The Personal Touch

Night safaris are not very common elsewhere in Africa but as well as the famous walking safaris they are another trademark of what is available to visitors to Zambia. Indeed, the Luangwa Valley at night is just as spectacular as it is in the daytime. A night drive, conducted in an open safari vehicle, is a completely different experience from a safari by day, and a whole new world of animal species awaits the safari enthusiast.

During a game drive at night you have a great opportunity first to watch a wonderful sunset over the Luangwa River and then, after twilight sets in, you begin to look for African wildlife. Night safaris are popular and a good way to see various species of nocturnal animals which only venture out into the African bush after hours. It cools down a little as temperatures drop but can sometimes remain quite warm, so a light sweater could help and in the cooler months a jacket is certainly required.

Your professional guide will share expert knowledge and information about each nocturnal species, their roaming areas and behaviour. Animals like porcupines, genets and civets can be seen and the cats are far more active at night than during the day. It often becomes a game of survival as predators prowl the landscape stalking their prey. It’s also an exciting opportunity to spot less obvious creatures like bushbabies, owls, chameleons, leopard and, maybe, the elusive aardvark.

And let’s not forget the amazing sky. Star-gazing without any light pollution is certainly possible in South Luangwa, with no city lights close by; ask your guide to switch off the vehicle’s engine, relax, gaze up and enjoy the sights, sounds and scents of the bush at night. In the Southern Hemisphere, you are able to observe different constellations such as Orion, Scorpio, the Southern Cross and Leo during your nocturnal experience.

Safari guides and their spotters search for animals using a powerful spotlight, and most animals are quite used to this strange artificial light source. However, conventional white spotlights may well be very intrusive and disruptive to animals used to conducting their lives after twilight. It’s easy for guides and spotters to distinguish the difference between diurnal and nocturnal animals. It is not necessary for guides to disturb diurnal animals with their bright light, but nocturnal animals might well be disadvantaged during their hunt when a powerful torch is directed at them; spotlights, therefore, with red lenses are preferred. The red lens protects the eyes of predators and prey alike, enabling all of us to enjoy the animals without disturbing them.

To ensure further that the nocturnal animals can hunt and forage in peace during most of the night, the night drives are conducted from sunset to 8.00 pm only and are restricted to registered tour operators using vehicles with licensed guides.

Remember that night-time photography is different from photography during the day. Because spotlights are used, the automatic exposure metering in the camera can easily be fooled. If possible, switch your camera to centre-weighted metering or spot metering, using a high ISO setting (3200 ISO or 6400 ISO) or Auto-ISO. Use a low F-stop number and let the camera choose the appropriate shutter speed (Aperture priority programme). If still in doubt, you can also use ‘auto bracketing’. In that setting the camera will take three pictures in rapid succession – one exposed as the meter sees it, one under-exposed and one over-exposed. This should almost guarantee that the correct exposure will be there.

Do remember, night safaris are also about smaller species that are rarely seen during the day. These include hares, porcupines, bushbabies, genets, elephant shrews and small felines. For bird lovers, night safaris offer the opportunity to add a whole range of different species to your list. Keep an eye (and ear) out for owls, nightjars and spotted dikkop, also known as spotted thick-knee. Have a wonderful time!

Johan W. Elzenga, professional photographer: www.johanfoto.com The Personal Touch, for all guided safaris and game-viewing vehicles: www.tptouch.com