Greg Du Toit

We had a fantastic photo tour with Greg, amazing locations and many unique photo opportunities, great lodgings too, all went smoothly from start to finish. Greg picked a great time to visit the Crater and the Serengeti it was as if we had them to ourselves. Crater Lodge Tree camp has an amazing position , whilst the rooms are somewhat quirky, we were well looked after and enjoyed good food and hospitality definitely in the best position to get down into the crater early. Namiri Plains was just perfect for us, a little more down to earth with the tented camp , nice and remote, well run, good food, a most memorable place.

Greg did himself proud, we look forward to our next photo safari with him, need to start saving up! We appreciate your help in arranging the trip.

I had a wonderful time with Greg. He's a great person to travel with, for his photographic expertise and for his naturalist knowledge, expertise and stories.

We had a lot of fun with Greg du Toit on this Kenya predator photo safari. His skills, his knowledge of the places we visited made this photo tour truly special. If you want a down to earth person to guide you true Africa, Greg is the man!

How to Win:

Amateurs seek luck. Professional plan. Artists envision. I had a clear vision and set a goal to photograph big cats at night. To accomplish that goal, I hired the best guide and mentor, one with extensive experience capturing night cats and a stellar wildlife record including Wildlife Photographer of the Year, the fantastic Greg du Toit. His outfitter, ORYX Photo Tours, are the best. Photographers only. Prepare to work and only work. Marius Coetzee takes care of everything else. Everything.

Although this trip was my first wildlife photography experience, I accomplished what I set out to do and much more. Greg took me to private, mystical locations and arranged for the most knowledgeable ranger/tracker in each region. Because they were also photographers, they knew where to position their vehicles for the optimum shot. And not just any ordinary tourist-crammed transport, but a custom vehicle modified for photography. Mount camera, lock, load, shoot until you drop. Long days. Night time magic hour. Excellent photography.

The result? I won the wildlife series category for the 10th edition of the Julia Margaret Cameron Award for Women Photographers, a division of the international Gala Awards. My series is “Night Growl.”

A series is a story told with a minimum of five shots, each one able to stand on its on, but part of a cohesive synchronic whole. The secret to success is in the editing. How to shoot a winning series? Envision, plan, hire ORYX Photo Tours, show up, and work.

Thank you so much for such an amazingly perfect photo safari!!!! Despite our occasional weather difficulties, we were extremely pleased with all. You did an amazing job and have such perfect attention to detail. We felt spoiled and privileged throughout the photo tour. Greg did an amazing job as usual and we are thankful to have had the opportunity to travel with him again. ORYX Photo Tours has a first class operation and we will refer you to the many people who ask us about traveling to Africa. I have already recommended you to two other clients since I returned. Good luck and we hope to travel with you again in the future!

I wanted to let you know that all went well on my Botswana photo safari and we had a fantastic time. I have learnt a lot from Greg, and can already see the improvement in my photography. I am looking forward to Kenya, as I am sure we will have plenty of time to add some of the finer touches. All in all it was a good photo tour with fantastic opportunities, so well done on your organization too, all was brilliant.

Just a few words to say thanks a lot for the wonderful photo tour, that you and your team, organized for Laura and me. This year all worked perfect and in extraordinary timing. Thank you for the wine in the Michelangelo, and all in all, it really was an unforgettable trip in Africa. Laura is very happy and me too. We had very bad weather in Sharks, but ORYX did a perfect work, trying hard to reorganize everything for Laura and me. Greg like always the best in everything, like a person, and like a professional. Nothing...... just thanks again to all.

The trip was awesome – the whole family really loved it! As for Greg himself, he was a total hit! Greg is another level. So very happy he could join us, and I doubt it will be the last time either. He certainly helped me out a lot, and also had incredible patience with my mum & sister who were beginners. Thanks so much for organizing this for us – ill definitely give ORYX a shout for our next safari.

A belated and brief note …in the air now to Cambodia…to thank you for all the organization you so capably put together to make our Masai Mara and Amboseli such a success. It met every expectation and more…..much more.

