Crafty studio....

I am privileged enough to see a lot of fantastic products come through the studio and I am always excited to have something new and unique to photography. I can happily Say I was not disappointed when Shadreck from Zimba Arts asked if we could photograph his wonderful Zimbabwean metal artworks.

Our studio was jam packed with amazingly colourful, unique, inspiring metal birds, ants, warthogs, meerkats and even spiders! The brief was simple, showcase the product in its best possible light on a clean white background. Even my eldest son Oliver got in on the mix!

I am sure you will agree that the art work is fanatastic and we managed to it justice! Check out a short behind the scenes clip below as well as some of the resultant pictures...

Security Matters....

I was recently engaged by one of Zimbabwe's leading security firms Safeguard Security to help them update their photographic gallery. The pictures covered all aspects of the firms' business units from their guards on site at various commercial and private properties through to their manufacturing division and will be used in all their upcoming digital, social media and print campaigns.

This is the sort of work that I relish as it required me to travel. We shot all over Harare and had to think creatively in many different environments, in order to get the shots that best portray that particular service. An example being the guards; they take care of hundreds of commercial and private properties and so we needed to express that using locations that the public would also recognise to heighten the brand awareness. 

The nature of the shoot meant that we had to work continuously for several days and so could only make use of the best light in the early morning and late afternoon for a few sites. This meant that I had to work with on site lighting setups which allowed me to balance the guards in the foreground with the bright backgrounds. 

In keeping with the ethos of the shoot to showcase Safeguards' products and services, all the shots are of the guards who are actually on the ground, we didn't once need to work with models. This can often be difficult, especially if we are pressed for time on site, as you don't want to rush someone who is not a model and unfamiliar with how to stand, pose, smile etc. With all credit going to all the staff we included in the shoot, they all did a remarkable job and are a credit to themselves and Safeguard.

We also shot some of the guards in the studio so that the designer could deep etch pictures to be dropped easily onto any branded backdrop or advert.

In addition to the guards we had to showcase the Armoured team, their professionalism and how well resourced they are. For obvious reasons shooting this on site would have proven to be a bit tricky and so we set some shots up at the safeguard depot.

Keeping track of the massive logistical framework at Safeguard is a dedicated group of control room operators, the massive screens, radio conservations and real time location updates lent an air of order, safety and security to the resultant pics.

In addition to the large Security infrastructure that Safeguard operates they also manufacture Xpanda sliding security doors as well as custom gates and security features. Now I am a boy at heart and loved spending time around the noise of machines, welding and the general busyness of a manufacturing floor.

What proved to be slightly more tricky was showcasing Safeguards on site security products like the motion PIR, razor wire, gates etc. Thankfully with a few phone calls we managed to secure permission from a number of commercial and private properties to shoot their recent security measures installed by Safeguard.

All in all we had a fantastic shoot with Safeguard and I feel we managed to portray all the different aspects of their business in a way that reflects the amazing professionalism at which they operate. I would like to say a huge thanks to Safeguard and their entire team for their support and all the organising that went into making the shoot possible.

How can we help you improve your business' visual branding? Have a look at our showreel, check out our website or be in touch with us to start the ball rolling!

The Three Sentinels...

The best wildlife photographs are those that open a window, even if its a brief one,  into the lives of their subjects. In order to do this you have to have oodles of patience, an affinity for nature and its creatures and an ability to spends hours, days and weeks with a particular subject, often to catch just the briefest moment of action. 

Sometimes you can be lucky and stumble onto something amazing, thats "the right place at the right time" sort of luck that doesn't come around as often as you would think. For me and this particular shot of a trio of Three Banded Coursers in Zimbabwe's Mana Pools National Park I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. Having seen the birds from a bit of a distance, just off the track, and having had no luck trying to photograph them earlier in the day I was determined not to waste this opportunity.

I approached the trio, ever so slowly and avoiding revving the engine, they gradually became accustomed to our presence and relaxed a little, thankfully not straying off the road into the long grass. Judging that I wasn't too close for my long prime lens I left the car idling and VERY cautiously climbed out of the car and with minimal movements lay down next to my open drivers door.

Thankful to now be at eye level with the birds, engaging portraits of animals are always better when you are at your subjects' eye level, I dared not breath too hard from fear of chasing them off. I started slowly snapping away, the sound of the shutter and my small movements obscured by the hum of the idling engine. 

