If you’ve never heard the term before, a hide is exactly what it sounds like.
A hide is a concealed structure that allows you to watch and take photos of wildlife without being seen. Think of a small (or not) purpose-built (or existing structure adapted) shelter, often sunk into the ground or built into a riverbank, with narrow openings at eye level or below it. And it’s through those gaps you can stick your camera lens out to photograph whatever comes into the frame, whether that’s on the banks of a river, a waterhole or elsewhere. Importantly, inside, you stay quiet and still preferably. Outside, the world carries on as if you’re not there.
What’s most important is that last sentence…. when you’re in a safari vehicle, the animals know you are there. 99.999% of the time they tolerate you, but they’re aware of you. In a well-designed hide, you effectively disappear. Of course they may smell you or sense you, but because you’re less obtrusive, you get the privilege of witnessing their natural behaviours in the most unfiltered way and on the animal’s own terms! You can see elephants drinking without tension, predators moving without pause, birds nesting at arm’s length. For photographers, this difference is really profound. So as an amateur photographer, my images taken from a hide don’t look anything like the photos I take from a vehicle.
Africa has some of the most extraordinary photographic hides in the world from underground chambers in Botswana, floating hides in Zambia and around-the-clock access in Namibia. Here are some of our current favourites.
Ol Donyo Lodge| Chyulu Hills | Kenya
The hide with dedicated host
Sitting on 111,000 hectares of private conservancy land between Tsavo and Amboseli, Ol Donyo Lodge occupies one of Kenya’s most photogenic landscapes – the rolling green hills of the Chyulu range, with Kilimanjaro occasionally visible on the horizon and big tuskers moving through land that feels genuinely unhurried.
The lodge’s semi sunken photographic hide is one of the most thoughtfully designed in Africa, but what truly sets it apart is what happens inside it.
A dedicated staff member is based in the hide throughout your session and boy does it make a difference. The team member isn’t a passive presence, he or she can be as active as you want them to be! We got cold drinks, great story telling on the big tusker we photographed and help with settings and even lens changing so I didn’t miss a moment! So for photographers at any level, having that engaged or quiet, knowledgeable support changes the entire experience! You stay entirely focused (pardon the pun) on what’s in front of you, which is often extraordinary.
The waterhole attracts the big tuskers for which this corner of Kenya is famous, alongside plains game in continuous variety and exceptional birdlife. Guests can spend an entire day at the hide and some do. Overnight stays are possible too, opening the door to nocturnal photography that most African destinations simply can’t offer.
Ol Donyo is one of those places where you genuinely lose track of time. You arrive at the hide thinking you’ll stay an hour in between activities and suddenly it’s late afternoon and you haven’t moved! Every time we contemplated leading, something else walked into the frame. We had a great time in the hide and appreciated the help and guidance that came with our host and his stories of the elephants were captivating! It’s the most civilised way to photograph wildlife I’ve encountered!
Danica Wilson, Co-founder, Encompass Africa
Ol Donyo summary
Hide type: semi sunken | low level with active waterhole
Wildlife: big tusker elephants, plains game, exceptional birdlife, predators if you’re lucky and patient!
Signature feature: hide host offering guidance, lens changes, refreshments too!
Overnight: Possible with advance notice and subject to availability.
PhotoMashatu | Tuli Block | Botswana
Where wildlife photography is the point
Mashatu Game Reserve was cleverly designed by wildlife photographers, for wildlife photographers. Everything you see here, from the camp, the vehicles, the guiding philosophy, to the hides exist in service of one thing: getting you those memorable shots.
There are two hides – the Matebole Hide which was a ground breaking first of its kind in Southern Africa and to this day sets the benchmark for underground hides across Africa. Then there’s our personal favourite, the Lala Limpopo Hide. This awesome exclusive use sleepout for up to four people comes complete with small kitchen, lounge, dining, bathroom and separate bedroom for the tour leader, a ranger or guide who is there for safety, stories, advice and tips! There’s also facilities for editing photography between filming and shooting! . This is how you can experience Mashatu at night with this sleepout hide. It’s an underground hide designed for night photography. From dusk until dawn you can watch the nocturnal species in their natural habitat. The sleepout is truly sensational and we genuinely believe that the Tuli Block itself is one of southern Africa’s most under-appreciated photographic destinations. The landscape alone is impressive with rocky ridges, ancient baobabs, red laterite earth and a rather dramatic Limpopo River system. It gives every image a distinctive visual character that somehow sets it apart from Africa’s quintessential savanna landscapes and photography.
Photographic safaris run in small, dedicated groups with expert guides. The entire operation is built around maximising time in the field and in the hides. Imagine packed breakfasts, long drives, great time spent in the wildlife hide, the kind of patient, purposeful game-viewing that only a photography-specialist operation delivers.