The camps chosen for us could not have been better in any way. The attention to detail was superb. And of course the star of the trip was Greg with his humble but extensive knowledge of the law of the bush and animals. His sensitivity to all things  around him be it is clients….now friends…his rapport with all the African guides, his extensive insight of the flora and fauna was quite amazing to experience in his quiet and knowledgeable way. He is a gem and treasure in every sense of the word. He enriched my personal experience to such an extent that I can quite honestly say this trip has been life changing…..it has made me reflect on many aspects of my life  and I know going forward will make a marked difference.

Thank you both for making this all happen and I hope to travel with you again in the future.

I have just completed my fourth photo safari with ORYX Photo Tours.

It was a trip which was specifically designed and planned for me by Marius Coetzee and which was lead by Greg du Toit.

On a safari with Greg last year we spoke about photographing the big elephant tuskers and rhino of our incredible continent.

He had no hesitation when he suggested that the best places for us to visit was Tsavo East (Satao Camp), and Solio Lodge in the Laikipia region in Kenya.

He promised to speak Marius to see if it could be arranged, as it was not one of their scheduled trips.

This was a “pioneering” trip for us, as it had never been arranged for any of the other ORYX clients before.

Despite this fact, no challenge is too big for Marius to attempt. He organized the most incredible safari for me, and that says a lot, because I have had some incredible trips with ORYX!

This safari totally exceeded my expectations, and a big thank you goes to Greg who led the trip, and Marius who planned and delivered, once again!

Then I would also like to give a huge amount of credit to Kirsty and Rainer for their efforts in all that they do, and have done to make this trip as well as all my other trips so memorable.

The ORYX Photo Tours team will be recommended where ever I can, as I had the most incredible photographic safari ever!

I commend you Marius for your vision and insight, as well as your incredible organisational skills in how you put the entire trip together, all arrangements were well organised and worked like clock work.

Finally Marius, no words will ever do justice to this incredible trip. Thank you to you and Greg for recommending it to me, and to you both for all that you did to make it such a success.

I hope that my humble photographs give you, as well as any future prospective clients a taste of what we experienced.

The birth of the reticulated giraffe was especially high on the list of our highlights, such an incredible and rare sighting, and we watched and photographed the whole event!

It was truly a trip of a lifetime and I will have no hesitation to recommend it to any of your other clients.

They are most welcome to contact me should they need any information.

Marius, as Tina Turner’s song so aptly puts it; you and the ORYX team are “simply the best” in the business!

Thank you to the ORYX Photo Tours for providing the support which made this trip a great memorable trip for us! I am sure a lot of behind-the-scenes went into the planning of these trips.

Our party of three recently traveled to Masai Mara with Greg on a wildlife photography workshop. While two of us have previously traveled to Africa on another photography workshop, it was the first trip to Africa for the third member of the team. Our experience on this trip has far exceeded each of our expectations.

The abundance and diversity of wildlife in Masai Mara was spectacular (ranging from some serious herds of wildebeest and zebras, prides of lions, cheetahs, leopards, elephants, giraffes and a rhino etc), providing numerous photographic opportunities. We also witnessed impressive crossings of wildebeest and zebras.

Greg was great not only because of his wealth of knowledge in wildlife, he also gave invaluable advice as to how to best capture the amazing scenes happening in front of us from both a technical perspective and also a art/creative perspective. He was generous to share with us his take on different subjects on location, and his award-winning technique and creativity. He also ensured that we were in the best location and have the best angle for each sighting, where we witnessed other vehicles being in the wrong place from a photographic standpoint. He was very friendly and approachable and was fun to be with during our times with him.

The camp selection and the guides at the camps were great (the guides had eagle-eyes to spot animals from a serious distance).

All in all, it was a great trip and we hope to come back to Africa as soon as we can!

