Marula Hill in partnership with Tsala Trails
Walk Selati with a Sony ambassador. Come home with the pictures
Six days on foot with conservation photographer Lea Milde, who sits down at the fire every evening and edits your photographs with you.
Tsala Trails are our neighbours. They run walking safaris out of Hoedspruit the old way, on foot, slowly, with a guide who reads the ground rather than the radio. This November they have Lea Milde with them for six days, and we're excited to be partnering with them on it. There are six places, and six is not many.
This is not a game drive with a camera in your lap. It's a walking safari, with drives where they earn their place, built around light, patience and one very good teacher, and it ends with a night on the ground under the stars.
Why this one
Lea Milde is a conservation photographer and wildlife ecologist. National Geographic Germany has featured her work. Sony has made her an ambassador.
Those are the credentials. The thing you'll actually value is that she is beside you for all six days and, every evening, edits your photographs with you round the fire. You come home with pictures you took, made better by someone who does this for a living.
Six guests, so nobody is waiting for the person in front to move. One private camp, so nobody else is there at all.
Who you'll walk with
Photographer
Lea Milde
German born, more than ten years in the field. For Lea, camera and conservation are the same job. She's with you for all six days and edits your pictures alongside you each evening.
- Conservation photographer and wildlife ecologist
- Featured by National Geographic Germany
- Sony ambassador
Trails guide
Koenraad Pretorius
Koenraad learned to track alongside San people in the Kalahari as a boy. A commerce degree took him into a corporate life; a serious illness took him out of it and back to the bush, where he's most alive. He leads the walking, and he trains and assesses the people who will lead it next.
- FGASA Professional Trails Guide
- More than ten years guiding
- FGASA mentor and assessor
- BCom, Investment Management
How the days go
Six days, most of them on foot
- OneArrive in Selati, settle into camp, a first drive to get your eye in, and after dinner an introduction to photographing the night sky.
- TwoCoffee at first light and out on foot, approaching the landscape slowly and photographing as you go. More stargazing and low-light work before bed.
- ThreeA half day with Selati's conservation team. Depending on what the reserve needs that week, that might mean rhino monitoring, drone work or tracking cheetah. In the evening, an open conversation about conservation and what photography can do for it.
- FourA full day's walking safari deeper into the bush to a remote sleep-out site. A shared meal cooked over the fire, then the night under the open sky, taking turns on lookout. The sleep-out is optional and depends on the weather; anyone who'd rather not can return to camp for the night.
- FiveWake in the bush, coffee, and walk back to camp. An afternoon drive to refine what you've learned, a sundowner, and a last dinner together.
- SixAn optional short walk or drive, breakfast at camp, and home by midday.
Walking is graded two out of five, taken at a slower pace with regular stops. If you can manage a long morning on your feet, you can manage this.
Where you sleep
A private camp on a riverbed
The camp is yours for the six days, nobody else's. Off-grid, a handful of tents set along a seasonal riverbed in Selati, each placed apart from the others, with en-suite bathrooms and shaded verandas. No fences. Evenings are round the fire. One night is spent out, on purpose.
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Good to know
Do I need to be a photographer?
No. Phone, camera or neither, Lea works with whoever turns up. The point is learning to see, and the editing round the fire is for everyone.
How fit do I need to be?
Reasonably. You don't need to be an athlete. Walks are slow and deliberate with regular stops, and the days are shaped around the group.
Is walking with big game safe?
You're led by a FGASA professional trails guide who trains and assesses other guides, in a group of six at most, at a pace set by the group.
What if I'm not sure?
Ask anyway. We'll arrange a call with Tsala Trails to talk it through, with no obligation on either side.
“Our walking safari was an outstanding experience. We never felt in any trouble. The sleep-out was the absolute highlight.”Joachim, a Tsala Trails guest
What it costs
R49,550per person sharing, including VAT
Fifty per cent secures your place. The balance is due thirty days before you arrive.
Flights, drinks and travel insurance are for your own account. Everything else that matters is in.
Included
- Five nights at the private camp, one of them under the stars
- All meals as set out in the itinerary
- Your own private trails guide for the six days
- Lea Milde's guidance and photography tuition throughout
- Reserve fees
- A backpack with a water bladder, so you needn't buy one
- Trekking poles on request
Not included
- Flights and travel outside the safari dates
- Soft drinks, hot drinks and alcohol
- Travel insurance and personal expenses
Six places
Ask us about one
Tell us a little about yourself and your camera, and we'll tell you honestly whether this is your kind of six days.
Ask about a place on WhatsAppWe'll tell you how many are left.
A Tsala Trails departure, offered in partnership with Marula Hill Travel, Hoedspruit · SATSA No. 3049
