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Loved by non-photographers too, our photo tour holidays offer the ultimate, small-group travel experience to the world's most wonderful and unique places - with special access away from the crowds. I love to travel, but I hate being stuck with loads of other people (especially when we've got nothing in common), being taken to the regular, over-crowded tourist attractions or wasting hours in an amazing country just relaxing by some pool. I want to get the most out of my holidays - I want to see as many different animals as I can, I want to travel through different landscapes and be shown hidden gems off the beaten path, I want to experience the culture, taste the food, meet new friends with similar interests, enjoy some luxury and importantly, I want to have the time to take some beautiful and unique photos of it all. This is what we strive for with our photography tours and workshops.
It's not enough for me to spot a distant lion, tick it off and move on - I want to have the option to try and get closer, on the correct side for best lighting and even wait for him to lift his head and stare directly down the barrel of my camera lens for a great photo - or to move on when I'm done - I want flexibility. I want the inside tips for the best photo location to be ready when the sun rises over the horizon and spills across the bay onto those boulders - and if I can't quite get my photo to work, it'd be awesome to have a friendly pro-photographer right there to offer advice (not one who'll stand in front of me to get the best shot themselves!). If there's a seal colony out on an island nearby, then I'd want to charter a boat tour out there just with my friends onboard so we can spend as long or as short as we want to get the photos without being crowded on a regular sight-seeing tour. If the seal colony was a bit of a tourist attraction on a local beach then I'd want to wait for the crowds to leave, and go down onto the beach after hours - just us as a small group, and a private ranger guide to photograph them at our leisure in beautiful evening lighting.
You don't even need to be a photographer to love this style of holiday - who wouldn't like a bit of luxury and a bit of extra patience from their tour leaders, or to be given the opportunity to fly over lakes covered in pink flamingos in Africa in a doors-off plane or over a beautiful coastline in a doors-off helicopter for some epic views? Stay on a private island, learn some new skills with your photography, make some new friends and have an unforgettable, unique holiday - all at the same time! Sound good? Well, there's a reason more than half of our guests come back again, and again on our photo tours!
Absolutely not! We have many non-photographers (and partners of photographers) enjoy our tours! As one guest said "It didn’t matter that I’m not a photographer - I used my iPhone. Just experiencing all these amazing locations at a relaxed pace, in comfort and without the crowds was wonderful!". The expert photography tuition is a bonus - the incredible access to experience the best places in a tiny group is the main thing! If you're traveling to take photos, or just as a holiday - in the end, it's all about seeing as many of the amazing animals as possible, experiencing the local food and culture, admiring the landscapes, breathing the fresh air and enjoying the whole unforgettable experience with a small group of friends. Whether or not you put a camera in front of your face doesn't really change this. We've had many non-photographers come on our tour, enjoying just spotting animals, identifying them, or watching their behaviour and by the end of the trip many of them do start picking up a camera (or borrowing one of ours) and start getting excited about photography too! Some have later gone on to become full-on photographers, to the delight of their partners! Either way, they have a ball and often come away with us again and again.
Most photography guests are beginner to keen-enthusiast level - so no need to stress that your photography may not be good enough - the whole point is to improve your photography, no matter what your level! Our tours are enjoyed by everyone from non-photographers, iPhone and happy-snap photographers right up to serious professionals. We start each tour with a quick photography crash-course, and our expert photography guides are there to help you throughout the whole tour. There is no better way to improve your photography than spending a solid week or two practicing, surrounded by amazingly inspiring subjects, with a small, friendly group of like-minded people. You will be amazed how much your photography will improve. We're there to offer as much or as little assistance as you'd like, at whatever level of complexity you're ready for.
The level of physical activity varies for each of our tours (check the dropdown for each specific tour), however none involve strenuous hiking or anything like that. In Kenya, for example, the hardest thing you'll have to do is walk to and from your tour vehicle mostly, other destinations involve things like optional snorkelling, or may include short walks or humid conditions. We've had 83 year old guests, guests with bad knees and even heart-conditions do even what we consider our most strenuous tours, so rest assured the tour you're looking at is very likely achievable. If you're concerned, just ask us. The tour information booklet we provide for each tour gives a clearer indication of what's involved for each destination. We're very mindful of the abilities of our guests and can always provide less demanding alternatives for those wishing a break.
