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South Africa: the Drakensberg to the Kruger This tour will not run in 2012 with Steve Rooke and Rod Cassidy as leaders
Cost: £3590 plus about £750 for flights Please click here for explanation of price breakdown Maximum group size: 6 with 1 leader; 12 with 2 leaders.
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| We begin this new tour on the warm and humid coast of Indian Ocean before heading inland to the lofty peaks of the Drakensburg Mountains, now cloaked in green and awash with flowers. Here bizarre Rockjumpers and stately Wattled Cranes await us before we travel down to the lush and tropical lowlands of Zululand to experience the superb birding in the coastal forests around St Lucia and the wonderful mammals and birds of Mkuzi. We'll then seek out rare and elusive endemics hidden in the high grasslands of the southern Transvaal before travelling to the vast Kruger National Park with its rich and varied birdlife and spectacular mammals. Finally we visit Nylsvley, a gem of a wetland which should be alive with waterbirds, crakes and rails. This tour perfectly complements our other offering in South Africa, which travels down the western Cape. We are visiting this eastern half of the country at the very best time to see its birds at the height of the breeding season and the truly stunning scenery full of its late spring splendour. Of course, some things are constant no matter when or where you go in South Africa. The excellent system of roads, very comfortable lodges and hotels, and great food and wine are guaranteed, and will all contribute to making this tour one to remember. Day 1: The tour begins with an overnight flight from London to Durban.
Day 2: After arriving in Durban we’ll drive straight to the fabulous forest at Oribi Gorge where the River Mzimkulwana carves a deep ravine in the surrounding uplands. Here we’ll look for such special birds as Crowned, Black and Long-crested Eagles, Forest Buzzard, Rameron and Delegorgue’s Pigeons, Knysna Woodpecker, Southern Tchagra, Orange Ground Thrush, and Starred Robin. Night in Oribi Gorge Lodge.
Day 3: Our morning will be spent birding Oribi Gorge before heading on our way to the Drakensberg Mountains. At a roadside stop we will look for the rare Blue Swallow swooping over the grassy meadows that are its home. As we approach the Drakensberg massif we’ll be on the look-out for some of the birds that inhabit the upland grasslands and marshes that dominate the scenery such as Stanley’s Bustard, Blue and Wattled Cranes, Southern Crowned Crane, Orange-throated Longclaw, and Cape Weaver. Night in Himeville.
Day 4: Much of today will be spent surrounded by the splendour of the Drakensberg Mountains. Switching to four-wheel drive vehicles, we’ll climb up the Sani Pass and cross into the remote mountain kingdom of Lesotho. Here among spectacular scenery we should find Cape Vulture, Lammergeier, Jackal Buzzard, Red-breasted Sparrowhawk, Sentinel Rockthrush, Mountain Pipit, Buff-streaked Chat, Orange-breasted Rockjumper, Drakensberg Prinia, Gurney’s Sugarbird, and Drakensberg Siskin. Mammals are sparse in this mountainous region but among those we’ll see are the diminutive Sloggert’s Ice Rat and the mighty Eland. We’ll have lunch at the highest public house in Africa before descending back into South Africa, stopping along the way to look for birds such as Red-throated Wryneck and Barratt’s Warbler. Night in Himeville.
Day 5: We'll start early to visit a patch of forest to look for Forest Buzzard, Knysna Lourie, Cape Parrot, Bush Blackcap, Chorister Robin, Cape Batis, Black-faced Swee, and Forest Canary before starting the long drive that will take us down to the coastal regions of Zululand. Reaching the coast once again, we’ll stop to look for Palm-nut Vulture at a small forest reserve and call in at Richard’s Bay to search for Pygmy Goose, Lesser Jacana, Burchell’s Coucal and a host of water-birds. Night in St Lucia.
Day 6: The lush, liana-strung coastal forest that surrounds St Lucia offers some really great birding. Walking an excellent series of wide trails we hope to find Livingstone’s Turaco, Green and Burchell’s Coucal, White-eared Barbet, Square–tailed Drongo, Natal and Brown Robins, Rudd’s Apalis, Woodward’s Batis, Olive Bushshrike, Green Twinspot, and Red-backed Mannikin among many other species. As dusk falls we’ll search for Natal Nightjar in a nearby reserve and may also catch a glimpse of Wood Owl. Night in St Lucia.
Days 7-8: Leaving St Lucia we drive north to Mkuzi. The dry scrub and grasslands of the Mkuzi National Park are very similar to some parts of East Africa and our time here will be spent driving around the park and walking through its woodlands on the trail of Crested Guinea Fowl, Kurrichane and Black-rumped Buttonquails, Purple-crested and Grey Turacos, Black-collared Barbet, African Broadbill, White-throated and Eastern Bearded Robins, Short-tailed Pipit, Gorgeous Bushshrike, Neergard’s Sunbird, Lemon-breasted Canary, and Pink-throated Twinspot, along with the recently described Pink-throated Twinspot Indigobird. Mammals in this area include both Black and White Rhinoceroses, the endemic Nyala, Red Duiker, Hippopotamus, Blue and Vervet Monkeys and Chacma Baboon. Nights near Mkuzi.
