadi offers the luxury of being home away from home. It allows people to wind down from their stressed city lives. The magic effect of the African bush, its smells and sounds have a soothing effect on our soul. You have then the animal sightings that complete this experience, by reminding you the raw and beautiful sight of nature.

Let me go back to my passion for photography for a moment. If I want the best photography opportunities, I need to look elsewhere. If, however, I want a taste of Africa, good food, great service, stress free holiday and sometimes great, sometimes less great opportunities of animal sighting, Limpopo-Lipadi is probably the best place out of all non-commercial places in the whole of Africa. Does this mean that no photography is possible at Limpopo-Lipadi? On the contrary! As a photographer, I need to use any chance I get, under any type of light, and make the best out of it. Here are some examples of my photography from my recent visit.”

Want to be a part of Limpopo-Lipadi’s adventures? For discreet information on share sales, contact generalmanager@limpopo-lipadi.org. To book a safari, request our rates via reservations@limpopo-lipadi.org or via WhatsApp: (+267) 76770191.