The trio eventually cottoned on to what I was up to and scarpered around a little, not too frightened to head off indefinitely and possibly intrigued as to what this prone 'thing' on the ground was up to. The movements of the 3 birds ended up with me getting quite a few landscape and portrait options that were decent shots but didn't quite work for me. This shot happened just before my neck became permanently contorted and I was spasming with cramp.

What I love about the shot is the eye contact from all three birds, the golden light of the setting sun in the long yellow grass, and the standoffish, defensive gate of the  bird in the foreground, suggesting that he/she? is the boss and is going to defend the home turf!

Where: Mana Pools National park Zimbabwe

How: Lots of patience, lying flat on the floor and shooting under my landcruiser!

Camera info: Nikon D3 with 500mm F4 VR Nikkor prime, ISO 640 exposure 1/640th @ f5 

If you would like to learn more about photography why not join us on a course, you can then use your newly acquired knowledge in conjunction with some wildlife lenses that you can rent from us...

Chilli.....

I am a big fan of chilli sauce, there are not many meals where I am not reaching for some bottle or concoction to heat up my meal, zing up the taste and generally make me sweat and smile simultaneously. This obsession has over the years prompted me to grow my own chillies, in such magnificent volumes that we had to freeze bags and bags of them so we didn't have to forcibly wade through piles of drying chillies every time we entered the kitchen.

Eventually my stoic wife's sensibilities and patient support diverged and we had a 'conversation' that ended with a moratorium on the chilli harvesting, with the annoyingly accurate observation that several kilograms of the fiery red birdseye variety would probably suffice for the next few years. So my reign as a chilli farmer came to an end just as my wife's career as the in-house chilli sauce making magician began (with no constant, insistent nagging by her husband of course).

Months of home-made chilli consuming heaven passed until one fateful dinner at a friend's house when the Doctor was suddenly and inextricably inserted into our lives. The shapely bottle, the smokey twang, the lemony zest were all too much for me that night and I ended up eating more chilli sauce than anything else (not fun the next morning). And so to my wife's eternal, and annoyingly thinly veiled, relief my obsession with home made sauce was ushered out to make way for my new mistress, Dr Trouble's Double Oak Smoked Lemon Chilli.

Made on a farm in central Zimbabwe by someone who can only be described as a genius, in my eyes anyway, the wonderful sauce is consumed in volumes in the Scott household and so was a perfect candidate on a rainy day for an impromptu studio product shoot.

There is no doubt in this day and age that colourful, engaging photography will set your product apart from the competition and, whether its studio photography or lifestyle photography showing the product in use in an everyday setting, good visuals are vital.

In this instance I used a relatively simply lighting setup to achieve several different 'looks' while still maintaining the product as the hero of the image. Variety certainty is, especially in this case, the spice of life and I strove to create different images that could easily stand on their own as visually appealing to a wide audience.

Using a solid wodden chopping board as a base to create that warm, oak feel we created a lighting setup around the product that would best enhance the shape of the bottle. On the left is a standard 50x90 softbox set on a low power to create a gentle rim light on the left hand side of the bottle.

Opposite the softbox on the right is a large gold reflector that will create an even softer gold rimlight on the right side of the bottle. A snoot with a tight grid illuminated the label on the bottle as well as the condiments just in front of the bottle. Finally a light set on low power with a reflector and gel will light up the background, we settled on a lemonish yellow as it spoke to the lemon in the product and did not fight too much with the subtle red of the chilli in the bottle.

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From the above series of pictures we can see how the different lights used in the setup illuminated the product. Top left shows the softbox creating the rimlight on the edge of the bottle as well as the rimlight on the right of the bottle created by the large reflector. This showcases the shape of the bottle nicely.

Top right illustrates the use of the yellow gel on the reflector pointed at the backdrop and then bottom left shows how the snoot and tight grid illuminated the label and the condiments on the board. Bottom right is a final shot with all the studio lights firing simultaneously.

Watch more about this product lighting setup in this brief behind the scenes video;

So my love afar with chilli has resulted in a product shot that is both visually appealing and dynamic, usable in a variety of marketing environments and likely to instill the same mouth watering response in a potential customer that it does with me, always!

