Big Game in Africa with a Canon

I am booked for a 10 day serengeti safari in Oct. Eight of the ten days will be in tented mobile camps. I would like some gear input from other big game hunters that use a Canon
We have been told that the weight limit on the bush plane is 36lbs each
I will be using a 7D and with without doubt the 100-400. My wife will be using my old Rebel XT with a 55-250. Other lens's that I have are 20mm 2.8, 28-80 3.5-5.6, 18-55 3.5-5.6 and a 100mm macro 2.8. A Metz 76 MZ-5 flash, Polarising filters, and a 3 stop grad ND. A Manafrotto 3021b pro TP with a Jobu gimbal head. With all this plus battery chargers media storage and a laptop something has to give (I don't think they will let me go naked).
I am guessing the 100-400 and the 55-250 will cover most things as we are paying extra to be able to go off road for four days. I think the 20mm to do some panos even though the 7 D will not go on the gimbal head in the vertical position ( I wanted to do some vertical panos stiched).

Itinerary.

Day 1 (October 10th, 2012): Arrival NBO Airport
Arrival NBO at 9:00PM with BA flight; met on arrival and transfer to Hotel in Nairobi .
Ole Sereni Hotel
http://ole-serenihotel.com/

Day 2 (October 11): FLIGHT NBO/JRO; Transfer to Arusha
Transfer to NBO airport for 10:40AM flight to JRO, arriving JRO at 11:40AM; met on arrival and transfer to Lodge in Arusha
Planet Lodge
http://www.planet-lodge.com/

Day 3 (Oct 12): Arusha / FLIGHT / Northern Serengeti
Transfer to Arusha Airport (ARK) for an 8:15am flight to Kogatende airstrip in Northern Serengeti via Manyara aitrip, central and/or western Serengeti; arriving Northern Serengeti at 10:30am; met on arrival by our safari driver-guide for game drives there.
Exclusive Mobile Camp, aka EMC Camp, B,L,D
http://www.tanganyikaw​ildernesscamps.com/cam​ps/exclusivemobilecamp​s/

Day 4 (Oct 13): Northern Serengeti
More game drives in the Northern Serengeti
EMC Camp, B,L,D

Day 5 (Oct 14) Central Serengeti
Drive to Central Serengeti (approx: 2.5hrs drive) for game drives, Mbuzi Mawe Tented Camp, B,L,D
http://www.serenahotel​s.com/serenambuzi/defa​ult-en.html

Day 6 (Oct 15): Central Serengeti
more game drives in the Central Serengeti, Mbuzi Mawe Camp, B,L,D

Day 7 (Oct 16): Central Serengeti / Ngorongoro
After breakfast, we will have another game drive in Serengeti, then drive to overnight in Ngorongoro (approx: 3hrs drive), Ngorongoro Serena Lodge, B,L,D.
http://www.serenahotel​s.com …gorongoro/defau​lt-en.html
[If Serena does not open up we will have you stay at Ngorongoro Sopa for $30pp/night less]

Day 8 (Oct 17): Ngorongoro
Game drive in the crater, exploring the short-grass plains of the crater floor. This extinct volcano embraces 100sq miles alive with lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, buffalo, and many more games.
Ngorongoro Serena Lodge, B,L,D.
[If Serena does not open up we will have you stay at Ngorongoro Sopa for $30pp/night less]

Day 9 (Oct 18): Ngorongoro / Tarangire
After breakfast, we drive to Tarangire Park (approx: 2hrs drive) for game drives in this very diverse park with picnic lunch boxes, Tarangire is well known for its large herds of Elephant population.
Maramboi Tented Camp, B,L,D.
http://www.tanganyikaw​ildernesscamps.com/cam​ps/maramboitentedcamp/

Day 10 (Oct 19): Tarangire
More game drives in Tarangire
Maramboi Tented Camp, B,L,D

Day 11 (Oct 20): Tarangire / Arusha
After breakfast, we can have another game drive in Tarangire before leaving in the afternoon for Arusha for overnight.
Planet Lodge, B,L

Day 12 (Oct 21): Flight to NBO / Departure
Transfer to JRO for 9:10AM flight to NBO; arriving NBO at 10:10AM; met on arrival and transfer to Ole Sereni Hotel for a Day room; then later transfer to NBO for your 11:15PM BA return flight.
Day room at Ole Sereni, B,L

pr (optional day room is available for $45/Room at Planet Lodge); proceed to JRO airport for your return flight, B,L


Price includes:
-PRIVATE SAFARI for 2
-Arrival and departure Nairobi / Kilimanjaro airports transfers
-Accommodation as indicated (2 people sharing a double room)
-Activities as indicated
-Meals as indicated (B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner)
-All park fees, and government taxes.
-Services of Professional English-speaking driver- guide (requested Moses)
Thanks for choosing Good Earth Tours

looks like a great trip, those lenses should work fine

rick_reno wrote in post #14237832
looks like a great trip, those lenses should work fine

Do you mean all of them?. My back pack with one camera, flash and lens's weigh close to 30 lbs I have to drop some weight some where.

Last summer I was part of the POTN GAP Safari. Equipment was one of the biggest discussions. Check out the thread sometime.

For a start, the tripod and head can be changed out for CF and ball head, you can save 4+ lbs. You'll also save a pile of room. The gimbol is nice, but the Manfrotto RC2 will probably meet your needs based upon the weights of the listed gear, and will allow allow the camera to go verticle for panos. Manfrotto 055CFPro will meet the need too. Both of these are fairly inexpensive. be sure to get extra plates for the RC2.

