Trip Information

Dates: August 31 – September 12, 2006

Price: $5475 USD, $6675 CDN,
Single supplement $250 USD, $295 CDN

Leaders: Richard Knapton and Lucy Chang (and local guides)

Highlights:
• The Cape Floral Kingdom – the most species-rich on earth
• World famous Kruger National Park – unparalleled wildlife diversity, especially birds and big mammals!
• Cape Peninsula, with numerous endemics including the endearing African Penguins

Featured Birds and Mammals:
• Blue Crane
• Cape Griffon
• Cape Sugarbird
• Kori Bustard
• African Penguin
• Cape Rockjumper
• Victorin’s Warbler
• Ground Woodpecker
• A wealth of large herbivores (antelope, zebras, elephants, giraffes and more) and carnivores (lions, leopards, hyenas and more)

Featured Wildflower Locations:
• Kirstenbosch Gardens
• Harold Porter Botanical Garden
• Waylands Wildflower Reserve
• Oudepus Wildflower Reserve

Trip Summary:
• Fairly leisurely pace, most walks on level ground, some on rocky inclined terrain
• Good to excellent lodgings
• Optional night drives
• Good food
• Transport by minibus
• Variable weather, especially at the Cape, from cool to hot, with rain possible
• 6 to 12 participants
• All meals included

An exciting and unique tour combining birding and botany, both wildflowers and gardens, in two fabulous areas of South Africa, the stunning Cape and the superb Kruger National Park, at the best time of the year, September, the start of the southern spring. Birds will be in full breeding plumage as they start another breeding season. The early rains may have coaxed life from the desert and with luck we will witness one of the best wildflower displays in the world. The Cape Floral Kingdom, or Fynbos, is the most species-rich on earth, with thousands of species of which the majority are found nowhere else. In the Cape area, we visit several gardens and wildflower preserves, including one of the world’s finest, Kirstenbosch, renowned for spectacular floral displays and collections of indigenous plants such as Proteas, Restios and heaths. The Cape peninsula supports a wonderfully diverse array of birds, from endemics such as Cape Sugarbird, Cape Rockjumper, Orange-breasted Sunbird and many more to African Penguin, Blue Crane and Black Eagle. The spectacular floral displays in Namaqualand are breathtaking. We then experience world famous Kruger National Park, a land of acacia and broad-leafed woodland, with impressive wildlife diversity ranging from the “big five” including Leopard to unparalleled and exceptional birding – the park boasts a list of over 500 species! A wonderful and exhilarating tour!

See detailed itinerary below.

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Itinerary

Day 1
Arrival in Cape Town. We transfer to our comfortable accommodations, keeping a lookout for Hadada Ibis, Red-eyed Dove, Cape Bulbul, Cape Robin-Chat, Dusky Flycatcher and Cape White-eye. Night near Cape Town.

Days 2 and 3
We spend our first two days investigating the Cape Peninsula and Table Mountain. We visit Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, fabulous gardens located on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain and an excellent introduction to the Cape Peninsula bird species and fynbos flora. Among the finest botanical gardens in the world, Kirstenbosch is renowned for its spectacular floral displays and pleasant and varied landscapes, and is famous for its collection of indigenous plants such as Proteas, Restios and heaths. The gardens and adjacent fynbos and native forest support a fine selection of birds from endemics such as Cape Sugarbird, Orange-breasted Sunbird and Cape Francolin to Olive Thrush, Cape Batis, Southern Boubou, Forest Canary, Southern Double-collared and Malachite Sunbird.