So how can we help you create stunning imagery that will help sell your brand or product? Contact us, we are always happy to chat and advise or visit our corporate gallery to see more examples of our photography.

Wholesale Zimbabwe...

The Trip...

"Have you ever landed up a hill?" The impact of the questions and the pilot's twinkling mishevious smile were lost on me as I peered enthralled out of the window at the fields of verdant green tea scattered below me.  As the question sunk in I managed to splutter a weak "huh" and jerk my head forward just in time to witness us landing, indeed uphill, on the slopes of Ratelshook airstrip near Chipingi.

The distracting view of Ratelshoek Tea Estates, grab shot taken with my iPhone.

I am on the last of my 3 day whirl around the country with Miles Peech and his team from Metro Peech and Browne Wholesalers, with 7 stores already under our belt we are touching down to photograph our 7th before lifting off to our final destination, Mutare. 

The Brief...

I am helping Metro Peech and Browne (lets shorten that to MPB to save my fingers and keyboard) develop a stock library of their stores, staff and products which they can use for their website, social media and print campaigns and I am having an absolute ball. Because of the tight nature of the schedule, 10 stores in 3 days, all the store managers were super organised and as a result the stores and staff looked fantastic which made my job all the more pleasurable.

The brief was simple, capture the stores and the services as much as possible but more so concentrate on getting great shots of the staff who are the lifeblood of the organisation. However, cautioned the brief, don't make them look too like stock images, these are our staff and they should look happy and proud! With this in mind off we went in our Cessna 208.

The staff...

Due to the pre-warning the staff all looked rather dapper and were all very keen to have their photography taken (who wouldn't?), all I had to do was concentrate on the photography stuff and make sure the MPB branding was visible and things like name tags etc looked good. So the challenge really came in the form of making sure the staff looked good in their environment, even when dusting the store or working the till.

My brief also stipulated that where possible I should get a good mix of close shots of staff engaging the camera (like above and top) as well as a variety of full length shots both engaging the camera as well as working, like below.

The soccer teams...

Being on a shoot and working with people who are friendly and willing to pose is an absolute pleasure so as you can imagine we ended up with a lot of staff images in the bag. But nothing quite compared to the excitement, pride and jubilation when it was announced we would like to photograph the store's soccer team. Nothing brings people together quite like the shared passion for a sport, even if its for a few minuets in the middle of a work dat for a photograph!

The stores...

The same can be said for the stores, except for the smiles and abject willingness of course. Each Store Manager ensured that everything was clean and the shelves stocked and packed well which again made my job a pleasure. The only snag was. luckily for MPB, the masses of shoppers going about their daily business. All the stores were busy and this made getting the shots I wanted a test of my patience, luckily I have a little left! 

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A 360 degree panoramic of Chiredzi store.

Another considerable challenge was the sheer size of some of the stores, especially the height of the shelving which would prove difficult to photography with a standard lens. Thankfully I was doing most of the store shots with a wide angle Nikon 24mm PCE lens which allows me to shift the lens up and down and from side to side. The lenses are traditionally used to correct the perspective shift that results in bent lines and buildings that look like they are falling over.

Another more sneaky but equally as usefull use is to tape a variety of shots as you move through the shift range of the lens. This allows you take vertical panoramics that allowed me to capture the height of the shelving, like below.

A horizontal panorama allowed me to capture the height of the shelves.

Luckily for me and MPB the lens works both ways and I was also able to shoot horizontal panoramics that allowed me to capture a wider view of the stores, especially when space was at a premium and I couldn't move back.

Landscape or horizontal panoramas are like gold dust when space is tight.

All in all the job for MPB was rewarding in so many ways for me as a photographer both from a technical and visual point of view. Most importantly of all the satisfaction that comes from knowing you have helped a client produce visuals that accurately portray their brand and people in a powerful way.

Size does matter...

Size does matter, especially in this case when nothing quite puts the awe inspiring size and beauty of the Chilojo Cliffs in Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou National Park into perspective like one of the parks' massive bull elephants.

The sandstone edifice of the Chilojo Cliffs forms one of Zimbabwe's iconic landscapes and is a landscape photographer's dream, especially in the dwindling light of a hot day's end when the colours of the cliffs change from a myriad of shining orange to progressively more subtle tones of glowing magenta. I love the cliffs and Gonarezhou in general and must have hundreds of pictures of this landscape in various forms and angles, but until now had nothing that showcased the immense size of the cliffs.

