South Africa Birding & Wildlife Safari

Today we will travel to the quaint highland town of Dullstroom and the Verloren Vallei Nature Reserve. We will be looking for high altitudinal grassland and wetland, and temperate forest species.

The Verloren Vallei Nature Reserve is an internationally recognized wetland reserve with high biological diversity. This 6,000ha highveld grassland reserve is located just 13km from Dullstroom in an undisturbed area of the Steenkampsberg Plateau. The Reserve, comprising open grasslands and rocky outcrops, is made up of over 30 wetland areas that create a large inter-linked wetland system. It caters to abundant birdlife and many rare and special plant species, with the best time to visit being during the warmer summer months when an array of orchid species flower.

Target birds: Cape Eagle Owl, African Grass Owl, Ground Woodpecker, Gurney’s Sugarbird, Wattled Crane, Blue Crane, Grey Crowned Crane, Blue Korhaan, Barrow’s Korhaan, Cape Vulture, Black Harrier, Southern Bald Ibis, Sentinel Rock-Thrush, Grey-winged Francolin, Red-winged Francolin, Eastern Long-billed Lark, Eastern Clapper Lark, Mountain Wheatear, Ant-eating Chat, Buff-streaked Chat, African Rock Pipit, Malachite Sunbird.

Target birds: Cape Eagle Owl, African Grass Owl, Ground Woodpecker, Gurney’s Sugarbird, Wattled Crane, Blue Crane, Grey Crowned Crane, Blue Korhaan, Barrow’s Korhaan, Cape Vulture, Black Harrier, Southern Bald Ibis, Sentinel Rock-Thrush, Grey-winged Francolin, Red-winged Francolin, Eastern Long-billed Lark, Eastern Clapper Lark, Mountain Wheatear, Ant-eating Chat, Buff-streaked Chat, African Rock Pipit, Malachite Sunbird.

Night: Linger Longer Gueshouses or similar, Dullstroom

Leaving Dullstroom, we make our way to Mount Sheba, which lies nestled in amongst mountain peaks just above the pretty historical town of Pilgrims Rest. The landscape includes steep hillsides covered in dense afro-montane forest in the upper reaches, with thorny thicket on the lower slopes, river valleys and gardens. Scenically, it is a stunning reserve. The upper slopes of the reserve that give way to open grassland are covered in beautiful examples of Protea, and these, together with an array of imposing rocky outcrops and boulders, attract a glorious array of birds.

The gardens at Mount Sheba are an excellent source of pretty flowering plants, fruit trees and open lawns. The Blyde River Canyon Reserve extends along the Blyde River Canyon's winding path, which at every turn offers more and more impressive views over sheer edges dropping 800m into the riverbed. The fresh mountain scenery and panoramic views over the Klein Drakensberg escarpment are quite spectacular and give the area its name of 'Panorama Route'. Viewpoints are named for the spectacle they offer, and God's Window and Wonder View hint at the magnitude of the scenery.

Night: Mount Sheba Rainforest Hotel & Resort or similar, Blyde River Canyon area

Target birds: Taita Falcon, African Emerald Cuckoo, Narina Trogon, African Finfoot, White-backed Night Heron, Grey Cuckooshrike, Lemon Dove, Olive Woodpecker, Yellow-streaked Greenbul, Olive Bush-Shrike, Southern Tchagra, Half-collared Kingfisher, Southern Bald Ibis, Cape Vulture, African Cuckoo Hawk, Bat Hawk, Red-necked Spurfowl, African Crowned Eagle, Buff-spotted Flufftail, Striped Flufftail, Scaly-throated Honeyguide, Brown-backed Honeybird, Square-tailed Drongo, Blue Swallow, Orange Ground Thrush, Brown Scrub-Robin, White-starred Robin, White-browed Robin-Chat, White-throated Robin-Chat, Green Twinspot, Mountain Wagtail, Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher, Barratt’s Warbler, Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler, Red-backed Mannikin, Swee Waxbill, Cuckoo Finch, Forest Canary, Cape Eagle-Owl, African Grass Owl, Wattled Crane, Blue Crane, Grey Crowned Crane, White-bellied Korhaan, Verreaux's Eagle, Ayres' Hawk Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Sentinel Rock-Thrush, Cape Rock-Thrush, Grey-winged Francolin, Red-winged Francolin, Ground Woodpecker, Gurney’s Sugarbird, Eastern Long-billed Lark, Mountain Wheatear, Red-throated Wryneck, Buff-streaked Chat, Yellow-breasted Pipit, Plain-backed Pipit, Striped Pipit, Short-tailed Pipit, Cape Longclaw, Cape Grassbird, South African Cliff-Swallow, Malachite Sunbird, Orange-breasted Waxbill, Swee Waxbill.