Forest patches south of Kirstenbosch have been set aside to create a greenbelt to preserve the area’s natural character. We will walk into one of these forest preserves and look for the secretive Knysa Warbler, a skulking inhabitant of steamside thickets with a beautiful song. Other species here include Cinnamon Dove, Sombre Bulbul, Paradise Flycatcher, Rameron Pigeon, and Red-chested Cuckoo. Both Red-breasted Sparrowhawk and African Goshawk occur here, as do African Sedge Warbler, Burchell’s Coucal and Common Waxbill.
At Strandfontein treatment ponds, African Fish Eagles roost in trees near the ponds. Depending upon water levels, we could find an impressive list of waterbirds - Eared and Great Crested Grebes, Maccoa Duck, Southern Pochard, Cape and Red-billed Teal, Cape Shoveler, Yellow-billed Duck, South African Shelduck, Purple Gallinule and White Pelican. There will be challenges as we attempt to sort out difficult groups such as cisticolas and warblers - Levaillant’s Cisticola in long grass, African Marsh Warbler and Cape Reed Warbler in reedbeds. Wading birds include Greater Flamingo, Pied Avocet and African Black Oystercatcher, and African Marsh Harrier hunt over thickets.

Cape Canary, Spotted Prinia, and Pied Barbet amongst many others occur at Rondevlei on the Cape Flats, along with several swifts - African Black, Little, Alpine and White-rumped. Several hides overlook the marsh affording excellent views of a wide variety of water and marshland birds which should include Caspian Tern, African Darter, Malachite Kingfisher, White-breasted Cormorant and Black-crowned Night Heron.

We take in the penguin colony at Boulders Beach where over 900 pairs of the globally threatened African Penguin nest in burrows on sandy beaches among granite boulders. The penguins have become accustomed to sharing their beach with tourists, such that we can walk among the birds. Cape and Crowned Cormorants roost on the offshore boulders, while White-backed Mousebird and Bully Canary inhabit thickets nearby.

The Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve at the tip of Africa is a spectacular area of rugged coastlines and windswept moorlands and is famous for its striking landscapes, rich human history, and botanical diversity — over 1 000 species of plant occur here, many found nowhere else on earth. Birdlife is somewhat sparse, but includes the localized and elusive Hottentot Buttonquail, Cape Siskin, Peregrine Falcon and Plain-backed Pipit. Commoner birds are Grey-backed Cisticola, Karoo Prinia, Cape Rock Thrush, Red-winged Starling and Cape Bunting. Chacma Baboons and Bontebok, an endangered antelope endemic to the Cape, occur here, and we have a chance at finding Grassbird, Grey-winged Francolin and Orange-throated Longclaw. Coastal thickets support Fiscal Flycatcher, and Speckled Mousebird, and White-fronted Plover and several species of terns forage along the shores.
Time permitting, we may visit Kommetjie and Silvermine to look for species not yet located. We also visit Table Mountain, weather permitting, and take the cable car to the summit where a pair of Black Eagles regularly nests, and we could find Rock Kestrel and White-necked Raven. Nights in Cape Town.

Days 4 and 5
For two days, we sample the floral and faunal delights of the west coast north of Cape Town. We head north along the Atlantic coast, passing wetlands that host a wide assortment of waterbirds including White-backed Duck and possibly Painted Snipe, and enter low, scrubby plant cover native to the area, the ‘strandveld’, a plant community occurring on sandy soils and characterized by low, dense vegetation with many fruit-bearing shrubs interspersed with stands of restios (brown, reed-like plants). This community supports a rich diversity of birds. Black-shouldered Kite, Pied Crow and Fiscal Shrike are common roadside birds and thicker vegetation harbours Karoo Lark, Cape Penduline Tit, Karoo Robin, Layard’s Titbabbler, Long-billed Crombec, Bar-throated Apalis, Bokmakierie, and several sunbirds, canaries and weavers, while the more open patches should be searched for francolins and Southern Black Korhaan. Small numbers of Blue Crane occur in the roadside fields, along with a wide selection of larks, chats and wheatears.

We visit Waylands Wildflower Reserve where renosterveld vegetation occurs; the vivid colours and diversity of flowering bulbs are spectacular! It is also an excellent place to see Clapper Lark. We also drop in to Oudepos Wildflower Reserve, the largest orchid nursery in the southern hemisphere, and a delightful spot that provides great flower viewing and surprisingly good birding for cisticolas, cuckoos, larks, pipits and longclaws, and the elusive Spotted Dikkop.

