Extend your stay in East Africa

The below extensions can be booked before or after your Masai Mara photo safari.  You can also book these extensions as a private stand-alone safari or combine any of these extensions to create your own bespoke private safari experience. On this page you find descriptions for the best Amboseli photo safari, Kenya south rift, gorilla photography tours, a northern Kenya photo safari and much more. Book one or more, and any combination of the below safari extensions, to make your safari the best private African photography safari.

Expertly guided by African wildlife photographer, Greg du Toit, design your own ‘best Kenya photo safari’ or even a ‘best East Africa private photographic safari’ from the options below. See the gallery at the bottom of this page and click on any image to enlarge.

Fill out the contact form at the end of the page to receive your own ‘best Kenya photo safari’ or ‘best East Africa private photographic safari’ itinerary.

See guest testimonials and have all your questions about African photographic safaris answered on my FAQ pages.

5 night Kenya South Rift extension

Kenya’s south rift lies in the Great Rift Valley between the Masai Mara and Amboseli. This is one of the wildest corners of Africa and is a photographer’s playground. Using a helicopter to photograph Lake Magadi and Lake Natron, not only will your memory card fill, but so will your soul. You will enjoy excellent aerial wildlife photography on this extension – watch this YouTube video I made with my iPhone.

The area offers authentic Maasai cultural photographic opportunities as we photograph Maasai shepherds herding their cattle on the dusty floor of the rift valley. This is the most authentic cultural experience you can have in Africa and is not touristy like everywhere else. Lastly, there is an awesome underground hide that we make use of to capture the wildlife in the area. This is an extension to real Africa and the exact place where my personal memoir Wilderness Dreaming culminates. I have been visiting the south rift for the past 20 years and I would like to show you my Africa.

7 night ‘Best Amboseli Photo Safari’ and ‘Big Tusker photo safari’ extension

This one of my most popular extensions. A 45 minute flight from your Masai Mara photo safari will take you to a private community concession to begin your ‘big tusker’ day 1 of the extension. This concession is one of the best places in Africa to photograph a big tusker and the next two days on your ‘best Amboseli photo safari’ will be spent in this concession, searching for a big tusker called One Tonne. Here we also stake out a waterhole and photograph tuskers coming in to drink. Watch this YouTube video I made on this Big Tusker Photo Safari. Next we will drive to another community concession and spend 2 nights there in search of one of the giant tuskers called Craig. The following day we drive to the neighbouring conservancy where we continue our search for tuskers. We then drive through Amboseli National Park and into the heart of an exclusive private conservancy. Here on your ‘best Amboseli photo safari’ you have full access to the national park and, more importantly, you will enjoy your own private conservancy, away from the minibus tourist vehicles. Inside the conservancy you will enjoy exclusivity and total freedom as you go about your photography. Our aim on this 2 night leg of your ‘best Amboseli photo safari’ is to photograph beautiful herds of elephants with babies (and giraffes) with the base of Mount Kilimanjaro in the background. Your camp is situated below Mount Kilimanjaro, where you can enjoy the finest view of the mountain (weather permitting) of any safari camp in Africa. I work with excellent guides who know exactly what photographers want. Our private safari truck is open-sided to maximise your photographic experience. This is the best Amboseli photo safari because it gives you access to four private concessions, all on opposite sides of the ecosystem and also includes Amboseli National Park itself. From big tuskers to baby elephants and pure East Africa scenery, this itinerary covers it all. Watch a YouTube video from Amboseli and the Masai Mara, made with my iPhone.

Best amboseli photo safari - herd of elephants

5 night Rwanda or Uganda Mountain Gorilla extension

If you are looking to make this a true bucket-list ‘best Africa wildlife photography safari’ then there is no better way of doing this than by booking a mountain gorilla photo safari…

Rwanda and Entebbe are both just a 1 hour flight away from Nairobi so a gorilla photography tour is an ideal extension to your Masai Mara photo safari. On this gorilla photography tour we will take you to the very place where Diane Fossey did her research. This gorilla photography tour extension includes two full day gorilla photo safari treks and an optional golden monkey trek. This gorilla photography tour extension is booked on a per request basis only and seeing these gentle giants in the flesh is an absolutely INCREDIBLE experience – so don’t think twice about doing it. The lodges are super luxurious in Rwanda.

