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14 Day - Eastern South Africa Birding

The provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga on South Africa’s eastern seaboard boast some of the country’s finest birding, with a combined birdlist of well over 750 species. This impressive total is a reflection of the incredible natural diversity in the region, a factor that makes birding the area a delight. Habitats change quickly here and this comprehensive birding tour will cover all the important areas.

From the classic African savanna of the world-renowned Kruger National Park, to the teeming Zululand game reserves, the endemic-rich mist-belt forests of the Natal Midlands, the mangroves and mudflats along the coast to the lofty peaks of the magnificent Drakensberg, this tour of Eastern South Africa offers the very best of African birding and game watching.

Tour Highlights

African Penguin, Southern Bald Ibis

Black Harrier, Taita Falcon, Blue Crane

Drakensberg Rockjumper, Cape Sugarbird

The ‘Big 5’

Meerkat, African Wild Dog, White-tailed Gnu

Nyala, Aardvark, Slogget’s Ice-Rat

Kruger National Park

Sani Pass

Great food & wine

Zulu culture

Shopping

More about this tour

Rates
US$3 150.00 pp sharing. A single supplement of US$310.00 will be charged if you wish to have single accommodation. If RBT cannot provide you with a rooming partner although you choose to share, the single supplement will become applicable. We will make all reasonable efforts to ensure that a rooming partner is found if you do wish to share.

Do the Cape extension
Those who decide to do the Cape extension will be treated to a feast of endemics and the remarkable beauty of the South Western Cape. The Mother City, Cape Town, widely considered one of the world’s most beautiful cities, will be our base for the first three nights of the extension. From here we will range out to explore the varied ecosystems conveniently accessible from our comfortable base. Time will be spent exploring the breathtaking Peninsula, the succulent Karoo, flower-laden West Coast and teeming pelagic waters to round off our South African adventure.