The West Coast National Park is a wonderfully scenic and excellent birding and wildflower site. In particular, the northwestern Postberg section of the park, open only during the flower season (August to October), offers spectacular scenery, excellent flower viewing and birding and large mammals, including Gemsbok and Springbok.Spring wildflowers should be peaking when we visit. Roadsides could be a carpet of wildflowers, a photographer’s dream! Birding is equally good! Best known for immense numbers of migrant shorebirds on extensive mudflats, these can be readily observed from convenient bird blinds. Other waterbirds, from ducks and spoonbills to rails and crakes, can also be viewed from the blinds. Within the park, Ostrich forage on vegetated dunes, Black Harriers quarter low vegetation, flocks of Pied and Wattled Starlings occur throughout, and Cape, White-breasted and Crowned Cormorants, Cape Gannet and White-chinned Petrel can often be seen offshore. Angulate Tortoises are commonly seen crossing the park roads.

Leaving the park our route takes us along the coast to Vredenburg, St. Helena Bay and the Berg River estuary at Velddrif. The estuary and floodplain cover a vast area, extending 40 km inland along one of the Cape’s biggest rivers. This area encompasses a wide diversity of habitats, including sandy beaches, mudflats, reedbeds, riverine channels, strandveld and floodplain, and it is famously rich in birdlife. We will amass an impressive tally of plovers, sandpipers, flamingos, waterfowl, herons, egrets, spoonbills among many others. Raptors could include Jackal and Steppe Buzzards, and passerines several species of larks, mousebirds, barbets, Rufous-eared Warbler and swallows. Spotted Eagle Owls nest in copses of eucalyptus and wattle trees. Day 4. Night near Langebaan. Day 5. Night in/near the wineland capital of Stellenbosch.

Day 6
The Hottentots Holland mountains border the western Overberg and are traversed via Sir Lowry’s Pass. The pass is well-known for the numerous fynbos specials that are easily accessible just a short walk from the highway. Two such endemics are Victorin’s Warbler and the superb Cape Rockjumper. We may also find Ground Woodpecker, Familiar Chat, Sentinel Rock Thrushes and Neddicky, as well as Jackal Buzzard. Next we travel along a spectacular stretch of coastline past the resort town of Rooi Els and the commercial centre of Betty’s Bay, taking in the excellent Harold Porter Botanical Garden. The fynbos specialties occur here as well, and we might see Black Eagle gliding along the mountains. The coastline supports four species of cormorants, including Bank Cormorant, and even a small colony of African Penguins. At this time of year Southern Right Whales gathering here, coming close inshore, and we likely will stop several times to marvel at these splendid animals.

The Harold Porter Botanical Garden is a beautiful, secluded garden set between mountain and sea, in the heart of the Cape fynbos region and encompasses 10 hectares of cultivated fynbos garden and 190.5 hectares of pristine natural fynbos. Situated in the centre of the coastal fynbos where the flora is at its richest, the garden encompasses mountain slopes with their wind-clipped heathlands, deep gorges with relict forests, flats and marshes with restios, sedges and bulbs, as well as dunes adjacent to the beach with their specialized salt-adapted plants. We may be lucky to find the rare Protea Canary, found only in the fynbos, present in the garden. After a delightful visit to this garden, we head back towards Paarl/Stellenbosch, stopping in the Helderberg Nature Reserve and perhaps taking a detour through the Wine Country. Night near Paarl/Stellenbosch.