We make our way to the central grasslands of Kruger National Park. The grasses here support some of the biggest herds of zebra, buffalo, impala, giraffe and wildebeest found in Kruger and as a result, it is a great place to see lion.

Night: Satara Rest Camp

Target birds: African Skimmer, Brown-headed Parrot, African Finfoot, Ayres’s Hawk-Eagle, African Hawk-Eagle, Eurasian Hobby, Lappet-faced Vulture, Hooded Vulture, White-headed Vulture, Red-billed Oxpecker, Bateleur, Martial Eagle, Brown Snake-Eagle, Rock Kestrel, Grey Penduline Tit, Dusky Indigobird, Village Indigobird, African Golden Oriole, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Saddle-billed Stork, Marabou Stork, Stierling's Wren-Warbler, Chestnut-backed Sparrowlark, Verreaux’s Eagle Owl, Lesser Spotted Eagle, African Cuckoo Hawk, African Scops-Owl, Kori Bustard, Black-bellied Korhaan, Red-crested Korhaan, White-crowned Lapwing, Mosque Swallow, Southern Carmine Bee-eater, Thick-billed Cuckoo, Corn Crake, African Crake, African Mourning Dove, Dusky Lark, Southern Ground Hornbill, Crested Guineafowl, Double-banded Sandgrouse, Bennett’s Woodpecker, Gorgeous Bush-Shrike, Orange-breasted Bush-Shrike, Grey-headed Bush-Shrike, White-crowned Helmetshrike, Retz’s Helmetshrike, Lesser Grey Shrike, Dwarf Bittern, Little Bittern, Lilac-breasted Roller, Mocking Cliff-Chat, Greater Blue-eared Starling, Red-chested Cuckoo, African Cuckoo, Diderick Cuckoo, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, White-bellied Sunbird.

Kruger's historic Southern Region is bordered by the Crocodile River in the south and the Sabie River in the north. In the east, along the border with Mozambique, the Lebombo form a rugged ridge of rhyolite. Altitude varies from 140 metres in the east to 600 metres around Pretoriuskop in the west. The region is defined by the shapes of smooth granite koppies, rare trees like the Cape chestnut, coral and fever-berry, and the prevalence of White Rhino.

This is big game country, with the Big 5 mammals, big herds, and many more predator, primate and antelope species. The birding is also world-class with a very large species list.

Night: Lower Sabie Rest Camp

Today we leave Kruger National Park and make the long-drive to Wakkestroom. Wakkerstroom, located in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa, is one of the country’s prime birding destinations. This small town, surrounded by wetlands, grasslands, and forests, offers diverse habitats that attract a wide variety of bird species, including several endemic and highly sought-after ones.

We will spend the morning birding around Wakkerstroom and then drive east towards the coast and uMkhuze Game Reserve and iSimangaliso Wetland Park.

uMkhuze Game Reserve is a magnificently biodiverse 40,000-hectare Big-5 public game reserve in the Maputaland region of KwaZulu-Natal. With a bird list totalling 457 species over an area of only 40,000-hectares, a miniscule 2% of the size of Kruger National Park, it is no wonder that uMkhuze Game Reserve is considered ‘The Holy Grail’ for Southern African birders. This comparatively tiny reserve caters to an exceptional 53% of the country’s bird species. The reserve also offers fantastic game viewing with the Big 5 mammals, as well as cheetah, wild dog and suni. Muzi Pan and Mpempe Pan are both situated nearby the reserve, and offer fantastic wetland and grassland birding.

iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is entrée to a species list exceeding 380 birds. It is here we encounter some superb shorebirds, estuarine, lake, coastal forest and coastal grassland specials, and many large and small terrestrial and marine mammals and other treats that grace the province’s coastline. There is a good reason this park's name means “Miracle and Wonder”.