Departure	\|	Johannesburg

Return	\|	Durban

Departure dates	\|	20 Feb 2008, 26 July 2008

Vehicle	\|	Minibus

Price	\|	US$3 150.00 pp sharing. See rates above

Itinerary

Day 1 - Johannesburg to Rust-De-Winter
After morning arrival at Johannesburg International Airport, we transfer northwards to the Rust-De-Winter area. For the remainder of the day we will explore the rich bushveld on the well-known Zaagkuilsdrift road. Included in the bounty of bushveld specials are a host of delightful species typical of the dry west; most of which we are unlikely to encounter elsewhere on tour. Possible highlights include the outrageous Crimson-breasted Shrike, Violet-eared Waxbill, Scaly-feathered Weaver and Red-headed Finch as well as more widespread species like Abdim’s Stork, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Gabar Goshawk, Ovambo Sparrowhawk, Purple and European Roller, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Kalahari Scrub Robin, Marico Flycatcher, Common Whitethroat, Red-backed and Lesser Grey Shrike, Arrow-marked Babbler, Groundscraper and the recently split Karoo Thrush, Southern Masked Weaver, Red-billed Buffalo Weaver, White-browed Sparrow Weaver, Cut-throat Finch, Great Sparrows and Cinnamon-breasted Bunting. After a wonderful introduction to South African birding we will travel to our nearby accommodations and settle down to a wonderful dinner.
Day 2 - Rust-De-Winter to Kruger National Park
We will make an early start for some final birding in the Rust-De-Winter area before we continue our journey towards the Kruger National Park. Close to our final destination, we will make a stop to look for Taita Falcon near the Abel Erasmus Pass. Rugged cliff faces that are home to a resident pair of rare Taita Falcons dominate this extremely scenic site – certainly the most accessible place in Southern Africa and perhaps the world for this difficult species. This stake out may also yield sightings of Cape Vulture, Verreauxs’ Eagle, White-necked Raven, Mocking Cliff-Chat and Striped Pipit. We then make our way into the Lowveld where we will be based for the next 3 nights, initially in the luxury of Edeni Lodge and then in the splendours of the immense Kruger National Park. The Lowveld is characterized by a wealth of large mammals, permanent rivers, game-filled savannas and a plethora of handsome bird species. Edeni boasts a great diversity of plains game and predators and a wonderful assemblage of bushveld birds and here we will be based at a beautiful camp situated under large trees bordering one of the four rivers that flow through the reserve.
Days 3 & 4 - Kruger National Park.
The Greater Kruger conservation area includes vast areas of adjacent Mozambique and Zimbabwe, one of Africa’s last great wildernesses, and now the largest reserve in the world! We will explore the superb road system in attempting to locate big game including the legendary “Big 5” - Lion, African Elephant, Leopard, African Buffalo and White Rhinoceros. Kruger will be our best opportunity to watch these spectacular animals in their natural habitat and some of them we will encounter in staggering numbers and at close quarters. Other highly-sought after animals we have a chance of finding are Cheetah, African Wild Dog, Hippopotamus and a myriad of antelope and smaller mammals including Giraffe, Plain’s Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, Greater Kudu, Impala, Klipspringer, Bushbuck, Warthog, Chacma Baboon, Vervet Monkey and Dwarf Mongoose. The rich bushveld of the Kruger National Park will provide us with some of the most exciting and rewarding birding of the trip. Of special note here are species requiring vast areas of wilderness, such as Ostrich, Kori Bustard, the world’s heaviest flying bird, the incomparable Southern Ground-Hornbill, Martial Eagle, Bateleur, Marabou Stork and up to five species of vultures. The park is well known for it’s diversity of raptors, including those over-wintering from the Palaearctic, and we hope to find Lesser Spotted, Tawny and Wahlberg’s Eagles, Shikra, Lizard Buzzard and Gabar Goshawk. The bushveld biome is famous for it’s diversity of bird life and included in this suite of fantastic birds are Crested, Swainson’s and Natal Francolins, Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike, Violet-backed Starling, African Finfoot, White-headed Lapwing, Red-billed, Yellow-billed and African Gray Hornbills, Chestnut-backed Sparrow-lark, Magpie and White-crowned Shrikes and Red-billed Oxpecker.
Day 5 - Kruger National Park to Wakkerstroom.