[CLOSE]For each of our tours, we've carefully prepared a detailed information booklet covering everything including our recommendations for what kind of clothes to bring, what type of power plug, what currency, what the climate is like, language tips and plenty of other information to help answer all your questions! We'll send you a copy of this information booklet when you book, or you can email us for one in advance. As for what kind of camera gear is best, whatever you have is fine, but if you've got too much and need help deciding what to bring and what to leave behind, or if you have a bit of money you could spend on getting something really perfect for the trip, please just contact us and we can certainly help you out with what's ideal for each particular tour!
[CLOSE]Fear not - more than half of our tour guests travel solo. To help you make friends before you even leave and to be reassured and aided by the advice of your fellow-travellers (and those who have gone before you), we've created an interactive Facebook group for our CBP Voyager Club members (that's anyone who's been on, or is going on any of our tours, which also gives them 5-10% OFF any future tours!). You can find out who's coming from your area, perhaps even meet up beforehand or fly together. This is a great resource and we encourage you to make the most of it if you're on Facebook! Anyone can read the CBP Voyager Club Facebook page, but you can only interact once you've paid your deposit.
And do not worry that most accommodation is twin-share - we're good at pairing you up with a roomie who you'll get along with - it has been the start of long-term friendships for many! We can't guarantee that we'll always be able to have you sharing with someone of the same sex - it depends on the gender split, but we do our best. You can request to purchase a single supplement (a room to yourself) if you really need to (subject to availability) though keep in mind that you're usually only in your rooms to sleep as we fill your waking hours with plenty to do, and the couple of occasions we have had guests request rooms to themselves, they end up regretting it when they see the amazing friendships that form between the other roomies.
Of course we can - we've successfully catered for vegan, gluten-free, lactose-intolerant and vegetarian guests all around the world, and all have had a wonderful tour. Some destinations like Greenland etc sometimes have less availability of fresh produce so vegetarian or vegan meals may at times not be as diverse or quite as gourmet as some of the other meals on offer, but we'll do our best and I promise you won't starve.
[CLOSE]Rest assured that we do not travel through any of the major danger hot-spots like those highly warned against in travel advisory boards etc. For example, in Kenya, we do not even pass through downtown Nairobi and we operate completely away from the coast / Mombasa region and the Somali border. The fact that we like to take you to the more tranquil, less-touristy places on our tours conveniently means we only ever spend minimal time in busy, built up areas or large tourist attractions where thieves or terrorists might target - most of the places we stay at are quite rural and private, and you'll quickly feel right at home & safe.
[CLOSE]Our cancelation policies are in line with other leading tourism operators, and you can read all about them here in our Booking Terms and Conditions. We are proud to employ industry best-practices.
[CLOSE]The Voyager Club is our photo tour loyalty program! As our photo tours apparently can be very addictive (we've had guests come to more than half a dozen of our tours!), we created the Chris Bray Photography Voyager Club, giving repeat guests 5% OFF future tours with automatic Silver Membership, and then 10% OFF as Gold Members after their fifth tour with us.
[CLOSE]Either click the 'Book Now' button above and fill in your details, or simply contact us and let us know which tour you're keen to join us on, and we'll send you a deposit invoice to secure your spot, along with the tour information booklet and our Booking Terms and Conditions.
[CLOSE]Perth to Christmas Island
On Tuesdays, Virgin flies directly to Christmas Island from Perth, touching down in the late afternoon. Once landed we’ll pile into our three 4WD vehicles and head down to 'The Sunset', our beautiful ocean-front, air-conditioned hotel accommodation for the week, located in the main settlement on Christmas Island. We won't stay long because the sun will be just about to set so we’ll whisk you off to welcome drinks at a lookout before a quick introductory slide show and photography crash course followed by an amazing roast dinner as we celebrate the start of what will be an amazing week ahead!
Those keen for a sunrise shoot can come with us down to the cove just before dawn to capture the flowing movement of the ocean as it swirls past the unique rocky outcrops in the shallows.