Day 9: Our next destination in this northeastern part of South Africa is the high windswept plains around the town of Wakkerstroom where the grasslands still hold some of the most sought-after South African endemic birds. In the marshes in this region live Red-chested and African Water Rail, both of which we should hear but will be lucky to see. These wetlands also play host from time to time to White-winged Flufftail, one of Africa's most enigmatic birds. On the higher ridges we’ll search for Eastern Long-billed Lark, Yellow-breasted and African Rock Pipits, Mountain Chat, and Ayres and Cloud Cisticolas, while in the rougher pastures we’ll look for Blue Korhaan, Southern Bald Ibis, Swainson’s Francolin, and Rudd’s, Botha’s and Melodious Larks. A twilight watch at one of the many marshes might reward us with tantalising views of both Marsh and Grass Owls and we’ll certainly see and hear Ethiopian Snipe performing their display flight. Night in Wakkerstroom.
Day 10: After a full morning spent birding in this area we head on to Lydenburg for one night en route to Kruger National Park. Night in Lydenburg.
Day 11: The very scenic drive to Kruger National Park from Lydenburg will take us past the famous Blyde River Canyon, and we'll stop to not only admire the wonderful views of the canyon but also to look for the rare Taita Falcon and visit a large colony of Cape Vultures. Later in the day we'll enter Kruger National Park and make our way to our camp. Night in Olifants camp in the heart of Kruger National Park. Day 12: During our stay in Kruger we'll visit various regions in the northern sector of the park and amongst the herds of African Elephants, Plains Zebra, African Buffalo and Impala, we might glimpse Lion, Cheetah, Leopard, African Wild Dog, Spotted Hyena, Giraffe, and many more wild mammals. We'll also take a night drive in search of elusive nocturnal mammals and birds. With a species list of over 500 birds, Kruger should give a whole range of birds including Common Ostrich, Swainson’s and Natal Spurfowls, Hooded, White-backed, White-headed, and Lappet-faced Vultures, Wahlberg’s, Tawny, Steppe, and Lesser Spotted Eagles, Bateleur, Red-crested and Kori Bustards, Purple-crested Turaco, African Green-Pigeon, Red-faced Mousebird, Rufous-crowned, Broad-billed, European and Lilac-breasted Rollers, Thick-billed, Levailliants, Great Spotted, and Jacobin Cuckoos, Flappet, Monotonous and Sabota Larks, Arrow-marked Babbler, White and Retz’s Helmetshrikes, Amethyst and White-bellied Sunbirds, and Red-billed Buffalo-Weaver. Nights in Letaba Camp. Day 13: Today we drive out of the Kruger and west to Magoebaskloof. This will be our final chance for some of the forest birds we may have missed further south including Knysna Turaco, Cape Parrot, Olive Woodpecker, Orange Ground-Thrush, White-starred Robin, Chorister Robin-Chat, Yellow-throated Woodland-Warbler, Barratt’s Warbler, and both Southern and Greater Double-collared sunbirds. We also have a chance to find some species that we have not encountered elsewhere on the tour including Yellow-streaked Greenbull, Black-fronted Bush-shrike, and the rare Bat Hawk, for which this is a very reliable site. Night in Magoebaskloof. Day 14: After a morning birding in Magoebaskloof we head south towards the wetland reserve at Nylsvley stopping en route at various birding sites. In particular one of the main species we'll search for on the drive will be the extremely localized Short-clawed Lark, which is restricted to a small area of grassland near the town of Polokwane, while the woodland and savannah we pass through en route from Polokwane to Nylsvlei and it’s surrounds has some of the richest birding in southern Africa. Night in Nylsvley.
Day 15: We'll spend the morning birding around the wetland reserve at Nylsvley and the surrounding acacia scrub. Here we have a good chance of seeing a good selection of dry country species such as African Hawk-Eagle, Southern Yellow-billed, Red-billed, and Grey Hornbills, African Hoopoe, Bennett’s Woodpecker, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Greater Honeyguide, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Lesser Striped-Swallow, African Black-headed Oriole, Marico Flycatcher, African Barred Warbler, Long-billed Crombec, Marico Sunbird, White-browed Sparrow-Weaver, Grey-backed Camaroptera, White-winged Widowbird, Arrow-marked Babbler, Black-cheeked Waxbill, Kalahari Scrub-Robin, African White-throated Robin, Scaly-feathered Finch and Violet-eared Waxbill. One species we'll seek energetically is Crimson-breasted Shrike, a stunning bird found nowhere else on the tour route. If the rains have been good the famous wetland which makes up the heart of Nylsvley should be alive with birds. Common species such as White-faced Whistling-Duck, Yellow-billed Duck, African Spoonbill, Spur-winged Goose, Sacred Ibis, Egyptian Goose, African Jacana, and Blacksmith Lapwing should be common but when the grasslands flood they also attract scarcer birds with Dwarf Bittern, Greater Painted-snipe, Allen's Gallinule, Lesser Moorhen, and African Crake all possible. After lunch, taken in the bird-rich gardens of our accommodation, we'll drive back to Johannesburg where we'll connect with an overnight flight back to London where the tour ends on Day 16.
E-mail or phone +44 (0)1767 262522 for availability.
Last updated August 2010 |
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