Eye Level Photographic Opportunities
TOP 10 PHOTOGRAPHIC HIDES IN AFRICA
If you are a beginner photographer with your first DSLR camera, an expert with all the gear, have a great cellphone camera or are a bird watcher, then these photographic hides will delight you.
What is an underground photographic hide? Simply it is a box, container or reed structure that is built into the land overlooking an active waterhole. The animals cannot see you and so continue on their way to drink and behave in their usual manner. The angle provided for photography is unique and provides hours of entertainment. There are comfy seats, some have camera mounts on a swivel, and others offer binoculars and bird books.
We should also mention that these underground photographic hides are perfect for bird watchers. Serious twitchers can spend hours in these hides, watching the plethora of birdlife a waterhole attracts. It should be noted that these hides turn many people into bird watchers!
This list of Top 10 Photographic Hides in Africa takes you to South Africa’s Kruger National Park and Madikwe Game Reserve, to Botswana’s Mashatu and Linyanti area, to Kenya’s Samburu and Amboseli wildlife havens, to Etosha National Park in Namibia and Hwange in Zimbabwe.
Top 10 Photographic Hides in Africa
Ol Donyo Lodge, Chyulu Hills, Kenya
At the simply beautiful and luxurious Ol Donyo Lodge, a Relais and Châteaux property, you will find a log pile sunken hide and a log pile viewing spot, also a great lunch spot. The sunken hide puts you at eye level with the magnificent big tusker elephants that the Tsavo and Amboseli areas are so well known for. Access through a pathway of upright branches, and sit at ground level. It is a grand highlight, not just for photographers.
View our Best of Kenya Safari which includes Ol Donyo Lodge.
Anderssons at Onvaga, Etosha, Namibia
This subterranean hide has three open sides, creating numerous opportunities for game-watching and taking photos. Here you have a water-level view of the prolific wild and birdlife on Ongava Game Reserve, in a setting that inspires intimacy without intrusion. The hide is accessed through a tunnel at camp which means you can come and go at your leisure.
View our Luxury Namibia Self Drive Safari which includes Anderssons.
The Hide, Hwange, Zimbabwe
The best feature about The Hide’s underground hide is that it is accessed right in camp, through a 10m underground tunnel. This means you can come and go as you please, without the need for a guide to escort you, even during the golden hour in the evenings. This active waterhole in Hwange National Park sees many elephants, buffalo, sable and much more come down to drink.
Makumu Game Lodge, Greater Kruger Park, South Africa.
The photographic bunker at Makumu Game Lodge, is at ground level to the waterhole, offering spectacular views of the wildlife and birdlife that come to drink. Makumu is in the Klaserie Private Game Reserve, part of the Greater Kruger Park ecosphere. The photographic bunker is 20 minutes from camp, has comfortable seating and a selection of beverages on hand.
Jaci’s Lodges, Madikwe, South Africa
Jaci’s Terrapin Hide at Jaci’s Safari Camp is specially built to cater for both photographers and casual game viewing. With 2 areas on the banks of the waterhole and the underground photographic hide in the middle of the waterhole, Jaci’s hide is a popular choice. Accessed by a tunnel, you can come and go. Madikwe boasts excellent game viewing so it is not uncommon to see elephants, eland, zebra, buffalo and even the cats come down to drink.
Mashatu Game Lodge, Northern Tuli Safari Area, Botswana
Mashatu is already well known for its incredible wildlife, its webcam and its photographic hides. The main hide is an elephant-proof ground-level hide based at a waterhole, where both novice and professional photographers can photograph animals and elephants from ground level. They have a seasonal hide that faces a white-fronted bee-eater colony and a seasonal hide on the reserve. A professional photographer is based at Mashatu and will accompany guests to the hide. You can also rent equipment from Mashatu while there.
Contact us to chat about Photographic Safaris.
Saruni Samburu, Samburu, Kenya
There is a sunken photographic hide overlooking a waterhole in the Samburu area of Kenya. This gorgeous safari lodge overlooks the surrounding areas from the top of a boulder-strewn kopje, so the waterhole is down below. The waterhole at Saruni Samburu offers a unique opportunity to spot from very close up the elephants that come and drink its water, the fantastic bird species like the Vulturine Guinea fowl and the ‘Samburu Five’; reticulated giraffe, Beisa oryx, gerenuk, Somali ostrich and Grevy zebra. The predators are also known to frequent this waterhole.
Tuningi Safari Lodge, Madikwe, South Africa
Overlooking the active waterhole at Tuningi Safari Lodge is an underground photographic hide. On the same level, your photographic opportunities are excellent. Plus the lodge is close enough for a coffee or G&T top-up. This hide experience is fantastic – especially when elephants walk right past the windows, offering a unique perspective of their size. Amazing images can be captured with a wide-angle lens, and even some creative low-angle photos of animals such as giraffes, zebra, buffalo, kudu and impala drinking from the waterhole.
Kings Pool, Linyanti, Botswana
There are two hides in the vicinity of Kings Pool from which to view and photograph animals and birds. One is located at the western end of the camp and the other is an original underground hide, with the water at eye level making for a unique camera-friendly perspective. It is a great place to be during the dryer months.
Shenton Safaris, South Luangwa, Zambia
Leading the way in unique hides are the team at Shenton Safaris. They run 2 excellent camps in the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia, well known for its incredible game viewing and prolific leopard sightings. There are five photographic hides found at both Kaingo and Mwamba Camps. Kaingo’s Hippo Hide is on a deep corner at the confluence of the Luangwa and Mwamba rivers. Here, hundreds of hippos congregate throughout the season in both bachelor and breeding pods. The Carmine Bee-Eater Hide is accessed from both Kaingo and Mwamba and is put in place once the Southern carmine bee-eaters have established their nesting site in our area of South Luangwa. Mwamba’s Last Waterhole Hide is exclusive to Mwamba’s guests, this hide is located directly on an active waterhole, and though busy all season at different times, it is most spectacular from late August when all the other water in the area has dried up. Accessed from both Kaingo and Mwamba, the Wild Dog Lagoon Hide is set on the edge of the Wild Dog Lagoon. This incredible area gets fantastic sightings of Wild Dogs, but it is famous instead for incredible bird viewing and plains game.