We will spend our morning birding around our camp before bidding farewell to the splendors of Kruger. We move inland into the Highveld once again to the country village of Wakkerstroom for a two-night stay. This quaint village is surrounded by pristine upland grasslands rich in endemic birds many of which are currently threatened by the ongoing destruction of their grassland habitat. We will arrive in time to spend the afternoon birding the highly productive Wakkerstroom marsh at the edge of town, which is a haven for waterbirds and offers the chance of a number of uncommon or localised birds. Purple Heron, South African Shelduck, Cape Shoveler, Purple Swamphen, South African Swallow, Tinkling Cisticola, Lesser Swamp-Warbler and Cape Weaver are all regular and, with luck, we may find African Snipe and African Rail. Rarely recorded species seen here on our previous trips include the elusive Baillon’s Crake and Red-chested Flufftail.
Day 6 - Wakkerstroom area.
Driving along the network of dirt roads radiating out from Wakkerstroom, we will explore the grasslands, rocky outcrops and gorges of this unique area in search of Southern Bald Ibis, endemic Blue and Southern White-bellied Bustards, Jackal Buzzard, the rare and localised Botha’s and Rudd’s Larks (the latter considered one of the world’s most endangered larks), Pink-billed and the recently split Eastern Long-billed Lark, Mountain Wheatear, Sentinel Rock Thrush, Yellow-tufted and Yellow-breasted Pipits, African Pied Starling, Yellow-crowned Bishop, African Quailfinch and Cape Canary. Red-winged Francolins are fairly common in the moist grasslands and we may find them feeding at the roadside or sunning themselves at dawn. Some of the farms in the area around Wakkerstroom support populations of the peculiar Black Wildebeest (also known by its less-used English name of White-tailed Gnu) and Blesbok, whilst smaller mammals occurring in the grasslands include Yellow Mongoose and the rare Cape Fox. One of the other interesting denizens of these grasslands is the curious Suricate or Meerkat, immortalised in Walt Disney’s ‘Lion King’. We have a good chance of finding family groups of these unusual animals.
Day 7 - Wakkerstroom to Mkuzi Game Reserve.
After early morning birding in the Wakkerstroom area, we will drive south to the Mkuzi Game Reserve, arriving in the afternoon for a two-night stay at the Park chalets. Mkuzi Game Reserve is arguably the most productive birding hotspot in Southern Africa, protecting a wide variety of savanna, forest and wetland habitats. We expect to see large numbers of bird and wildlife species during our stay here but we will concentrate on finding the localised specials of this area. These include Black-bellied Korhaan with its strange, “cork-popping” display, the nomadic Senegal Lapwing, Eastern Nicator, the beautiful Narina Trogon, Eastern Bearded Scrub-Robin, Rudd’s Apalis, Stierling’s Barred Warbler, Neergaard’s Sunbird, Gorgeous Bush-shrike and Pink-throated Twinspot. Some of the mammals we may see include both species of rhinoceros, the localised Nyala, Giraffe, diminutive Suni, Hippopotamus and if we are fortunate, Leopard. We will spend two nights in Mkuzi Game Reserve making the most of one of the top birding destinations in Africa.
Day 8 - Mkuzi Game Reserve.
We will spend the whole day exploring the wonders of Mkuzi Game Reserve searching the great diversity of habitats for species. One of the more exciting habitats for us here is Sand Forest, a rare and localized dry forest severely threatened by development. This habitat is home to Neergaard’s Sunbird, Crested Guineafowl and Pink-throated Twinspot. We will also visit a hide deep in the forest. The adjacent waterhole attracts the likes of White Rhino, Nyala, troops of Chacma Baboons, Giraffe, Blue Wildebeest and a variety of bird life, including Purple-crested Turacos coming to quench their thirst! Photographic opportunities are breathtaking. A further highlight of the reserve is Nsumo Pan, a large natural freshwater body that supports a great number of waterfowl. Here we will look for Lesser Flamingo, Collared Pratincole, Glossy Ibis, Yellow-billed Stork, Hottentot Teal and Malachite Kingfisher. Visiting different areas of the park is essential to finding additional sought-after species including the huge Crowned and Martial Eagles, Little Sparrowhawk, the strange African Broadbill, Gray Penduline-Tit, Bush Pipit, White-fronted and Little Bee-eaters, White Helmetshrike, Grey-headed and Orange-breasted Bushshrikes and Purple-banded and Marico Sunbirds. We will do a nightdrive tonight to look for owls (no less than eleven species occur here), nightjars and mammals (Greater Galago, Leopard, Bushpig and White-tailed Mongoose are often seen.)
Day 9 - Mkuzi to St Lucia via Muzi Pan.