Day 7
We catch our flight to Johannesburg to start the second chapter of our tour, in the fabulous Kruger National Park. Wildlife in this part of South Africa is very different from the Cape, and our first birds could include the attractive endemic Cape Sparrow, Red-headed Finch, Grey Go-away Bird, Cape Wagtail and Rock Martin. We drive to a shallow wetland in Bonaero Park for highveld waterbirds such as Greater Flamingo, Red-knobbed Coot, Common Moorhen, Sacred Ibis, Squacco Heron, waterfowl including White-backed Duck, Yellow-billed Egret, Blacksmith Plover and Grey-headed Gull. We drive east through highveld grassland and agricultural lands to the little town of Dullstroom, about three hours distant. En route we could find gems such as Orange-throated Longclaw as well as Black-throated Canary, Red-billed Quelea, Southern Masked Weaver, Black-chested Prinia and Namaqua Doves. Widespread species include South African Cliff and Greater Striped Swallows, Long-tailed Widowbird with its incredibly long tail, and Southern Red and Yellow-crowned Bishops. Around Dullstroom, the habitat is mainly rolling hills of montane grassland interspersed with rocky ridges and marshes (vleis), a habitat not found in the Kruger National Park. Birds here include Blue and the stunning Grey Crowned Crane, Bokmakierie, Cape Longclaw, Denham's Bustard, Buff-streaked Chat, Mountain Wheatear, Cape Weaver and Amethyst Sunbird. Mammals may include highveld endemics such as Blesbok, Grey Rhebok and Mountain Reedbuck. Spotted Eagle Owls perch on street lights in the town on occasions. Night in Dullstroom.

Day 8
An early optional drive before breakfast into the high altitude grasslands may turn up Wattled Crane, Gurney's Sugarbird, Yellow-breasted Pipit and Pale-crowned Cisticola, and possibly Red-winged Francolin, Fan-tailed Widowbird, Barrow’s Korhaan, Ant-eating Chat and Red-throated Wryneck. We take the scenic drive to the Blyde River Canyon, visiting the Three Rondavels Look-out where Cape Vultures nest. New birds will come thick and fast – woodpeckers, kingfishers, barbets, tinkerbirds, widows, cisticolas, apalis and prinias, crombecs, various sparrows and canaries. The cliffs above Strydom Tunnel support the endangered Taita Falcon. We enter Kruger National Park at Orpen Gate, for our five night stay in this fabulous park.

Days 9 – 12
The Kruger is one of the most famous national parks in the world, and the oldest one in Africa, established over 100 years ago to protect the wildlife of the South African Lowveld. Covering an astonishing surface area of almost two million hectares, the park contains an unparalleled diversity of wildlife – about 300 species of trees, 50 species of fish, 33 different amphibian and 114 reptile species, plus over 500 species of birds and 145 species of mammals! Here, on the classic wide plains of the African savannah, we have excellent chances to observe Lion, Leopard, Cheetah and Spotted Hyaena, antelope such as Greater Kudu, Tsessebe, Waterbuck, Impala, Roan, Eland, Nyala and Sable, and large herds of African Buffalo, Blue Wildebeest, Burchell's Zebra, and smaller numbers of Elephant and Giraffe, and possibly, if we are lucky, African Wild Dogs and White Rhinoceros. Birds are exciting, numerous and diverse – we will amass a very impressive tally: Ostrich, francolins, sandgrouse, coursers, hornbills, scimitarbills and wood-hoopoes, many raptors including Bataleur, Gabar Goshawk, African Hawk Eagle and the incredibly large and powerful Martial Eagle, Secretarybird, koorhans, Kori Bustard (the heaviest flying bird in the world), turacos, rollers and bee-eaters, five species of vultures, woodpeckers, owls such as African Scops-owl, Pearl Spotted Owlet and Giant Eagle-Owl, landbirds such as eremomela, waxbills, bush-shrikes, robin-chats – the possibilities seem endless!