After breakfast together back at the hotel, we've organised a special experience for you: a rare photographic opportunity and a chance to help save a species. We'll drive to to 'The Pink House' - a research centre in the middle of the rainforest, where CI National Parks captive breed populations of blue-tailed skinks (that were extinct in the wild until Parks successfully bred and re-released them in a few locations) and Listers Gecko (also extinct in the wild). One of the Parks staff will present a talk for us all, teaching us about what makes the island so unique and the important conservation work they do here, and then, if we all spend a bit of time helping National Parks with their current projects like checking the enclosures for skink and gecko eggs, helping count or clean out exclosures or whatever they need, we'll have privileged access to get some fantastic shots of these impossibly rare, colourful skinks as they scamper around their enclosures, even some great macro close-ups! Part of the deal is we offer any cool skink shots to NPW to help their conservation efforts and Chris Bray Photography will also donate $1000 to help National Parks continue the project. All in all an exciting, hands-on, and helpful morning of conservation & photography!
We'll have lunch back at Settlement and in the afternoon we'll head down to flying fish cove, don our mask and fins, and slip into the 28 degree, crystal clear water. Few places on Earth can boast a snorkelling 'house-reef' as incredible as this, and surely none so accessible, with a kaleidoscope of colourful fish and coral all around. Later, we'll gather for some snacks and drinks by the pool, head out for a shot of the sunset colours behind silhouetted palm trees at the nearby Rocky Point at sun-down, and then finish up with dinner.
After a pool-side breakfast at the hotel, we're off for a hike! We'll drive the 4WD track down to Greta Beach, halting every couple of minutes for one of you to hop out and usher red crabs off the road. The beach is amazing with Noddy Terns nesting in the surrounding cliffs, thousands of adorable little hermit crabs clambering around rocks, and for those who love beach-combing, the amount of stuff that ocean currents wash up onto this remote beach is unbelievable. In fact, it's a seriously eye-opening experience in terms of the amount of marine debris that this particular beach collects. I'll be picking up as much plastic as I can as a bit of a cleanup, and I'll bring enough sacks and gloves for you to help out too if you'd like. After seeing this beach, you'll never use a plastic straw again. It's important to see. After Greta Beach, we drive onwards to the start of the 2km track (most boardwalk) through the rainforest to Dolly Beach. The walk itself is wonderful, leading around the huge trees, vines and fungi and filled with a variety of crab species. Dolly Beach is one of the prettiest and most secluded beaches on Christmas Island. Deserted most of the time, it has the whitest sand, a fresh water stream, and is overhung by idyllic coconut palms. Turtles nest on the beach year-round too - look for the tracks of nesting adults and emerging hatchlings amongst the drifted logs and coconuts! It was ranked Australia’s 7th best beach in 2016. We'll crack open some coconuts (eat a bit if you like?) and that'll bring in some huge coconut crabs to photograph!
We'll have a picnic lunch back at the cars, and head back to town for an exclusive 'Bird feeding' session at the National Park's Seabird rehabilitation centre. Staff there will feed whatever seabirds they are caring for at the time (maybe even some of the critically endangered Abbotts booby, found nowhere else on Earth). They'll also tell us all about the island's seabirds and even give us some special photo opportunities if we're lucky.
Early start today for sunrise! We're off to Lily & Ethel Beach at dawn, up onto a headland to carefully wander amongst Brown Boobies nesting in the maze of limestone, punctuated by erupting blow-holes. Some will have eggs and even chicks, happily sitting there looking curiously at you - relaxed as can be. It's one of the beautiful things about Christmas Island, that the wildlife are so calm and unafraid of humans as they have evolved without any land based predator. If you were to lean too close (you won't as we'll give these birds a respectful distance) but they would just peck at your camera with an indignant squark rather than be scared away! Bathed in the beautiful golden dawn lighting as the sun rises over the ocean beside us, you should be able to get some magic shots here of the birds coming and and going, chicks etc.
When it gets a bit too sunny, we'll head to a nearby picnic area for breakfast, and head back to down. We won't get there for ages though, because on the way we'll find heaps of adorable red-footed boobies nesting in the trees beside the road, and some will even be down waddling around on the ground looking for sticks to build their nests with, posing for great photos with their multicolour beaks and bright red feet. There'll also be likely many red crabs around to get some classic shots of them against the green jungle. When we do get back to town however, we'll take you to the local museum - a grand old house that used to be the governors residence overlooking the cove, now filled with all kinds of artefacts, photos and history - the island was captured and occupied by the Japanese in WWII, did you know?