After final early morning birding in Mkuzi Game Reserve we will exit through the northwestern gate into rural Maputaland where we will visit Muzi Pan. Muzi is part of a large series of freshwater bodies that dot the area. We should see good numbers of waterfowl, however our main quarry will be the rarities that are so often found here. Black Egret, Lesser Jacana, African Pygmy-Goose, White-backed Duck and the magnificent Pel’s Fishing Owl, are all possible. We next move deep into rural Maputaland, passing traditional Zulu villages en route to Muzi Pan. Muzi is part of a large series of freshwater bodies that dot the area. We should see good numbers of waterfowl, however our main quarry will be the rarities that are so often found here. Black Egret, Lesser Jacana, African Pygmy-Goose, White-backed Duck and the magnificent Pel’s Fishing Owl, are all possible. Leaving Muzi we will make our way back to the main coastal road and down to the village of St Lucia, nestled on the shores of a lake of the same name and part of a world heritage site. If time allows we take a drive to the nearby river mouth where we can get great views of Hippopotamus and Nile Crocodiles lazing on exposed sandbanks.
Day 10 - St Lucia and Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve
This morning we will make our way into the dune forest on the edge of St Lucia town. The dunes here represent the world’s highest vegetated dunes! This rich forest supports endemics and specials including the beautiful Livingstone’s Turaco, Woodward’s Batis, Brown Scrub-Robin, Green-backed Twinspot, Red-backed Mannikin and Lemon Dove. Samango Monkey, Red Duiker, Banded Mongoose and Red Forest Squirrel are possible mammal species that we may encounter. After breakfast we will make our way into the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Complex of parks. In the dedicated staff at Hluhluwe-Umfolozi are credited with saving the White Rhinoceros from extinction and today these primeval-looking animals are regularly encountered here lazing under trees, grazing or indulging in a refreshing mud bath! The rolling hills and verdant woodlands are also home to other familiar species of big game and we may encounter African Elephant, African Buffalo, Black Rhinoceros, Lion, or even Leopard, Cheetah and Wild Dog. The park’s predators support a healthy population of large scavenging birds and we hope to see Lappet-faced and White-headed Vultures, Tawny Eagle and the handsome Bateleur, as well as other raptors such as the unique Secretarybird and two species of snake eagles. Bird flocks are occasionally encountered and are often rich with species including Brubru, Crested Barbet, Golden-tailed Woodpecker, Black-backed Puffback, Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike and Greater Scimitarbill. After a full day exploring the park we will make our way back to St Lucia.
Day 11 - St Lucia to Hilton via Dhlinza Forest and Mtunzini.
Today, we will depart early for Dhlinza Forest near Eshowe. En route to Eshowe we will make a brief stop at the resort town of Mtunzini, home to the southernmost breeding population of Palmnut Vultures. The beautiful forest reserve of Dhlinza supports an avifauna combining both coastal and mistbelt bird species and we will search for African Goshawk, the rare Delegorgue’s Pigeon, Narina Trogon, Purple-crested Turaco, Crowned and noisy Trumpeter Hornbill, Square-tailed Drongo, Chorister Robin-Chat, Gray Cuckoo-shrike and the highly endangered Spotted Ground-Thrush. South Africa’s only forest canopy walkway is situated here and we will spend most of our morning birding from this superb viewpoint. Journeying south and then inland we will arrive in the small town of Hilton in the late afternoon. After dinner, there will be an optional night drive to Midmar Game Reserve, famous for its Black Wildebeest. Watching these unusual animals as they snort and strut around in the dark is a truly amazing experience. Other animals we should observe include Common Reedbuck, Plains Zebra, Red Hartebeest, Blesbok and, if we are very lucky, Porcupine or Aardvark. The moist grasslands and open marshes of the reserve support a variety of nocturnal birds and we hope to see Spotted Thick-knee, Crowned and Wattled Lapwing and Blacksmith Plover, Marsh Owl, Spotted Eagle-Owl, and if we are fortunate, the rare African Grass-Owl.
Day 12 - Hilton to Himeville