You'll probably be doing some shooting from inside the vehicle or blinds, one of the very versatile mounts was The Pod. I took the stuffing out and brought ziplock baggies that I filled with local dirt and restuffed the pod when needed.

The 100-400 was a common lens in our group. As we were not weight restricted I used a 70-200 2.8 with extenders on a 1DIII and a 400 5.6 on a 5DII. I also had a 24-105 and 16-35. I won't mention the rest as I didn't use them. 1 flash was used with an extender.

If your using a battery grip on either camera, I would suggest leaving them behind and just carry the spare batteries. Useless weight.

Reconsider the filters.

I brought a external HD as well as my laptop. Second storage for all shots. Reduce risk of loosing everything, so worthwhile weight.

Just a few thoughts off the top of my head.

Great looking trip, enjoy!

One last note, an old travellers' warning:

1/2 the cloths and twice the money!

Thanks Jim I never thought about the battery grips. searching for the POTN GAP Safari

Any advice on universal power strips

cdiver2 wrote in post #14248133
Any advice on universal power strips

I found a local store that specialized in overseas electronics and equipment. The sell and ship electronics and housewares everywhere on order from Canadian clients.
I picked up a couple of adapter plugs for SA, and then brought a cube with three outlets to plug into the adapter. Small, lightweight and more than enough for charging, running the PC, etc.

There are many different plug types in Africa, so plan on a couple of different adapters. Bring a spare! Wikipedia was the best search for what adapters for where.

Thanks Jim. I have been doing some research, I have been told all outlets we will encounter are of the UK square pin type. They even have one in the vehicle with a voltage converter,so I have 2 plug adapters. I am leaning towards the power strip for multiple outlets.
At the moment I am bogged down with all the formalities especially the filming permit & off road stuff, lucky I still have plenty of time to get it sorted.

I really wouldn't think of a trip like that without something wide-normal-telephoto. On the 7D you'd be talking about say something like the newer 15-85, for anything wider, then switch to the 100-400 for the critters. I couldn't imagine something with the kind of scenery you are likely to encounter without a good wider range. But that's me!

tonylong wrote in post #14267997
I really wouldn't think of a trip like that without something wide-normal-telephoto. On the 7D you'd be talking about say something like the newer 15-85, for anything wider, then switch to the 100-400 for the critters. I couldn't imagine something with the kind of scenery you are likely to encounter without a good wider range. But that's me!

I agree with that sentiment Tony. Unfortunately after paying for the trip buying another lens is out of the question at least for another year, so the boss says
That's where the stitching part comes in..poor mans wide.
I would love to have the 10-22...one can dream.

Update information for anyone thinking of doing off road First you have to apply for a film permit ($1000) Our agent sent the form that has to be sent in to the Tanzania embassy in Washington DC, then I get the form back approved. I then send it to the agent in the US and he sends it to Tanzania where it is issued on the form it gives options on how to pay, I chose pay agent.
Today the embassy calls and say you did not include 2 passport photographs and a copy of your passport. My understanding was I did not need to do this for a film permit, but no big deal. Next he tells me I have to pay to the embassy not the agent and I need to enclose a prepaid Fedex from Washington to Dar Es Salaam. The application will go from him to D ES back to him then to me.
OK get this going, Fedex tell me the only way I can prepay is to open an account, ok I do this. Then she tells me we can not send to a PO box, but that is the address in DES. I call the embassy and they tell me the address is correct and they send to this address all the time. I call Fedex and get the same lady and tell her there are no street numbers there and the embassy use this address all the time, she asks me to give the address again. As soon as I got to the part "plot number" she said that's all I need. I spent a 1/2 day geting to this point...I hope it is worth it. So if anyone plans on doing off road be prepaired for a bit of a runaround.

I ran through this when going to China. Red Tape Special.

Grin and Bear it! It becomes part of the story and experience.

I'd definitely encourage you to take another 7D. (maybe sell the Xt and rent one?) then, you can both shoot equal-quality shots, shoot HD video, and share the batter charger/batteries.
One of you shooting a wide/normal lens, and the other the 100-400, and have the 55-250 on hand.
And don't forget to shoot context shots too. Shoot the other people in your group, and the accommodations.
you can definitely save room/weight going without the gimbal head/heavy tripod. You probably won't have too too much opportunity to use a tripod anyway.
But if looks like you have an AWESOME trip planned all in all, and I second the other advice given in this thread.
-Jeff (one safari down, many to go I hope)

saabstorey wrote in post #14348423
I'd definitely encourage you to take another 7D. (maybe sell the Xt and rent one?) then, you can both shoot equal-quality shots, shoot HD video, and share the batter charger/batteries.
One of you shooting a wide/normal lens, and the other the 100-400, and have the 55-250 on hand.
And don't forget to shoot context shots too. Shoot the other people in your group, and the accommodations.
you can definitely save room/weight going without the gimbal head/heavy tripod. You probably won't have too too much opportunity to use a tripod anyway.
But if looks like you have an AWESOME trip planned all in all, and I second the other advice given in this thread.
-Jeff (one safari down, many to go I hope)

Thanks Saab. No party just the wife, guide and myself . I have decided against the tripod but I am going to take the monopod, I am hoping to tether to a laptop and lower the camera down to a ground view in situations were it would not be prudent to get out of the vehicle. 350 to a 7d for the wife! she gets overwhelmed with the TV remote and we have had that for four years. I do plan on doing shoots around the camps with the campfire going I will just have to find something to rest the camera on.