8 Night African Wildlife Photo Safari

The cost of the 2024 Untamed Mashatu safari is £6,250 per person sharing.

Single supplements:

A limited number of single rooms are available, on a first-come, first-served basis. Single room supplement is £1,000. We do not make a profit on single supplements, which are less than the cost to us.

Gratuities:

We understand that knowing who, when and how much to tip can be a headache, so we now include gratuities in the cost of the safari. We’ll make sure everyone deserving a tip, from photo guides to kitchen staff, receives an appropriate amount, so you don’t have to worry about it. Of course, if you wish to reward individuals with something extra for excellent service, then you are welcome to do so, but there isn’t any expectation or need that you do this.

The cost includes:

The cost excludes:

Giving back

To see how your booking helps engage disadvantaged young people in South Africa with wildlife and conservation, visit our Giving Back page.

Like all our safaris, our Mashatu trip puts photography front and centre, with the emphasis on spending as much time as possible looking for excellent wildlife photo opportunities.  But that certainly doesn’t mean we’ll be roughing it in the bush. Mashatu Lodge offers very comfortable accommodation, in spacious, tastefully decorated airconditioned suites, great home cooking, a large swimming pool, and a view over a busy waterhole.  There’s a small shop selling curios and basics such as sun cream and batteries.

Mashatu game reserve is part of the Northern Tuli Game Reserve, in the extreme east of Botswana, at the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe rivers.

It shares unfenced borders with Tuli Safari Area, a Zimbabwean national park to the north, and Mapungubwe, a South African national park and World Heritage site to the south.  Together these form a vast cross border wildlife conservation area notable for the diversity of its flora and fauna.

There are a number of ways to get to Mashatu, and we don’t include travel there and back in the basic safari cost, because guests may choose different routes.  However, we will help with booking certain options. We will provide more detailed advice on travel when you book, following is a brief summary.

Air and road transfer from Johannesburg

There are daily morning flights from Johannesburg O.R. Tambo International airport (JNB) to Polokwane airport (PTG) with SA Airlink.  We/Mashatu will then organise a road transfer from Polokwane to Mashatu (about two hours drive).  The cost of the road transfer element depends on the number of guests booking this option, but will probably be around £100 return. This is the most popular option.

If you prefer to self-drive to Polokwane, you can book just the road transfer element of the option.

Road transfer from Johannesburg

We/Mashatu can organise a road transfer from Johannesburg O.R. Tambo International airport to Mashatu.  This is a drive of six to seven hours. The cost of this is around £500 each way, but this cost is for the whole vehicle and will be divided by the number of guests choosing this option.  Potentially, this is the cheapest option, but only if multiple guests choose it, and it is not a popular option.

Self-drive to Pont Drift border post

It’s about 500km from Johannesburg to Pont Drift, allow six to seven hours.  You do not need a 4×4.  You leave your vehicle at the border post, Mashatu have a scheduled free pick-up and transfer from Pont Drift at 1pm.  Transfers at other times incur a charge.  If you wish to self-drive, it is important that you let us know, as there are essential details about documentation and logistics that we can give you. Most importantly, you must arrive at Pont Drift no later than 4pm, as the border closes then and there are no options for late attendance.

Fly from Johannesburg Lanseria to Limpopo Valley Airfield

The quickest but most expensive route to Mashatu is to fly direct from Johannesburg Lanseria airport. Flight duration is 90 minutes and you will be picked up from the airfield and transferred to Mashatu Lodge. There are strict and restrictive baggage rules. We are happy to help you book this option.

Other self-drive options

If you are visiting Mashatu as part of a longer self-drive tour, it is possible to drive in via Botswana or Zimbabwe.  A 4×4 is necessary.  We can provide details of routes on request.

You can use anything from 15mm to 500mm or more on Mashatu, but we recommend trying to pare your kit down to a manageable selection of lenses, rather than weighing yourself down with everything but the kitchen sink.  It’s worth bringing a second camera body if you have one, both as back-up in case you have a problem, but also to reduce having to change lenses at crucial moments.  You can photograph with both a short and long lens to hand, reacting instantly to opportunities.

Mashatu’s wildlife is often relaxed and confiding, and it is sometimes possible to get very close to game. The sunken hide also allows close encounters with some large animals.  So it is definitely worthwhile to being a short zoom: something like a 24-105mm (full frame equivalent) is perfect.  If you have an even wider lens and room to carry it, then bring that too, for odd occasions when we may get very close to elephants. We find a 17-40mm comes in handy.

To get the best out of safari photography you do need a lens of at least 400mm. For general game drive photography we use 100-400mm or 100-500mm lenses for many situations, they are compact enough to handhold and easy to use on a vehicle.  If you have a 500mm or 600mm it is worth bringing.  A superzoom (typically 150-600mm) covers many bases, but bear in mind that autofocus at the long end can be slow when photographing action.

Bean bags will be provided for use on vehicles and in hides, so there is no need to bring a tripod.