We commence our birding this morning in the Karkloof, a range of forested hills near Howick, home to a number of uncommon and local birds restricted to Afro-montane forests. We will be searching for Southern African endemics such as Mountain Buzzard, Knysna Turaco, the highly endangered and endemic brown-headed form of Brown-necked Parrot, the elusive Bush Blackcap - one of South Africa’s most sought-after endemics, African Scrub-Warbler, Southern Tchagra, Olive Bushshrike, Swee Waxbill and Forest Canary, as well as many more widespread yet no less spectacular birds such as Rameron Pigeon, Olive Woodpecker, the uncommon Orange Ground-Thrush, White-starred Robin and Yellow-throated Wood-Warbler. Further up the Karkloof range, we visit a pristine area of upland grassland hosting breeding Blue and Gray Crowned Cranes and, if we are lucky, Wattled Crane. A plethora of cisticolas occurs including Zitting, Wailing and Croaking. Black-winged Lapwing and Cape Longclaw also occur here but the star bird is undoubtedly the striking Buff-streaked Chat, an endemic wheatear that is breathtaking both in appearance and song. Mammal possibilities include Mountain Reedbuck and the sleek Oribi antelope. Next we will head for the Richmond area where will attempt to track down the stunning Blue Swallow, undoubtedly our most elegant and severely threatened swallow. The birds regularly breed here in the summer months and our chances of finding this rare bird are very good. Continuing on we will pass through the dramatic Umkomaas River valley before arriving at a wonderfully lush patch of Mistbelt forest in the late afternoon. Here we will listen for the high pitched screech of the similarly rare Cape Parrot and attempt to locate flocks as they make their way into the forest to roost. We then wind our way on a scenic country road to the small town of Himeville at the base of the majestic Drakensberg Mountains.
Day 13 - Day trip to Sani Pass, Lesotho
Today we travel up into the tiny mountain kingdom of Lesotho in search of a handful of highly localised, highland endemics. In order to do this, we will transfer to 4X4 vehicles and make our way up the rugged and spectacular Sani Pass, birding en route. The grassy slopes and rocky outcrops at the lower end of the pass are home to the bizarre Ground Woodpecker, Cape Rock-Thrush and Yellow Bishop, whilst stands of Protea bushes support the spectacular, endemic Gurney’s Sugarbird (belonging to a family endemic to Southern Africa), Greater Double-collared Sunbird and the dazzling Malachite Sunbird. As we approach the crest of the Escarpment, we will be scanning the rocky scree at the roadside for the stunning Drakensberg Rock-jumper, Yellow-tufted Pipit, Sentinel Rock-Thrush and Drakensberg Siskin. Atop the plateau, the steep slopes and rugged cliffs are replaced by gently undulating terrain and endless vistas of distant, blue mountains. Black Stork and Southern Bald Ibis may be found alongside the mountain streams, whilst Gray-winged Francolin, Red-capped Lark, Sicklewing Chat, African and Mountain Pipits, Yellow Canary and Cape Bunting prefer adjacent meadows. A number of birds more typical of the Karoo, such as Southern Gray Tit, Large-billed Lark, Karoo Prinia, Layard’s Warbler and Fairy Warbler, reach the eastern limits of their range here in the Lesotho highlands. We will keep a careful watch skywards as Cape Griffon, the magnificent Lammergeier, Verreaux’s Eagle, Jackal Buzzard, Lanner Falcon and White-necked Raven are regularly seen overhead. Other animals of particular interest atop the “Roof of Africa” are the approachable Ice Rat, the endemic Drakensberg Crag Lizard and the colourful Southern Rock Agama.
Day 14 - Himeville to Durban and onward flight
Today we depart early for Durban to connect with our onward flights to Johannesburg or to Cape Town if you choose to do the Western Cape Extension.

Included in this tour

all meals from lunch on day 1 to breakfast on day 14
a soft drink and water at meals
a 1½ liter bottle of purified water each day
all lodgings, ground transportation
4X4 excursion into Lesotho
extra activities mentioned in the itinerary (such as night drive in Kruger NP and Mkhuze GR) reserve entrance fees, tips and all guiding services (including local guides and tour leaders).

Excluded from this tour

all flights (except Durban to Cape Town flight if you register for the Western Cape extension)
alcoholic beverages
special gratuities
telephone calls
laundry
items of a personal nature

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14 Day - Eastern South Africa Birding

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About Rockjumper

Rockjumper Birding Tours arranges and guides top quality birding and wildlife tours throughout the world, with an emphasis on Africa, Asia and Madagascar. Our team of professional guides are some of the most experienced in the industry and our tours offer unbeatable birding experiences and value for money. Read more

Tours by Rockjumper

Eastern South Africa Birding
Western Cape Birding Tour

Contact Details

Contact: Adam Riley, Richard White, Alison Wakelin
Tel: 2733 394 0225
Fax: 2788 0333940225
Cell: 2782 922 4773

PO Box 13972
Cascades
3202