Drakensberg Rockjumper
Photograph Hugh Chittenden |
 Day 1
International flight arrives in Durban. Drive inland to Creighton (1.5 hours’ drive from Durban), birding along the way. Time permitting, we can look for Pied (Magpie) Mannikin before birding the fine Oribi Gorge and Vernon Crookes Nature Reserves.
O/N Smithfield Guest House, Creighton.
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Day 2
We leave very early in morning (around 05h30) with a packed breakfast and lunch to ascend the Sani Pass by 4-wheel drive with a local guide. The ascent up Sani Pass, one of the most famed birding routes in South Africa, provides easy access to most of the birds endemic to the Drakensberg Escarpment and highlands, plus spectacular mountain scenery. Patches of temperate forest and scrub, inhabited by sought-after Bush Blackcap, Drakensberg Prinia, Chorister Robin and other endemics, are found in the lower reaches of the pass. This habitat is replaced by Protea savanna a little higher up, where Gurney’s Sugarbird and Malachite Sunbird occur. Above the tree-line, Drakensberg Siskin and Orange-breasted Rockjumper start to appear, and at even higher altitude, Mountain Pipit, Bearded Vulture (Lammergeyer) and many other Drakensberg specials occur. We will spend a full day ascending to the top of the escarpment and into the beautiful mountain Kingdom of Lesotho, with frequent stops along the way, in a quest to find all the localized specials. We then descend the mountain for dinner.
O/N Smithfield Guest House, Creighton.
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| Day 3
This morning before brunch we will bird a patch of high altitude temperate forest and surrounding grasslands for stunning birds such as Orange Ground Thrush, Olive Woodpecker, the critically-endangered Cape Parrot, the magnificent and endangered Blue Swallow, Narina Trogon and a host of others. We may find Denham’s and Black-bellied Bustard, Bald Ibis, Southern Ground Hornbill, Black-winged Lapwing and a host of other exciting specials between the B&B and the forest patch. After brunch, we depart for Eshowe where, time-permitting, we can bird Dlinza Forest with its splendid canopy tower and aerial boardwalk.
O/N Eshowe B&B.
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Ground Woodpecker
Photograph Martin Benadie |
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Day 4
We will make a very early start with packed breakfasts and lunches. We will bird the medium-altitude Ongoye Forest in the morning with a local guide. In this truly beautiful temperate forest, we may find Narina Trogon, the endangered Spotted Ground Thrush, the rare and unpredictable Delegorgue’s Pigeon, Scaly-throated Honeyguide, the inconspicuous Green Twinspot, Grey Waxbill, Red-backed Mannikin, Grey Cuckoo-shrike, Green Malkoha, Yellow-streaked Greenbul, and many other phenomenal species. Ongoye Red Squirrel is also quite possible. After birding this and other forests in the area (time permitting), we will then head to the warm coast to seek Palm-nut Vulture (in the Raffia Palm Nature Monument at Mtunzini), Collared (Red-winged) Pratincole, the rare Swamp Nightjar at its daytime roost, and a plethora of other tantalizing specials.
O/N Eshowe B&B.
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Day 5
We will visit the Dlinza Forest canopy tower in the early morning. Here, it is often possible to see Grey Cuckoo-shrike and other generally elusive species at eye-level. White-eared Barbet, Green Malkoha, Trumpeter and Crowned Hornbill, Olive Bush-shrike and a whole host of other species often put in an appearance. When mixed feeding flocks (bird parties) gather, the birding becomes even more exciting than usual. Thanks to the new canopy tower, this is probably the easiest place in South Africa to find Delegorgue’s (Eastern Bronze-naped) Pigeon, but in some years this species is absent. After brunch, we head to the famed Lake St. Lucia, which has a phenomenally rich assemblage of waterbirds, forest birds, grassland birds and others in its great variety of different habitats.
O/N St. Lucia Wetlands B&B.
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Day 6
We will leave early with a packed breakfast for Cape Vidal. We are bound to stumble across White Rhino and other megafauna en route to Cape Vidal, which is one of the best sites for Green Twinspot, the elusive Southern Banded Snake Eagle and the attractive Crested Guineafowl – far more exotic in appearance than its more common cousin the Helmeted Guineafowl. There are of course many other birds, such as Green Malkoha, Red-backed Mannikin, etc. The rare and local Samango Monkey occurs at Cape Vidal along with the more widespread Vervet Monkey. After birding Cape Vidal and other parts of St. Lucia, we depart for Bonamanzi Game Reserve.
O/N Bonamanzi Game Reserve.
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Narina Trogon
Photograph Adrian Binns |
Day 7
Morning birding at Bonamanzi usually yields the spectacular Rosy-throated Longclaw (plus the other two less localized longclaw species), and the recently described Lemon-breasted Canary. A more difficult mega-special is the almost mystical (to many birders) Short-tailed Pipit. Lesser Black-winged (Senegal) Lapwing is sometimes found. In case we missed Southern Banded Snake Eagle at St. Lucia, Bonamanzi is also a good site for it. Bonamanzi also presents our first chance for another southeast African coast endemic, the splendid Pink-throated Twinspot. After Bonamanzi, if time permits, we can head to a site where we usually find Pel’s Fishing Owl at its daytime roost, before driving to Mkuze Game Reserve. After dinner at Mkuze, we can embark on a night drive. Mkuze night drives quite often yield LEOPARD, and there are chances of seeing several owl, nightjar, thickknee and courser species.