Capturing this image required a fair bit of patience, although I kept reminding myself as I sat for hour after hour under the spellbinding view of the cliffs that I could have been in much worse places! Luckily for me there was quite a substantial pool of water in the bend of the Runde River near the cliffs and as a result lots of Ele's were making the trek across the hot, shimmering sand to get to the liquid gold. Unfortunately for me this was mostly in the heat of the day when the light was terrible and I was comatose in my tent anyway!

Thankfully this view was only a few paces outside our campsite so I could persevere every evening in the  golden light hours without breaking any of the Parks' regulations. It was only on the last evening of our stay when said perseverance and mother luck paid off and placed the bull elephant, golden light and a by then very twitchy photographer all in the same place. Needless to say there was a lot of snapping and holding of breath as the elephant nonchalantly and unknowingly made his way across the bed and into my library as possibly one of my favourite Chilojo cliffs images...

So from a technical POV what photographic aspects does my waffling above touch on? Simply put this picture works because the composition style of having a large subject (the cliffs) being balanced out by a smaller subject (the elephant) creates a very pleasing image that our eyes and brain can easily navigate around, and appreciate! If you would like to learn more about photography and its theories why not join us on an Introduction to Photography Course? See more info here...

How: lots of patience, picking the right spot and being consistent.

Where: Hlaro campsite, Gonarezhou National Park

Tech Specs: Nikon D3 Camera, Nikkor 500mm f4 VR lens, ISO 1600 f4 @ 1/40th second supported by a Induro GHB1 Gimbal head on Manfrotto carbon fibre legs  

Hwange's Pink Elephants...

Their thirst was obvious by the way their gait changed into a frantic run as the herd neared Nyamandhlovu pan in #Hwange national park. This is not unusual in the dry month of September as thousands of animals rely on the life giving water pumped into pans throughout the park.

Chris was lucky enough to participate in the Wildlife and Environment Zimbabwe annual game count in Hwange National Park this September. Every year since 1972 hundreds of volunteers converge on the park and are assigned to watch a specific water hole for 24 hours and count everything they see. Its hot, you are confined to your car, its tiring, but the rewards are worth the effort, both for the experiences gleaned by the counters as well as the wealth of information that is recorded for the Parks' authorities.

The Hwange game count is the longest continual game census in Southern Africa and because of this, trends in animal numbers can be extrapolated and studied. As with most large scale surveys its not 100% accurate but generally very consistent, however it gets quite tricky to definitely say how many elephants there are in the park. Some estimates put the population between 30-35 000 while the figures from the 2014 game count results suggest around 23 000.

The count wouldn't be possible without the massive efforts of WEZ Matabeleland who organises the count as well as Friends of Hwange Trust.

Shot at Nyamadhlovu Pan, Hwange National Park, Nikon D610 with Nikkor 70-200 F2.8 ISO 640 1/160 @ F4.5

Zimbabwe's Verdant Tea Eastate

Zimbabwe is blessed with a wide range of stunning landscapes, from the majestic World Wonder of Victoria Falls to the stone wall brilliance of Great Zimbabwe to the game rich floodplains of Mana Pools. However an oft overlooked but no less stunning part of our beautiful country is its Eastern Highlands. Forming a rugged boundary with neighboring Mozambique the eastern Highlands are comprised of 3 main mountain ranges; Nyanga in the North, Bvumba in the middle and Chimanimani in the South. All 3 mountain ranges are part of the East African Rift system that runs down the continent from East Africa.

Nestled under the Nyanga plateau, which peaks to form Zimbabwe's highest point Mt Nyangani, is Eastern Highlands Plantations Limited, (also commonly referred to as Aberfoyle Tea Estates). Spread over the lower slopes of the Nyanga plateau are vividly verdant fields of tea.

A view in any direction from one of the many high points on the estate reveal rolling, lush and methodically trimmed fields, a testament to mans' innovative and persistent tenacity. Carved out of the wilderness in the 1950's there is no doubt that a lot of indigenous flora would have been mowed down to make way for the plantations, and as a lover of all things natural and indigenous this will always be in the back of my mind. However, the inherent man made beauty has the effect of subduing those negative thoughts.

