15 accessories for a photo safari

A few years ago, I had the chance to make one of my dreams come true: the kind of experience you usually only see in wildlife documentaries, going on a photo safari. I spent a week in Tanzania exploring Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara, and Tarangire. After helping you choose your camera equipment for a safari, I wanted to share 15 accessories you might need for a photo safari, because on a trip like this, you really don’t want to forget anything!

The first, and by far the most useful accessory, is a beanbag. So what exactly is it? Basically, it’s a canvas bag you can buy on Amazon, for example, that lets you rest your telephoto lens on the edge of the vehicle without damaging it. Believe me, I really missed having one during the safari because I hadn’t done enough research beforehand.

A beanbag, a very useful accessory on safari – More details on Amazon

Depending on your safari setup, you may be carrying more than 2 kg of camera gear… and after 8 to 10 hours a day in a vehicle, it gets heavy and tiring very quickly. These bags are usually sold empty, so the idea is to fill them with rice, beans, or lentils. You want them to stay flexible enough so you can easily move them around the edge of the vehicle!

So yes, you may be wondering why you should bring filters on a photo safari. In quite a few situations, and depending on the season, the colors can look a little flat, especially in the savannah, with its yellow and pale green tones. The main purpose of a polarizing filter is to enhance the colors of the savannah, but also the sky, making the blue more intense. I’ve written a full article explaining what a polarizing filter is used for, which filters to choose, and how to choose your polarizing filter. It can also be especially useful for landscape photos, because yes, safari photography isn’t only about wildlife!

For me, a polarizing filter is still essential on safari – More details on Amazon

This is definitely one of the photo safari accessories worth considering! A GND filter may be less essential on safari, but I still had one in my camera bag. It can be especially useful in the evening at base camps, in lodges (if you have the budget), or at campsites (which was my case!). These are among the rare moments when you can get out of the vehicle and do some landscape photography. If the scene has strong contrast, a graduated neutral density filter can be very useful. These are usually the two travel photography filters I fully recommend. Personally, I had this model as my GND filter.

The purpose of this article is not to go into camera bags in detail, but a good bag is clearly one of the accessories I recommend for this kind of trip, and for travel in general! Since first writing this article, we’ve also published a full guide explaining everything you need to know about choosing your camera bag.

On a trip like this, whether you rent your camera gear or bring your own, you’ll quickly end up with a lot of equipment once you count the camera bodies and all the lenses. Obviously, throwing everything loose into a regular bag is not really an option for this kind of gear, especially given the price.

Camera bags come at almost every price point. The Lowepro brand is very well known in the industry. A few years ago, I personally bought a bag from F-Stop, the Loka 37L model. For now, I’m completely happy with it!

This one may be debatable, but I think that if you have enough room, you shouldn’t hesitate to bring a tripod or a monopod. A monopod, with its single leg, can be especially useful in the vehicle as a support for your camera gear, so you don’t have to carry the weight all the time. That said, some photographers still prefer the beanbag, which is probably more practical inside a vehicle.

My tripod for the safari, from Sirui – More details on Amazon

A tripod will be especially useful if you want to take photos when you’re outside the vehicle, but only where it’s allowed, of course. I’m definitely not encouraging you to jump out and get chased by a lion in the middle of the savannah… At campsites and in a few other places, you may have the chance to shoot long exposures along riverbanks or try some star trail photography.

It may not be an essential accessory for a photo safari, but I took mine. It also works as both a tripod and a monopod, since I can remove one leg from the tripod if needed.

This is a very simple accessory, but it’s so basic that I didn’t even think about it for my safari. The idea behind these zippered bags is to store anything that isn’t dust-resistant, especially batteries, memory cards, compact cameras, and so on.

Here again, it’s quite basic, but I recommend bringing at least:

• Cleaning cloths to clean your lenses
• A camera brush for cleaning your camera
• An air blower (I like this one)

Great gear for cleaning your equipment on a photo safari – More details on Amazon

Keep in mind that you’ll be eating dust all day long, and so will your equipment. Personally, I carefully cleaned all my camera gear every evening, away from the wind. You can also buy a smaller, inexpensive kit, which is very practical.