Night: Umkhumbi Lodge or similar

Target birds: Southern Banded Snake Eagle, Swamp Nightjar, Rosy-throated Longclaw, Woodwards' Batis, Narina Trogon, Green Malkoha, African Cuckoo Hawk, Black-chested Snake Eagle, Long-crested Eagle, Secretarybird, Crowned Eagle, Palm-nut Vulture, Sooty Falcon, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Mangrove Kingfisher, African Pygmy Kingfisher, Black-throated Wattle-eye, Dark-backed Weaver, African Wood-Owl, Corn Crake, Buff-spotted Flufftail, Black-bellied Korhaan, Common Quail, Sooty Tern, Caspian Tern, Little Tern, Sandwich Tern, Yellow-billed Stork, African Oystercatcher, Goliath Heron, Greater Painted-snipe, Chestnut-banded Plover, Lesser Sand Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Western Yellow Wagtail, Bar-tailed Godwit, Common Whimbrel, Baillon's Crake, Corn Crake, Greater Flamingo, Lesser Flamingo, African Marsh Harrier, Southern Brown-throated Weaver, Brown Scrub-Robin, Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher, Livingstone’s Turaco, Rudd's Apalis, Trumpeter Hornbill, Crowned Hornbill, Green Twinspot, Orange-breasted Waxbill, Cuckoo Finch, Red-backed Mannikin, Grey Sunbird, Black-bellied Starling, European Honey Buzzard, Little Rush Warbler, Lesser Swamp Warbler, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater.

We head to the renowned holiday town of St Lucia, where we spend the time exploring the Eastern Shores of iSimangaliso Wetland Park.

Nights: St Lucia Wetlands Guesthouse or similar (2 nights)

We leave the coast and drive towards Eshowe, located in the Zululand region of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. On the way we will visit Ongoye and Umlalazi Nature Reserve, which are smaller reserves conserving very special habitats that range from coastal forest and estuarine environments to wetlands and moist coastal grasslands. The region is home to numerous endemic and special bird species.

Eshowe is particularly known for its Dlinza Forest, a rare example of an indigenous coastal scarp forest, a type of forest that occurs in a narrow belt along the eastern seaboard of South Africa. It is characterized by tall trees, dense understory, and a high diversity of plant and animal life. This type of forest is home to many species that are adapted to the specific conditions of the forest's humid, shaded environment.

Target birds: Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon, Green Barbet, Black Coucal, Spotted Ground-Thrush, Swamp Nightjar, African Finfoot, Woodwards' Batis, Narina Trogon, Crested Guineafowl, Livingstone’s Turaco, Green Twinspot, Southern Bald Ibis, Chorister Robin-Chat, Scaly-throated Honeyguide, Olive Bush-Shrike, Grey Cuckooshrike, Blue-mantled Crested-Flycatcher, Klaas’s Cuckoo, Striped Pipit, Plain-backed Pipit, Southern Ground Hornbill, Black-rumped Buttonquail, Yellow-streaked Greenbul, Croaking Cisticola, Wattled Crane, Blue Crane, Grey Crowned Crane, Secretarybird, Spotted Eagle Owl, African Wood Owl, African Crowned Eagle, African Marsh-Harrier, Little Sparrowhawk, Black Sparrowhawk, African Goshawk, Olive Bush-Shrike, Grey Cuckooshrike, Olive Woodpecker, African Emerald Cuckoo, Klaas’s Cuckoo, Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk, Scaly-throated Honeyguide, Greater Painted Snipe, Lesser Moorhen, Red-chested Flufftail, African Rail, Grey Waxbill, Grey Sunbird, Trumpeter Hornbill.