The estate also ceeded a large portion of its land on the lower slopes of the Inyangani plateau to nature and subsequently to National Parks. The Gleneagles Reserve is a haven of indigenous forest best explored on foot and with a sense of awe. At 2000 hectares the reserve is the largest and best preserved block of Afro-Montain forest in the country.

Babbling streams hemmed in by tall Forest Newtonians create a backdrop that wouldn't go amiss in a Lord of the Rings movie also create a habitat for a plethora of rare birds and so are a mecca for avid birders from all over the world.

The area also offers a variety of adrenaline inducing activities such as gravity defying zip lines through the forest canopy and white water rafting down the Pungwe River, these can be organised through Far and Wide Zimbabwe with Aberfoyle Lodge providing the perfect base to explore the area's many exciting offerings.   

Inspiration in the Darkness...

The shrill chant of children's voices echoes starkly in the fridge like classroom, the maps and colorful drawings plastered on the rooms’ walls are barely visible in the darkness. With barely enough light to see their material, 3 groups of children huddle around cheap, dim solar lanterns reciting mock test answers in preparation for their upcoming grade 7 exams.

Swathed in warm clothes and a beanie to ward off the bone chilling cold is the leader of this inspiring scene, Fuyana Tshatiwa, grade 7 teacher at Ngamo Primary School near Hwange’s National Park’s southern boundary. Entirely of her own accord and at her cost Fuyana is coaching 14 members of the grade 7 class every evening for several hours. The bitterly cold nights, worsened by the unheated concrete classroom and the lack of decent lighting are no deterrent to this inspiring teacher, who has already had a full day’s work at the school.

Tonight, as she inspires me and the few visitors who are with me in the classroom she is more upbeat than ever, buoyed on by the fact that the school has just received a donation of a 5Kva diesel generator, which brings the promise of decent lighting and thus easier learning.

The generator was donated by a selfless visitor inspired by the amazing work the teachers are doing at Ngamo Primary School, crucially, this visitor was a tourist on holiday in Hwange National park with Imvelo Safari Lodges and had visited the school as part of a community activity. With the support generated by tourism operations like Imvelo and Wilderness Safaris the Ngamo community have stepped up to the plate and are thriving, all thanks to tourism dollars.

For me personally this visit was an amazingly inspirational experience and a reminder that despite the current doom and gloom attitude in Zimbabwe everyday people continue to do amazing things in their communities. Fuyana braves the cold and the dark not because it benefits her but because she is selflessly committed to the enrichment and development of her grade 7 students, something we should all take note of.

As a photojournalist I am privileged to often find myself witnessing inspiring people doing amazing things, but will shamefully admit that I do not know whats going on in my own community back at home. Like Fuyana, I am sure there are selfless people doing inspirational things just round the corner from where I live, so I am going to find out and support them however I can, after all, isn't that how thriving communities are built?

Fish Eagles are Bullies...

Last year Chris spent a few days exploring the advantages of an "armchair safari" at African Bush Camps Kanga Pan Lodge for an article for British Airways' Highlife Magazine. Published in the March edition, you can read the full story below...

Chris watched this feathered bully harass the patient Grey Heron for 3 full days.

Fish eagles are bullies. They wait atop a tall tree near the waterhole I am observing, ominously watching as a grey heron painstakingly inched closer to its unsuspecting prey. When the Heron has found the right spot, it stands motionless for an age until one of the surprisingly numerous catfish in the small waterhole swims within reach of its poised head, neck taught in readiness for a fast strike into the water. 

Only about 1 in every 10 attempts I observed was successful and when the heron finally managed a catch, it had the arduous task of turning the wriggly catfish around so it could swallow it head first, to avoid the catfish’s lethal dorsal barbs jamming in its throat. It was during the heron’s prolonged attempt to turn the catfish headfirst that the ‘waterhole mafia’ swooped in silently, bearing sharp talons aimed at its victims head. 

Inevitably the poor heron dropped its hard-won bounty while making a valiantly noisy but fruitless attempt to ward off the fish-thief as the fish eagle flapped nonchalantly off to its high branch to feast on its spoils. The seemingly crestfallen grey heron watched forlornly for a while, then seemed to shrug it off and continue its patient stalking routine and the whole drama would repeat itself.