If you are not specifically wanting luxury, then Uganda is the place for you to experience mountain gorillas. In Uganda you have the advantage of visiting two different gorilla habitats and while the lodgings are more rustic, they are also more than adequate with great local cuisine and friendly staff. The gorilla trekking permits are also half the price of Rwanda but all permits are very limited, so you need to book your gorilla photography tour long in advance.

Get in touch now by filling out the form at the end of this page.

Gorilla photography tour - a baby gorilla

6 night ‘Rhinos, Zebra and Giraffe of Mount Kenya’ extension

This northern Kenya photo safari extension is one of my most popular and is the perfect addition to your Masai Mara photo safari to make it the best Kenya photo safari.  Watch a YouTube video of this extension (made on my iPhone)…

Not many photographers know this, but a Northern Kenya photo safari, and specifically a Laikipia photo safari, is the best place in Africa to photograph rhino. You can photograph white rhino with babies as well as the elusive black rhino. You will also photograph Grevy’s zebra (the largest and most endangered zebra in the world) and reticulated giraffe. The birdlife is prolific on this Northern Kenya photo safari and our accommodation is in Kenya’s finest and most luxurious boutique lodges, making this a ‘best Kenya photo safari’.

Don’t miss this chance to photograph the endangered northern rangeland species and you might bump into the rather odd-looking Gerenuk or the peculiar-looking Striped Hyena. With breathtaking views of Mount Kenya on this Northern Kenya photo safari extension, you will also have an opportunity to photograph animal scene photographs on secret savannahs.

This 6 night Northern Kenya photo safari extension is quite effortless and simply one of the best photo safaris in Kenya. Extend your Masai Mara photo safari by filling in the form at the bottom of this page and requesting this extension NOW!

northern kenya photo safari - rhinos running

Northern Kenya ‘Pink Africa’ extension

4 night ‘Lake Bagoria flamingo photo safari’ extension: This Lake Bagoria flamingo photography safari is the perfect addition to your Masai Mara photo safari and a sure way to make this the best private African photography safari. 4 nights spent mobile camping on the southern shore of Lake Bagoria will give you the ultimate Lake Bagoria flamingo photo safari experience. This is quite simply the best flamingo photo safari on offer because we have special permission to put a boat on the lake. This means that you will enjoy eye-level, or should I say ‘water-level’ flamingo photography. A helicopter is booked for aerial flamingo photography. Between boating and helicopter flying on this Lake Bagoria flamingo safari, you will get the ultimate flamingo portfolio. The campsite we use is exclusive and one of the finest mobile camping locations in Kenya, next to a clear flowing stream and inside a fig forest. This is as bespoke as it gets and it is one of the best East Africa private photographic safaris you can do.

3 night Lake Logipi flamingo photo safari and Sunguta Valley extension:  Based in the far remote north of Kenya, on route you will fly over the most spectacular rift valley scenery in all of Africa. Photographing Lake Logipi, which currently has the highest flamingo concentrations of any lake (around 4 million birds), will complete your incredible Pink Africa experience. Photographing flamingoes from above is an ‘out of Africa’ experience not to be missed and this Lake Logipi flamingo photo safari offers this in spades. If you have a penchant to go off the beaten track then this Lake Logipi flamingo photo safari extension is definitely for you! Watch this YouTube video now.

pink africa photo safari - flamingoes flying

Everyone who has done the Pink Africa extensions have said that it was the best safari experience of their life.

6 night Tanzania chimpanzee photo safari – trekking chimpanzees in the Mahale Mountains

The Mahale Mountains of Tanzania are home to the largest wild population of chimpanzees in the world. Less commercial, more pristine and exclusive than Kibale, Mahale offers the ultimate place to do a chimpanzee photo safari.

We have our own guide and trackers, so you can take your time on this great ape photo safari and if you do not want to hold the group up, you can wait and rest, and then have your own private chimpanzee viewing. This highly exclusive Greystoke chimpanzee experience is regarded among African aficionados as one of the finest safari destinations, and tops the list of any ‘best private Africa photo safari’ itineraries. To get a feel for this extension watch the YouTube video below. Your camp has the most spectacular safari setting of almost any camp, making this one of the best East Africa private photographic safaris you can do.