First I want to say I agree totally with everything that David, Kim and Bob Purcell said about our Masai Mara photo safari. As Bob said, we choose the trip because we so enjoyed our previous ORYX trip with Dale Morris to the Pantanal of Brazil; we hoped the one to Kenya would have the same superb organization and accommodations, and provide sufficient opportunities to really observe the wildlife and countryside. Not only were our expectations met, they were exceeded in each and every case.

As the main person struggling to learn how to take better photographs, I really appreciated how David and Patrick, the guides, and Greg all worked together to give me the best lighting and angles and opportunities for fantastic shots. Greg was a great teacher ,first by example and second by providing guidance on settings and subjects and always being quick to answer my questions. Best of all, he was helpful without being intrusive. As I look through my many pictures, I can clearly see that the ones toward the end of the trip are better than the ones from the beginning; thanks Greg.

I was very glad we did not have to spend time in Nairobi, and Macushla house was the perfect place to set the mood for the safari beforehand and to compare favorite memories afterwards. The number of animals, happenings, and landscapes we saw is still difficult to comprehend; each day was an adrenalin rush with something unexpected and amazing always popping up thanks to the skills of Greg and the guides. Greg is an encyclopedia of knowledge and provided lots of interesting details and observations that made the trip so much more enjoyable; we really got at least two trips- a photographic one and a nature expedition. It was an unexpected perk to find that Greg was an expert on birds so we got to indulge in one of our favorite hobbies and greatly increased the number of bird species we have seen in the wild. When I mentioned that I would like to see a bush baby, a hyrax and a hornbill, Greg and Patrick managed to find me all three and we even got to hear the hornbill’s haunting call.

This photo safari was one of, if not the best, I have ever had. There were no bad moments, it was always fun , exciting and extremely pleasant. Totally awesome. I look forward to taking other ORYX photo tours in the future.

To follow up: our Kenya photo safari was truly fabulous! While our memories are fresh, I want to touch on a few points:

1) A brief adjustment time at Macushla house before and after the safari was perfect! In particular, Macushla house was a stroke of genius for the following reasons: away from population centers and terrorists , close to the elephant orphanage and giraffe center, as well as an excellent crafts cooperative/restaurant, and close to Wilson airport. Finally, it is a very comfortable and low-key facility with excellent food and staff.

2) We were interested in the ORYX Kenya photo safari because of our very positive experience with the Pantanal photo tour rather then because it was a photography tour. We are basically naturalists and birders (okay, amateurish birders): Suzanne is the only avid photographer among us. Basically we much prefer the slower pace of photography tours instead of the hectic pace of a birders’ tour. Consequently, it was a great pleasure to discover that Greg is an outstanding naturalist and birder as well as a world-class photographer. We think that there would be even more interest in Greg’s tours if your website indicated how multitalented he is. Birders and naturalists who lack an interest in photography would certainly be interested in Greg’s other skills. Greg played a very large role in assuring the success of our Safari in many ways.

3) Both tent camps were outstanding venues. All aspects of these facilities were top notch. In particular, the staff and especially the guides were highly professional. It was wonderful to see the mutual respect between Greg and the camp guides in finding just the right places for us to go and just the right things to see and do.

4) The balloon ride was frosting on the cake. I was the only one of us who had ballooned previously. We were all thrilled by it and had a new appreciation for the vastness of the Masai Mara from the height of a balloon. The perfect place for a balloon flight!

In summary: Well done!

We had a fabulous time, the other couple, Marion and Manfred, were great traveling companions and Greg is a really great guide and a pleasure to be around. The day room at House of Waine was an inspired idea; last time we came back from the Mara through Nairobi we had a really tedious time. This was so much better. Your communications and organisation have been excellent and I truly expect that we will be in touch again in due course. Nicola and Marion have already had conversations about our future travel together.

We are safely back from a fantastic Kenya photo safari. We enjoyed every minute of this trip! We loved the Masai Mara and had a fabulous time with Greg who is not only a fantastic photographic guide but also a humorous and sympathetic personality.

We like to thank you for the perfect organisation of the trip. A special thank you again for the day room. We appreciated the possibility to spend some time at the comfortable House of Waine!

We would certainly like to do another photography tour in the near future!