We stay at Satara restcamp for two nights in thatched two-bed rondavels with ensuite shower and toilet. The restcamps themselves are havens for wildlife, and we will have many welcome walks around the grounds. Night drives can be very productive, with chances of Lion, African Wild Cat, Hippopotamus, Steenbuck and African Elephant, and Mozambique Nightjars, Southern White-faced Owl and possibly White-backed Night Heron. At Skukuza Restcamp, nearby waterholes support Yellow-billed Stork, African Spoonbill, Comb Duck, African Jacana, Water Dikkop, Goliath Heron and Hamerkop, as well as Waterbuck, Greater Kudu and Southern Giraffe. Granite outcrops (koppies) have Mocking Chats and the delicate Klipspringer. The Sabie River borders onto Skukuza and along the river we will search for African Finfoot, Giant Kingfishers, and herds of hippo with Red-billed Oxpeckers and Nile Crocodiles can be found in the river.

Our final destination is in the extreme south of the park, at Pretoriuskop, an area of gently sloping hills and valleys are covered with dense trees, shrubs and tall Hyparrhenia grass, harvested in this region for thatching buildings. This is a rich area for different species of trees: for example, trees characterising hills include Kiaat (Wild Teak), Mountain Syringa, Candelabra Tree, Weeping and Large-fruit Bushwillow and Large-leaved Rock Fig, whilst lower slopes and valleys have Knob and Scented Acacias, Jackalberry and Weeping Boer-bean. Koppies here provide the perfect habitat for mammals such as Leopard, Greater Kudu and Chacma Baboon, and for birds such as Striped Pipit, Gorgeous Bush Shrike, Natal Francolin, Purple-crested Turaco and African Green Pigeon.

Our accommodation in Pretoriouskop is in comfortable detached round huts with thatched roofs. Pretoriouskop is the best region in Kruger to find the beautiful Sable Antelope, and we could find African Wild Dog, Side-striped Jackal and the extremely rare Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest, the only ones in South Africa. White Rhinoceros and Southern Giraffe also favour this area. Night drives here may turn up Fiery-necked and Freckled Nightjars, Bronze-winged Courser, Small Spotted and Large Spotted Genet, Thick-tailed Bushbaby and African Porcupine.

Day 13
We make an early departure, driving out of the park and climbing up into the escarpment hills. On Robber’s Pass we look for Stanley’s Bustards. At Mount Sheba Hotel, the evergreen forest around the hotel will be a new habitat for the trip and we could find Olive Woodpecker, Terrestrial and Yellow-streaked Bulbuls, Yellow-throated Warbler, Lesser Double-collared Sunbird, Chorister and Starred Robins, Orange Ground Thrush, Swee Waxbill and Narina Trogon. After lunch, we drive back to Johannesburg International Airport, arriving with ample time for late day departures.

What to expect:

South Africa is a land of contrasts, from semi-deserts to grasslands, mountains and forests, and we experience two fabulous areas in the country, the stunning Cape and superb Kruger National Park. September is when seasons change, therefore the climate should vary from warm days to cool nights, with the western Cape possibly cold, depending upon the passage of fronts. Rain is possible. Expect temperature ranges from lows in the 30s (5 Celsius) to highs in the 90s (30 Celsius). Dress in layers, with a warm sweater or jacket for cooler weather, as South Africa’s spring climate is variable and conditions often change markedly during a single day so layers can be put on and discarded. Good walking shoes or light boots should suffice at most locations. Most walking is largely on fairly level, even ground, with a couple of short stretches of steeper, rockier inclines. We stay in good quality accommodations, often in excellent birding localities. We will have game drives in Kruger, which will maximize our chances for viewing wildlife, especially large mammals. Days will usually start at first light, to catch activity in the morning before the day warms up and activity slows down. On most days, there will be a pre-breakfast optional walk, and we will have night game drives in the national park for owls and other nightlife. Most days will typically find us starting at dawn, continuing to noon, perhaps having a siesta before heading out again in the afternoon, and finishing at dusk, for a leisurely dinner during which we review what we have seen and discuss plans for the next day. Needless to say, there will be innumerable splendid photographic opportunities - bring lots of film and memory cards!!

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