A great ape photo safari is very challenging from a photography perspective as the forest is dark, with bright highlights breaking through. That is why, on this chimpanzee photo safari, you have a professional wildlife photographer on hand. I have been trekking chimpanzees in Mahale for over a decade now and each morning I will help you get set up with the correct camera settings. On this great ape photo safari you will enjoy three chimpanzee treks. This chimpanzee trekking extension includes 4 nights in the Mahale Mountains and a night either side in Arusha.

great ape photo safari - chimpanzee

4-7 night ‘Wild Ruaha Photographic Safari’ extension

Ruaha National Park is known as the ‘connoisseur’s park’ and not for no good reason, as it offers pure unadulterated wild bush country. This is why a Ruaha photographic safari is included on the best East Africa private photographic safari itineraries…

On this Ruaha photographic safari extension you will enjoy a southern Tanzania safari experience that will take you to parts of Ruaha that few photographers ever get to see. A wilderness safari and canvas camping experience is what this extension is all about. Ruaha is regarded as one of Africa’s wildest bush parks and it has exceptional baobab trees, perfect for star trails.

This Ruaha photographic safari extension is booked on a private request basis only. Watch this Wild Ruaha Photo Safari YouTube video.

ruaha photographic safari - baobab startrail

Any one or combination of the safari extensions can be arranged to make this a safari of a lifetime.

Your photographic possibilities on these EAST AFRICA extensions

Kenya Safari Guest Testimonials

'Since our very first contact, Greg gave me lots of advices about safari destinations and about photography. He always answered my hundreds mail (sorry Greg 😉 ) helping me to find and book the best travel for shooting hippos and to buy some photographic stuffs I have never seen before. I have known a man who really loves Africa and wildlife and most important, who knows lot of things about Africa and wildlife, but at the same time you can talk to him as you talk to one of your friend. I dont write about his knowledge of photo gears and technique as it would be superfluous. I can only say that my skill level is increased by several steps. His advices during safaris were, in my opinion, the best part of my entire time spent in Kenya. During my time spent in the bush, I really feel myself like a photographer, not like a tourist. Thank you, thank you so much!'

Nicola Cappelletti (Italy)
To Greg, Thank you for giving us such a wonderful safari in Amboseli and the Masai Mara, and for letting us see Africa through your eyes. We were enamoured by your extraordinary life and your total love of Africa and the bush. Thank you for all your amazing stories of your adventures and the weird and wonderful people you have met (there's nowt so queer as folk!). As a token of our appreciation we hope you will enjoy this book by a fellow great photographer. We hope our paths will cross again.

Flemming and Sonia (Scotland)
Greg, your presence on our safari made the whole experience five-star. Thank you for sharing your vast knowledge of the land, animals, birds, and history. Outside of safari time I loved listening to your stories and funny sense of humour. Thank you again for a trip of a lifetime.

Geraldine (Houston, Texas)
'Good morning Greg. I trust you got home safely. Thanks for being such an incomparable guide and company. See you in February, if not before (maybe October).'

Stephen and Eric Cheek (UK)
'It was such a privilege to spend a week with Greg. On all levels he is a joy to spend time in the bush with. Its really apparent through his passion, knowledge and talent why he was The Wildlife Photographer of the Year. We had some amazing sightings. From following mating leopards for 5 hours on my birthday to packs of wild dogs, cheetahs, and 19 different leopards. Oh, and two snakes! And of course, spending some time with Claire was very special to us.'

Deborah Keener Brown (USA)
'Dear Greg, the training and experience with you has been even better than we expected. You bring out the best of Africa as you teach us each day to appreciate the animals and capture the best moments with pictures. You are patient and professional and we look forward to another journey with you. Best to you, Bob 'the camera caddy' and Jacquie.'

Bob and Jacquie Paul (USA)
'Hey Greg, It took three days to download and organize my 5412 files! You blew me away with your kindness, graciousness, and expertise. Okay, so now I am bit and I can't wait to go back. The wild is the only thing that makes sense and I understand what motivates you. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for introducing me to your world and for sharing your experience, strength, and hope for the future of conservation.'

Nell Dickerson (USA)
'Greg, thanks so much for the outstanding private safari in the Okavango Delta. The itinerary that you developed gave us a terrific mix of magical Delta experiences, with fine camps and excellent local guides. The most important ingredient in this terrific experience, however, was you. On the photographic front, we were inspired by your commitment to artistic creativity and excellence, as well as ethical practices, in the capturing of wildlife images and greatly appreciated your graciously shared world class photographic expertise. We were delighted to find that you are also a knowledgeable naturalist, with wide-ranging expertise and engaging stories (and a voluminous reference library on your phone!) about both the fauna and the flora of Africa. We were encouraged by your commitment to conservation! We look forward eagerly to joining you in the Masai Mara next year and in the South Rift Valley!'

Mark and Bonnie Overgaard (USA)