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Binoculars on Botswana, SA & Zambia tour

HuntNfun

We will be on the September 3rd trip to Botswana, SA & Zambia. What specific binoculars would you recommend for this trip? I know there are those which cost over $1000 but I am not interested in spending that much money. Can anyone recommend some that cost only $500 or less. Also, should a couple share one pair or should each have their own?

Comments

British

Well, we have a pair each, but I can guarantee we did not pay anywhere near $1000 each nor even $500 each and they are totally adequate for this purpose. If this is the only thing you want them for, I cannot justify spending that amount of money, but maybe you have more money to spend, in which case that is fine. If you have a camera with a telephoto lens, then you use that instead, that's what my husband does with his camera on occasion. In addition, the main things you are using your binoculars are for example, there is a leopard up a tree, or a lion up a tree, and you don't see that very often, or you see a pride of lions in the distance and you cannot get any nearer to them. Pretty much anything else, you just get nearer to the animals. I have not taken this tour, take it just after you, but the difference I found between the Elegant South Africa tour and the Kenya and Tanzania tours is that in the former, the vehicles go off road constantly, running over trees that spring back up and the like, so you get much, much closer to the animals. I particularly remember being right by a mother and baby rhino, the baby was so near our vehicle, I could have reached down and touched it. Another example, being in the middle of quite a good number of zebra. So of course, no need for binoculars for those! So until we get there, I do not know if this tour will have a similar strategy. I almost always have my binoculars around my neck and my camera. A tip here is to wear your buff or scarf so that the straps are confortable around your neck.
Should you have a pair of binoculars each, how good are you at sharing? How good are you with using a pair of binoculars? I am pretty good now. Depends if you will be annoyed if you get to see a great siting, and just as you give the binoculars to your spouse, the animal bounds off.

Carlsbadsue

Hi HuntNfun, I had been on 2 of Tauck's Africa trips and have not taken binoculars on either trip. I don't recall ever wishing that I had them, either. I bought some before my first trip but did not take them, as they were too cumbersome. I am planning my next trip to Africa, so after your trip, please post your opinion.

Susan

BayStater

In Tanzania, I personally relied on my camera lens (serious zoom) and was very happy with just that... because I could see, focus and snap all at once! I plan to do the same in September for this trip.

My family had binoculars and used them occasionally (like British described); you don't use them a lot, but when you do sometimes you blink and miss the action.

I'd also agree that you don't need to spend $500-$1,000+ USD for binoculars for this purpose.

Happy Trails!