I was watching this wilderness drama live from the deck of Kanga Camp in Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park. Built astride Kanga Pan, the camp’s deck is only meters from the only source of water in the area, which in the dry season means it is a veritable hotspot of animal activity. Unique to Mana Pools, Kanga Camp is situated 15 kilometers inland from the Zambezi River on it own private concession, affording you exclusivity and intimacy with your surroundings. 

Expertly positioned to afford the best view of the action from the lower deck sits a deep, sturdy, invitingly pillowed whicker lounge suite. Bedecked with enough fluffy cushion to be envelopingly comfortable and spacious enough to accommodate me, several others and my vast array of camera equipment. The couch will serve as my observation post for the next few days, my throne of decadence if you would.

From my throne I was privy to all the comings and goings at the waterhole, and they were numerous and frequent. As I arrived in the camp, my luggage hadn't even touched the ground when I had my binoculars firmly planted on my face, observing 8 different species of raptors either drinking at the pan or hunting among the thick foliage of the towering African Ebony (Diospyros mespiliformis) and Nyala Berry (Xanthocercis zambesiaca) trees that provide thick shade to the camp’s public areas throughout the day. Once I was done ogling the birds of prey I turned my attention to the bustling waterhole, full swing into the mid-morning rush hundreds of green spotted, african mourning and cape turtle doves were noisily flapping down to the waters edge, often spooking the notoriously shy family of kudu. 

Taking no heed of the raucous birdlife was a pair of grumpy looking ‘daga boys’ - old buffalo bulls who have taken retirement from the larger herds in their advanced age and find solace in each others cantankerous company. A troop of 50 plus baboons complete the bustling scene with their inherent human like poses and expressions, adding a chaotic sense of humour to the otherwise peacefully industrious scene.

I settled down into my feathered throne to watch the myriad of fascinating encounters unfolding in front of me, just in time to observe a thirsty herd of elephants run the last 100 meters of dry, dusty plain to the waters edge, so grateful for the quenching coolth of the water that they visibly couldn't decide whether to drink deep or drench themselves from head to wrinkly toe.

I reveled for most of the morning in the diversity of bird and animal life congregating around the pan, until a polite call for brunch stirred me into action and I used musclesfor the first time in several hours to haul myself over to the delicious looking meal. Eating was no easy task though, as soon as I looked down to decide what tasty morsel to devour next there was some commotion from the waterhole, a juvenile African goshawk catching a green spotted dove or a large bull elephant noisily drinking from the borehole output just meters from where I sat. 

Brunch, delicious as it was, totally exhausted me and I was thankful to avoid the scorching midday hours in the sanctuary of my luxuriously appointed room. Even from the cool comfort of my bed I could keep half an eye on the action at the pan, all the rooms at Kanga Camp have their own unique view of the waterhole.

Back on my throne in the late afternoon, the manic activity of the morning seemed to have cooled along with the temperature and I was able to watch more intimate moments a bit more closely. A mother Zebra nuzzling its nervous young foal towards the water and a pair of saddle billed storks repeatedly probing the shallows. The subtle sounds of the bush enveloped me and all seemed well and at peace with the earth as it slowly turned a glowing orange then red as the sun slid rapidly towards the horizon. As I lazily contemplated the many salubrious advantages of my “Armchair Safari” I was jolted into action and a hasty grab for my camera by the sudden arrival of a pack of 11 Wild Dog and their 7 pups, eager for a drink they unknowingly provided the coup-d’etate to my day of quiet observance. 

Kanga Camp offers one of the best “Armchair Safari” experiences you are likely to find and should be on anyone’s list of things to do when visiting Mana Pools. The lush environment of Kanga Camp and laid back but fruitful wildlife watching provides the perfect way to ease into bush life, especially if you are hot off a long international flight and several bumpy domestic ones. Mana Pools offers some of the most diverse landscapes and unique game watching opportunities in Zimbabwe, so it would be wise not to halt your journey at Kanga Camp. African Bush Camps, who own and run Kanga also operate a mobile tented safari operation, Zambezi Life Styles, that will afford you the opportunity to see the Mana Pools floodplain in all its glory and in luxurious style. For more information contact African Bush Camps on info@africanbushcamps.com and see their website www.africanbushcamps.com