In the early afternoon we'll depart to photograph an old train being reclaimed by the jungle, try for swooping frigate birds at a local dam then head off to ‘The Dales’ on the far side of Christmas Island. As the saying goes, “up-hill and down-dales”, this corner of Christmas Island has several little gullies through which streams gently meander amidst what looks like an enchanted forest of trees with ornate buttress roots and fungi. The boardwalk leads us in and around beneath a jungle canopy filled with bird-calls and up to a picturesque waterfall. The top section of this waterfall has collapsed and tourists can no longer stand under it, but we can still photograph it. Be careful not to tread on any of the thousands of big red crabs - or the slightly shyer blue ones - dotting the landscape and pathway. If we keep our eyes open we might even spot the largest land-living arthropod in the world - a giant Robber Crab (aka Coconut Crab) - with a leg span of almost 1m! Christmas Island has the world's largest and densest population of these colourful giants, and to be able to walk right up to them and macro photograph their alien-like features is simply amazing. We may even get to enjoy the sun setting over the ocean from Martin Point Lookout, before racing back to town for a BBQ dinner at Territory Day Park Lookout. After dark, I'll see if I can even find you some glowing mushrooms, a giant gecko (endemic), or even spot a Hawk Owl (one of Australia's rarest raptors).
After breakfast this morning we've another refreshing snorkel in Flying Fish Cove (and/or more frigate bird swooping for those still trying to nail the perfect shot - it's pretty addictive). After lunch we have a Lightroom tutorial to go over the basics of using this program to organise and also edit your photos, followed by some of our 1-on-1 sessions, a chance for us to see how you're going, offer some feedback and troubleshoot any issues you're having, or you can use this time to just ask us about macro or flash or whatever topic you'd love to delve into one on one. In the late arvo we'll head to Golf course lookout for a great view across the island and enjoy some frigatebirds, boobies and bats soaring on the updraft at arms reach! We'll have some snacks and drinks back at the pool, then, if we're lucky, being Saturday, the local Rumah Tinggy bar might be open which is a beautiful place to chill out for the evening and have some dinner to wind up a lovely day!
[CLOSE]Boat Excursion & the Dales
After another pool-side continental breakfast at 'The Sunset', today we're splitting the group in half. Half of you will go and visit a few local favourites: You’ll head down a secret path where, perched on rocks above the waves, you can photograph birds in the air as well as nesting tropicbirds and boobies in the surrounding shrubs. After sitting here a while you’ll understand why it’s called the ‘Sitting Room’. After this, we'll guide you along a little crab-covered track to 'The Grotto' - a wonderfully secluded, flooded cave opening with a white sandy bottom glowing blue. The rise and fall of the ocean swirls through it like a refreshing, mid-jungle spa, so make sure you bring your swimmers! You'll also head up to Smith Point, and the Territory Day Park lookout over the cove: We had the BBQ here the other night in the dark, but now in daylight, we can gaze out over the bay far below. With frigate birds, boobies, bats and tropicbirds (including the stunning, endemic Golden Bosun variety) soaring majestically right past at eye-level, and the Christmas Island famous red crabs munching on the leaf-litter at your feet, you'll love this spot. Meanwhile, the other half of you will head off for a morning out with Hama one of the local dive-boat operators on Christmas Island. You’ll explore the coastline from the sea and scoot around to the NW corner of Christmas Island to a number of stunning snorkelling sites. The water is the clearest you’ll ever see! Depending on the weather there’s the possibility of snorkelling over shipwrecks and maybe even swimming with Spinner Dolphins up close in the clear blue water! We can teach you how to duck-dive under for some close-up underwater photos if you're keen.
We'll fit in a few more one-on-one sessions after lunch and later head to the Golf Course itself to look for roosting bats - the endemic and totally adorable Christmas Island Flying Fox, which should be getting active, one of the rare bat species that are active during the day!
Boat Excursion
This morning is the reverse of yesterday morning, where those who went snorkelling now go to 'Sitting Room', ‘The Grotto’ etc, and the others go on the boat to the dive sites, reuniting again for lunch.
In the afternoon, we’ll first drive out to the spectacular and newly re-opened Margaret Knoll Lookout where Christmas Island's many and varied bird species, again, soar past at eye level but with a view across half the island! We’ll then continue onwards towards Christmas Island’s Blowholes, pausing on the way at the most beautiful giant strangler fig on Christmas Island. Red crabs will be crawling around it's roots, the vibrant green moss will sparkle like an emerald in the forest, and the twists and turns of it's trunk system will have you mesmerised! It's so huge and old that it's host tree has totally rotted away and you can actually set inside it and look up the huge latticework chimney that used to wrap around the host tree! Amazing. As we drive closer to the Blowholes you'll start to hear the roar of the ocean being pushed up through the narrow tunnels in the limestone rocks. It's a spectacular boardwalk, winding along the coast and information signs, passing erupting geysers of water on either side. Depending on what the ocean swell is doing, the explosive spouts of water can tower up to 20 meters high. It is quite a spectacle in the late afternoon when the sinking rays of sunlight highlight the mist and spray. Some places get excited about having one blowhole - here we have a whole coastline of dozens of them!