O/N Mkuze Game Reserve.
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Day 8
An early morning bird walk in the Sand Forest should yield the extremely localized Neergaard’s Sunbird, African Broadbill with its bizarre display flight, Pink-throated Twinspot and other tantalizing endemics, plus a phenomenal diversity of other species. Mkuze is one of the richest sites for birds on the entire African continent. We will also have a reasonable chance of finding the diminutive Suni Antelope in the Sand Forest. After our early morning bird walk, we will embark on a birding drive in search of a whole host of exciting species – we will bird woodland, savanna and wetland areas. While looking for birds, there is also an excellent chance of stumbling across White Rhino (and possibly the rarer Black Rhino), Nyala, as well as other mammals that are difficult to find in most other game reserves. After lunch, we depart for Wakkerstroom, an area of rolling green hills on the Drakensberg Escarpment - in stark contrast to Mkuze’s dry woodland. The first bird we will focus on finding at Wakkerstroom, in areas of long grass at relatively low altitude, is Barrow’s (Southern White-bellied) Korhaan. This is a difficult korhaan because it is small yet usually lurks in tall grass. We usually find it in the late afternoon when it ventures into open fields nearby its typical habitat. While looking for this species, we should also find South African Cliff Swallow, Southern Ant-eating Chat, Southern Crowned Crane, Blue Crane (South Africa’s national bird) and many more.
O/N Beautiful Just B&B, Wakkerstroom.
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Day 9
We will spend the day birding the beautiful Wakkerstroom area. This small town is famed for being the best site on earth for the extremely localized Rudd’s Lark as well as Botha’s Lark. We also usually find the endemic Pink-billed Lark, Eastern Clapper Lark, Eastern Long-billed Lark and Spike-heeled Lark. Blue Korhaan is common and conspicuous, and Denham’s Bustard is also usually obvious. Jackal Buzzard, Bush Blackcap, Red-throated Wryneck, Grass Owl, Marsh Owl and many other fine birds are also possible.
O/N Beautiful Just B&B, Wakkerstroom.
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Day 10
After some final early morning birding around Wakkerstroom, we head for one of Africa’s greatest game parks, the Kruger National Park! This park has a staggering bird diversity, and we are bound to find MULTIPLE species of each of the following groups: hornbills, barbets, rollers, bee-eaters, kingfishers, cuckoos, storks, eagles (including the amazing Bateleur), vultures, owls, weavers (including Red-headed Weaver), turacos and many others. As a by-product of our marked focus on birding, we should also encounter elephant, lion, giraffe, buffalo, a plethora of antelope species, hippopotamus, crocodile, and many small mammals, such as mongooses, etc. We will, however, require much luck for leopard or cheetah.
O/N Crocodile Bridge Rest Camp, Kruger National Park.
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Day 11
We will spend a full day birding the rivers, riverine forests, woodlands and savannas of this pristine and huge African wilderness area.
O/N Satara Rest Camp, Kruger National Park.
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Day 12
After a final morning of birding in Kruger, we will depart for the escarpment. Here, we will look for one of Africa’s rarest birds, the small but powerful and extremely fast TAITA FALCON. This was only recently discovered as a breeding bird in South Africa, but this site is probably the most reliable place on earth to find this species at present. As usual, we may find all sorts of other birds, including Mocking Cliff Chat, Lanner Falcon, Cape Griffon Vulture, etc.
O/N Trackers Guest Farm.
Southern Ground Hornbill
Photograph Mike Bayman |
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Day 13
After spending the night near the Taita Falcon site, we will head inland to Zaagkuilsdrift Road. En route, we may find Gurney’s Sugarbird, Malachite Sunbird, Secretarybird, Yellow-breasted Pipit and others.
O/N Genius Loci Game Ranch.
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Day 14
Genius Loci is situated about 1.5 hours’ drive from Johannesburg International Airport. We will bird here and along the nearby Zaagkuilsdrift Road in the morning until we need to leave for the airport (depending on the time of birders’ flights). The Zaagkuilsdift Road, like all the other sites we will have visited, has a phenomenal bird diversity, but there are many birds here that we won’t yet have found. Many of the birds in this area are characteristic of the Kalahari, and include such spectacular species as Crimson-breasted Shrike, Southern Pied Babbler, Violet-eared Waxbill, Black-cheeked Waxbill. Kalahari Robin, White-throated Robin, Northern Black Korhaan, several bee-eater species (sometimes including Carmine and Blue-cheeked), Temmink’s Courser, Chestnut-backed Sparrow-lark, Red-headed Finch and Black Egret are just a few of the species we may find. We can shower at the B&B, etc. before heading to the airport to catch your international flight home.
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