To the ORYX Photo Tours Team,

Thanks so much for another memorable safari with you guys. Namibia exceeded my expectations – we even were able to shoot the stars! The group was good and Greg did an outstanding job managing three different personalities and shooting styles. Plus, handling all our luggage and many other details, I think we wore him out! We all had a great time. It’s been a great end to a photo safari to spend a few days at Mala Mala. Roan is an exceptional guide and we have had some great sightings as well as some time to relax before my journey home – ugh. And, lastly for the ORYX staff – I just don’t know how you guys do it…..booking the best lodges for viewing and shooting opportunities….you guys are always on top of all the details that make a complicated itinerary go well. As I’ve said before, your meet and greet staff are the best. It’s so reassuring to me when traveling alone to know I will be met and escorted through the maze of the Joburg airport.

All the best and until next time.

What an amazing photo tour!!! Almost in tears leaving Namibia.

The people, the food (My Caffe Macchiato in the middle of the desert??), the accommodation, the landscape, not to mention the photos...all too beautiful to leave behind!

Greg was ever so professional and entertaining that it made the 29 hrs flying well worth it.

Would do it all over again.

The staff were so wonderful and looked after us beautifully, the bush dinners and the long table laid on skeleton beach were such a treat. The farewell by the staff chanting, playing and dancing were a most pleasant experience...

Thanks so much for organizing. It made it all an unforgettable experience.

Until the next one!

What a trip!

I have had one of the most memorable photo safari ever!

This is despite the many great trips I have experienced with ORYX Photo Tours.

I have heaps of photos to sort out, but that's I suppose what it is all about! The service, the people, accommodation and length of stay was quite brilliant. I have no complaints, only praise!

Thank you for your efforts regarding all my arrangements. I appreciate all that you have done to make my photo tours so memorable and enjoyable.

Keep well, and I will be in touch as Marius and I are busy with some future travel plans.

The Rwanda photo tour was awesome – the whole family really loved it! As for Greg himself, he was a total hit! Greg is another level. So very happy he could join us, and I doubt it will be the last time either. He certainly helped me out a lot, and also had incredible patience with my mum & sister who were beginners.

Thanks so much for organizing this for us – I will definitely give ORYX Photo Tours a shout for our next safari.

ORYX Photo Tours did us proud, from Kirsty’s exceptional logistics management, the support & help, and mostly Greg’s complete professionalism. Looking forward to June for our Tanzania photo safari!

Thank you for arranging such a wonderful South Africa photo safari for us. The lodges were great. The logistics were superb from the moment we got out of our intercontinental aircraft! Driver/guides were very good, and we enjoyed Greg’s pleasant company and photographic advice. Thank you also for the gifts Greg brought to us. They were very much appreciated. We look forward to traveling with ORYX Photo Tours again some time in future.

I actually do not have the words to describe how incredible this South Africa photo safari was. I can only thank you for bringing back this little piece of heaven called the Sabi Sands back into my life again. Your ORYX Photo Tours!

Thanks so much for all you did to make our photo safari experience epic! We really appreciated all the extra efforts to each detail. Especially, our bags and transport service….what a way to get through the airports with you guys – we were whisked away from the gate and escorted through customs. And, we love our ORYX bags – especially Russell.

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. It’s really apparent through his passion, knowledge and talent why he is 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.

Greg Du Toit is incredible! He took the time to make sure everyone understood the technical aspects involved in getting the shot, even if it meant he had to sacrifice not getting the shot for himself. His focus is getting the client the results they desire. Not only is he knowledgeable about photography, but he teaches you about the animals and environment. As 2013 wildlife photographer of the year he is an excellent source for providing you with a critique should you ask for an analysis of your work. Also, he is one of the most humble human beings on this planet.

Ngorongoro Crater was a spectacular photo safari in an amazing location in Tanzania. The service and hospitality shown by the staff at camp was exceptional and the wildlife and photographic opportunities were out of this world. I would highly recommend this African experience for both photographers and people who enjoy being in the bush.