A new study has revealed that photographers venturing into Africa don’t necessarily have to choose between wildlife photography during daytime safaris and astrophotography at night.
That’s according to Yellow Zebra, a UK-based safari agency, which has compiled a ranking of the top ten African countries for nighttime safaris – potentially ideal photography opportunities for both wildlife photographers and astrophotographers.
Zambia comes out on top, according to the agency, followed by South Africa and then Zimbabwe.
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To create the list, Yellow Zebra compared four factors: whether night driving is permitted; species likely to be active after dark; required guide training standards; and light pollution, scoring each of these out of ten, then calculating a combined score for all nations.
(Image credit: Flatdogs Camp)
Zambia achieved a total overall score of 8.38, with a 10/10 for nighttime wildlife. The country is a particularly hot spot for nocturnal animals, with species such as leopards, civets, genets, honey badgers and bushbabies all active after sundown.
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Fourth-place Botswana is of particular interest to astrophotographers, with Yellow Zebra giving the southern African nation a stellar 10/10 for its dark skies.
The country also stands out for its exceptionally low levels of light pollution, scoring just 1.38 on the Bottle light pollution scale – an important indicator for nighttime photographers wanting to capture celestial objects.
Magashi, Akagera National Park, Rwanda (Image credit: Etendeka Walking Trails)
So while Botswana boasts the dark skies for astro shoots, a Zambian adventure might be your best bet for spotting nocturnal animals. Outside of these countries, South Africa and Zimbabwe are the strongest alternatives.
Perhaps, after all, the best time to experience an African safari isn’t during the golden hour – but after it. You can see the full rankings here.
Here’s our pick of the best cameras for astrophotography and the best cameras for wildlife photography.