This one is obvious too. It’s hard to recommend a precise number, but keep in mind that you’ll be shooting a lot… really a lot.

So even if a camera battery isn’t cheap, especially a branded one, I recommend at least 2 or even 3 per person. Depending on the country or the type of safari, you may not have access to electricity for 2 or 3 days, maybe longer. I also recommend buying branded batteries to avoid any unpleasant surprises, and testing them before you leave!

It’s more or less the same story as with batteries! The more you shoot, the more memory cards you’ll need. You don’t need to bring dozens, but at least 2 or 3 is safer. In my case, I emptied my cards every evening onto my computer, with a second backup as well.

Perfect for storing memory cards – More details on Amazon

For storing memory cards, waterproof cases like the one above are perfect for protecting them in these conditions.

And if you want to go further on the topic, I invite you to read our complete article to learn everything about memory cards for your cameras (types, how to choose them, how to use them, etc.).

This is another photo safari accessory worth considering. It’s not necessarily mandatory, but if you have several empty batteries and have to recharge them one by one, it can take a very long time. That’s why I recommend thinking about it.

A universal adapter is one of those accessories that every backpacker usually already has in their bag. If you don’t have one yet, now is probably the time to buy one. Depending on the country where you’re going on safari, there’s a good chance the plugs won’t be the same as the ones you use at home.

More details on Amazon

There is a very useful website where you can check what plugs look like in almost any country in the world.

Some people will say it’s not necessary, but being able to film a hunting scene or something unexpected is still pretty nice, isn’t it? That said, I only had my DSLR when I went on safari, and I still managed just fine.

A GoPro for filming on safari – More details on Amazon

Since then, I’ve bought a GoPro 5, which lets me film pretty much anything I want on land or underwater. It’s not professional equipment, and we can agree you won’t make the same kind of films you see on TV, but I would have loved to have had it during my photo safari.

This is one of the must-have photo safari accessories to pack in your bag! Who would want to lose all those photos because they stayed on a memory card all week and the card malfunctioned? No one! By the way, I’ve written an article about the different options for backing up photos while traveling.

On safari, online backup usually won’t be possible because internet access is limited and very slow. Backing everything up to both a computer and a hard drive, meaning two backups, is the minimum I’d recommend to keep your photos safe.

I came across this tip while searching online. And yes, it’s especially useful if you already struggle to plug in several pieces of photo gear at the same time, such as a DSLR, GoPro, compact camera, laptop, and so on.

I didn’t have one, but considering how little space it takes up, I won’t hesitate to bring one on my next photo safari. Yes, I’d love to do another one… but for now, from French Polynesia, it’s not on the agenda.

In general, for birds and wildlife, this is a very useful accessory to bring on a photo safari. It’s particularly helpful for birdwatching, but also, above all, for spotting animals in the distance!

Binoculars for a photo safari – More details on Amazon

I’m not a binoculars specialist, so I’ll let you browse the models here, for example.

Last on my list of suggested photo accessories, although maybe I should have put it first: a second camera body. Imagine the scene: a lion jumps into the vehicle and snatches your camera. No, I’m kidding. More seriously, and much more realistically, your DSLR could break down for any random reason. If you only brought one camera, you’ll only have yourself to blame in the end!

So I advise everyone going on safari to bring a second camera. You don’t need two professional bodies, but do consider taking a spare body anyway.

I hope this list of 15 accessories for a photo safari helps you know what not to forget for this kind of trip! If you’ve already been on a safari, what did you bring with you? Which accessory was the most useful? Of course, I also recommend taking a look at the essential photo accessories you need when traveling!

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See you soon,

Written by Sylvain PONS

I've been passionate about photography since 2010, learning as I went along. Today, I dedicate myself to guiding others in their choice of camera gear and sharing a variety of tips to improve their photography skills.

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