Kamchatka photo tour 2018: Land of Giants, 12 – 26 August

I invite you to a grand photo tour to Kamchatka. We’ll spend two weeks in the land of volcanoes and geysers and visit the most beautiful places of the wonderful Kamchatka. It’s wild and unique land at Far East of Russia. You can barely find a landscape photo tour on the net – but this land is packed with remarkable places!

We will move from one location to the other by 6WD hard truck remastered as comfortable bus (you may take a look at backstage from previous journeys down the page). You will be served by a team of professionals: me as english-speaking photo-leader with good knowledge of shooting locations, a professional driver, a chef, local guide. We are trying to make the tour as much comfortable as we can knowing Russian wild conditions. This tour is guided by Anton Agarkov. He’s professional landscape photographer based in Moscow.  Anton fluently speaks English.
Main highlights of the tour are:

            • Visit famous valley of giants – land of volcanoes
            • 6WD off-road with experienced drivers
            • Functional volcanoes: Klyuchevskaya, Tolbachik
            • Cook toasts on a hot Tolbachik lava
            • Meet wildlife with local guides: foxes, bears…
            • Take optional hiking trails through former lava fields and high volcanoes

 

Day 1 – 12 August 2018, Sunday

Arrival to Petropavlovsk. If you fly from Asia, you can fly via Vladivostok. If you fly from Europe/USA you can fly via Moscow, and take direct flight Moscow – Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy. We meet you at the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy airport and transfer to our hotel.
Checking in to the Flamingo hotel (like Blue lagoon hotel in Iceland with a natural hot springs pool). Rest and relaxation in hot springs. We’ll have a discussion about the photography in general and the upcoming adventure in particular during our first dinner together. We meet our local English speaking guides and discuss the route with them.

 

Day 11

Today we move back to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy to spend a night at hotel there. The drive back didn’t change – its 500 km. That’s why we need a full day to plan our move to the next beautiful Kamchatka area, Mutnovskiy and Goreliy volcanoes.


Price: 4900 USD


Included in the price:

Mention that it is a full-board tour. You do not need to pay additional fees – everything except air tickets and souvenirs is included.

      • 2-person accommodation in hotels and camp tents during the adventure
      • Transportation, all transfers using 6WD truck with comfortable seats
      • Fuel
      • Meals – Fullboard, all meals including fresh fish and meat, vegetables
      • Driver of 6WD truck wages
      • Tent and camping equipment hire
      • Chef’s services (full board)
      • National park fees
      • Local guides’ services
      • Professional photography English speaking guide, with great knowledge of locations

 

Not included in the price:

        • Airfare to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
        • Medical insurance
        • Visas (but we will prepare all needed documents for your visa – invitations, supporting letters etc)
        • Alcoholic beverages
        • Single supplement (single tent, single hotel rooms) – 500 usd

          Optionally you can enquire about the tour to Kurilskoye lake (wild bears photography) and heli-hiking tour to Geysir valley.

 

What to bring

Gear:
– DSLR camera with tripod and remote shutter release
– A wide angle lens. For example, Nikkor 14-24 or Canon 17-40.
– A middle-zoom lens such as a 24-70 mm
– A telephoto zoom lens, such as a 70-200 mm
– A super-telephoto lens like 200-500 Nikkor for wildlife photography (optional)

Wear:
– Waterproof and windproof jacket (consider the average temperature +5 – +10 C at nights and +10 – +20 C during the daytime)
– Waterproof pants
– Warm jacket and thermal pants
– Casual clothes for hotel/city
– Your own sleeping bag (you may ask us about it if you haven’t got one)
Full list will be sent to participants

In-field conditions:

We will move by a 6WD truck (you may find its picture in the announce gallery). It looks like a ordinary intercity bus inside. It has electricity sockets, water supply. We are sleeping in tents on the route, but there are 6 nights in hotels. We are taking good hotels near hot springs, thus you can take a hot bath after a long journey. We have cabins in the village between locations.
You can charge batteries in the car or using generator in the evening. If you are filming video, 3-4 batteries are needed. For photography, 2-3 batteries are enough.
We have a field-kitchen and a chef, so you do not need to worry about food. We can always have a meal in tent. You’ll taste famous caviar and red fish of Kamchatka. If you are vegetarian – we will prepare a special menu for you.
There are several precautions about moving in the fields, we will give you safety instructions to avoid sudden meeting with bear. We will have local guides with necessary equipment (fire, spray etc) to protect you. A satellite phone, emergency fires for everyone. Its necessary to move only in groups at least 3-4 persons, better to move with me or local guide. I place the safety as number one among all things I need to say to you. Anyway it is much more safer to move then in Canada: its a berry and fish season for bears, so they are not hungry and very calm.

You do not need to wear backpacks, just your photography equipment. The tour is suitable for all ages. The camp is always near the 6WD truck. You do not need to bring camping gear, just your sleeping bag and your own wear.

The weather
I’ve choosen the most dry and sunny season (statistically). That is the end of the summer. It is still very warm and there are almost no insects in the air. But it may be quite cold at nights and chilly (up to +5). So please prepare your wear. You may take even a suitcase on the tour, but I recommend to take a road pack or simple backpack – its easier to store it.

We will be 13 photographers maximum and 4-5 suppling personel like drivers, chef, local guides.
Investment
Please take in consideration that to secure the spot I request a deposit of 2000 usd. The policy is simple: if the tour is cancelled due to some disasters like volcanic eruption, I will return the whole deposit. Otherwise it is non-refundable. In any case where tour is cancelled by any unforeseen circumstances, the deposit is refunded. The other part of the sum should be transferred three months before the start of the tour (by end of May). If you cancel the tour after 31 May, 50% of the sum is refunded. If you refuse of the spot in the tour after 31 June, the whole sum is non-refundable. You can secure your spot by deposit via bank transfer. Please inquire about any questions concerning your investment.

Level of activity
Moderate. Wild conditions: sleep in tents, walk with your equipment to locations up to 1 hour.


Tour leaders

 

Anton Agarkov

This tour is guided by Anton Agarkov. Anton is a travel and landscape photographer based in Moscow. Anton spends more than 200 days a year traveling mostly in Russia and Central Asia focusing on natural reserves and hart to reach locations. For the last five years Anton organises photography expeditions and workshops. In 2014 singlehandedly organised 6 months expedition over Central Asia covering 4 countries and multiple nomadic cultures of this region. Works as a landscape and travel photography tutor. Tamron Ambassador and Marmot pro-rider and photographer in Russia. On egular basis works with companies such as Carl Zeiss, Nikon, Gitzo.

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