Night: Birds of Paradise B&B or similar

We will spend the morning birding the Dlinza forests around Eshowe, before driving to the Karkloof area. Karkloof is known for its lush mistbelt forests, which are home to a number of forest-dwelling species. These forests are characterized by tall, evergreen trees and are often shrouded in mist, creating an enchanting birding atmosphere.

While here, we will visit the Benvie Gardens and the Midmar Nature Reserve.

Night: Thistledown Country House, Karkloof or similar

From Karkloof we travel through to the foothills of the breath-taking Drakensberg Mountains, where we will spend the next 2 nights. The habitat here is montane grasslands to wetlands and indigenous forests. Our accommodation is located at the base of the famous Sani Pass. On our second day, we will drive up the Sani Pass, where we will seek out high-altitude species, including Drakensberg Rockjumper, Drakensberg Siskin, Mountain Pipit, Cape Vulture, Ground Woodpecker.

Night: Mkomazana Mountain Cottages or similar (2 nights)

After some morning birding, we will drive to Durban and catch an afternoon flight to Cape Town.

Cape Town is world-renowned for its tremendous beauty and charm. It is the second-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg, and also the legislative capital of South Africa. Colloquially named the Mother City, it is a port city on South Africa’s southwest coast, on a peninsula beneath the imposing and breath-taking Table Mountain and the shores of Table Bay.

Upon landing in Cape Town, we first head to the boutique hotel, before visiting the magnificent Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden

Nights: We will spend the next 4 nights at Fernwood Manor or similar, Capetown or similar

Today we head up west to the glorious West Coast National Park and Langebaan lagoon, before visiting the Velddrif area and returning via Paarl Rock. The 36,260 hectare West Coast National Park lies 120 km north of Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and the R27 coastal road, and runs from the town of Yzerfontein in the south up to the Langebaan Lagoon. The Park was proclaimed in 1985 and is particularly well known for its bird life. The Park, with the islands in Saldanha Bay, has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area. The Park includes the beach and dune land between the towns of Yzerfontein and Langebaan, the beautiful lagoon and the Saldanha Bay Islands. More than 300 bird species have been identified here, and it is probably best known for the thousands of migratory waders in summer.

Today we will head out into the Atlantic Ocean depth on an unforgettable pelagic boat tour from Hout Bay.

Target Birds: Salvin's Albatross, Wandering Albatross, Black-browed Albatross, Northern Royal Albatross, Southern Royal Albatross, Shy Albatross, Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, Northern Giant Petrel, Southern Giant Petrel, Sooty Shearwater, Manx Shearwater, White-chinned Petrel, Black-bellied Storm Petrel, Spectacled Petrel, Cory's Shearwater, Wilson's Storm Petrel, European Storm Petrel, Flesh-footed Shearwater, Sabine's Gull, Great-winged Petrel, Parasitic Jaeger, Longtailed Jaeger, Leach's Storm Petrel, Antarctic Prion, Pintado Petrel, Southern Fulmar, Subantarctic Skua Target Marine mammals: Cape Fur Seal, Bryde's Whale, Southern Right Whale, Humpback Whale, Bottlenose Dolphin, Long-beaked Common Dolphin, Dusky Dolphin.

Overberg is a region to the east of Cape Town beyond the Hottentots-Holland mountains. It lies along the Western Cape Province's south coast between the Cape Peninsula and the Garden Route in the east. The boundaries of the Overberg are the Hottentots-Holland mountains in the West; the Riviersonderend Mountains in the North; the Atlantic and Indian Oceans in the South, and the Breede River in the East. Nestled in the Overberg, one can find the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve (registered as a UNESCO world heritage site) populated with a large diversity of flowering plants found nowhere else in the fynbos biome. Today we visit Cecilie Forest and Rondebosch Commons, before proceeding to the bird haven of Strandfontein, before heading out eastwards to Rooi-Els and Stony Point along the awesome Clarence Drive coastline. At Stony Point we will visit the Penguin Colony.

Target Marine mammals: Cape Fur Seal, Bryde's Whale, Southern Right Whale, Humpback Whale, Bottlenose Dolphin, Long-beaked Common Dolphin, Dusky Dolphin.