As the sun sets, we'll return to town and enjoy a gourmet meal as the final farewell to what has been an amazing week!
IMPORTANT - Ensure you have read our Tour Booking Conditions prior to booking. The document covers everything from your rights, inclusions and payment schedule, to our cancellation policy and extent of liability.
All our tours are subject to minimum numbers. Please ensure you have read our Tour Booking Conditions for our cancellation policy (above).
For what we want from Christmas Island (the most diverse experience possible) May/June is the best time of year to visit. It's just at the end of the rainy season, so we can still expect a bit of rain but this just keeps everything lush and green, and there are still HEAPS of red crabs (and other crabs) littering the ground in the right places. If we were to visit in the wet season when the red crab migration is on, a) it's major rainy season then, b) all the roads are closed due to the crabs so we couldn't get around Christmas island, c) we want birds nesting, and d) the crab migration is unpredictable so we couldn't reliably schedule a tour to coincide with it, even if we wanted to.
Physical Activity - Part of the joy of this secret paradise is that so few tourists visit each year - less than 2,000 (that’s it!) - so we can’t expect much in the way of facilities unlike, say, the Galapagos. To get to the best photographic spots sometimes involves decent walks on uneven, slippery, undulating terrain, coupled with a hot and humid environment.
To put things into perspective, Christmas Island was once a coral reef that was ‘up-lifted’, so there is some places off-boardwalk where walking around involves balance and dexterity and careful treading between jagged pinnacles of savagely sharp limestone. Also, the ground is often littered and undermined with crab holes, making even a sure foot placement unstable. We don’t mean to put you off - if you have even a reasonable level of fitness, mobility, balance and dexterity you’ll absolutely love this island and if you ever feel like some of the walks are not for you there are always options and other things to photograph near by.
The longest walk on the tour is the 4km return walk to Dolly Beach; this is mostly on a flat boardwalk. We are never in a hurry on this walk and are always stopping to take photographs. The next longest walk is 1.5km return to Hugh’s Dale Waterfall, again this is mostly flat and on a boardwalk however there are a few sets of stairs at the end of the walk to get you to the waterfall. If you ever feel like you are not up to the walk there are always things to photograph near by in the car parks.
We reserve the right to decline guests from booking on this trip if we feel they may not be well suited, may hurt themselves, or detract from the experience of the other clients by holding the group back.
Return flights between Perth and Christmas Island are not included in the price of the tour, you'll have to book your own flight from Perth with Virgin Australia. The price does not include flights from your hometown to Perth, nor your return flights back home from Perth. Please be aware that the planes can only land on Christmas Island if they have a clear visual approach and while usually totally fine in May/June, it is still possible for aborted landings due to low clouds, fog, storms and other weather conditions outside of our control - this could theoretically delay flights by days at either end of the journey so please keep this in mind when booking on our tour. We will not extend the tour to compensate for any reduction in time on Christmas Island such flight issues may cause, nor will we cover the cost of your extended stay on Christmas Island if the scheduled departure doesn't occur. This is what travel insurance is for, and we require you to have it.
All meals are provided. A moderate amount of drinks are included and any additional drinks must be purchased at your own expense. We can visit the shops en-route if you wish. FYI Christmas Island is both duty and GST free, therefore alcohol is amazingly cheap to buy at the supermarket! While we strive to get you the best quality meals (including getting an external catering company to fly in fresh produce for our picnics etc.) we will dine at some of the local restaurants too, where the standard of some of the meals is not high-end. We get you the best we can. We can cater for most special dietary requirements but it’s best to discuss this with us before you book.
Be prepared to be self sufficient regarding your camera gear, we do not have loan/hire gear available.
After you book, we will email you an extensive information document telling you everything you need to know from what camera gear to bring, mobile coverage, etc.
A non-refundable, non-transferable $1,000 AUD booking deposit is required to secure your spot.