PhotoMashatu summary
Hide types: underground (Matebole) and above ground fully self contained ‘unit’ (Lala Limpopo)
Wildlife: Predators, mammals, birds
Signature feature/Overnight: the sleepout for sure is our all time favourite experience
Landscape: Waterhole setting
Kaingo Camp | South Luangwa | Zambia
Four hides, one extraordinary valley
South Luangwa is one of the most wildlife-rich national parks in Africa, and Kaingo Camp, part of Shenton Safaris is set in a private concession offers something truly unique. Shenton Safaris boasts some of the best hides in Africa, with each one offering a unique perspective and angle. Kaingo Camp is our favourite property within the portfolio because it has access to not one, but four hides.
First up, the Hippo Hide (exclusive access to Kaingo guests) puts you at water level with one of Africa’s most photogenic and dangerous animals, close enough to hear them breathe but protected from their bite!
The Elephant Hide (again exclusive to Kaingo guests) offers frame-filling encounters with Luangwa’s substantial elephant population.
The Wild Dog Lagoon Hide and Carmine Bee-eater Hide are mobile so they can be moved with the season. The Wild Dog Lagoon Hide is right on the edge of the lagoon that’s a popular area for wild dog sightings and is typically set up at the start of the season (May/June). Yes it’s perfect for the dogs, but equally rewarding is the sheer volume of plains game and bird species too! That leads us to the Carmine Bee-eater Hide – it is put in place only once the carmines have established their nesting sites on the banks of the South Luangwa River. They usually start to arrive from August but it’s unpredictable so we always err on side of caution and recommend September or October travel. Access to the hide varies so be prepared to cross a shallow portion of the river to get to it! It’s all part of the adventure.
Kaingo Camp summary
Hide types: varies, some are semi-sunken, others built up and even mobile!
Wildlife: hippo (see video below), elephant, lion, leopard, cheetah, plains game
Signature feature: the entire camp is dedicated to photography, specialist guides, custom built vehicles
Landscape: Rocky ridges, baobabs, red earth, visually distinct from classic Africa savannah.
Amalinda Collection | Hwange | Zimbabwe
Owner run, multiple camps and hides
We have been working with Amalinda for years now because it’s a personal favourite when owner run, with quality people, safari experiences and great locations. Amalinda offers exceptional photographic hides and viewing platforms primarily at their Hwange National Park properties. Designed for up close eye level wildlife photography, you can expect some fabulous moments close to wildlife and photographs to take home as your favourite souvenir.
Ivory Lodge has a hide located in front of the main area which provides some fabulous opportunities for photographing elephants at the waterhole, especially that afternoon ‘golden hour’. Khulu Bush Camp offers sunken hides where you can be at eye level with elephants drinking from the waterhole.
Sable Valley has an underground hide in front of camp that operates day and night. You can photograph elephants, buffalo, the rare sable antelope and there’s even wifi, camera and computer charging plugs, a mini bar and seating
So there really is a lot to choose from.
Amalinda Collection summary
Hide types: varies, some are semi-sunken, others built up
Wildlife: elephants, plains game, birds
Signature feature: the wifi and charging points, fireplace and mini bar at the Sable Valley hide
Zimbabwe note: This is one of the continent’s most under-rated destinations with exceptional wildlife, almost no crowds and great hides!
Camp Kala | Onguma | Namibia
The hide at any hour
Welcome to a more recent addition to the scene and perhaps one of my favourites already! Onguma is a stunning private reserve in Namibia on the Eastern boundary of Etosha National Park.
Most hides require advance planning with a transfer, a guide, a scheduled session! But at Camp Kala, Onguma is doing it differently! The hide sits directly below the main lounge and bar deck, accessible any time of day or night. This access changes everything! You can slip down before breakfast, return mid afternoon when the light shifts or spend hours after dinner waiting for something at the waterhole. There’s only four suites in the entire camp so the hide is never crowded, often it’s entirely yours! Now that’s just how we like it.
The perspective is water-level and genuinely low. You sit with your camera resting at ground height or lying completely flat for the most dramatic angle.
The waterhole attracts elephants, lions, leopards and remarkably black rhino! Etosha’s black rhino population is one of the most accessible in Africa, and the hide’s position gives photographers a quality of encounter with this critically endangered animal!
There’s also the Onkolo hide, located elsewhere on the Onguma Reserve and it’s purpose built for photographers with eight windows, beanbag rests at every position and a dedicated focus on the wildlife moving between the reserve and Etosha.
Camp Kala summary
Hide type: luxury water level, 24 hour access directly below the main lodge
Wildlife: black rhino, elephant, lion, leopard and more
Signature feature: Anytime access, four suite exclusivity
Also: Onkolo Photographic Hide also on the reserve with 8 windows, dedicated photographer design
Make a photographic hide a centrepiece of your next safari
Experiencing time in a hide is unlike any other safari activity. Just bear in mind some hides are better in the dry season when wildlife concentrates at the waterholes. Some like the carmine bee-eater hide at Kaingo Camp only operate during specific months of the year. And some like those at Mashatu need to be booked well in advance as it sells out quickly!
Whether you’re planning your first safari or your fifteenth, we’d love to help you experience the thrill and reward of a photographic hide in Africa.