SPECIALIST BIRD WATCHING AND AFRICAN WILDERNESS SAFARIS
EASTERN CAPE SOUTH AFRICA

You should see about 90 species of birds on the day, including 25 Southern African endemics.

Our day begins with an early start at the Thunzi Nature Reserve, which will yield a variety of forest birds, including Forest Canary, Tambourine Dove, Olive Woodpecker, Southern Boubou, Black-headed Oriole and the Dark-backed and Thick-billed Weaver, and the spectacular Knysna Turaco. There are some nearby wetlands supporting a variety of waterfowl, including Black Crake and Black Duck, African Rail and 4 species of Kingfisher, viz Pied, Giant, Malachite and Half-collared.

Our next stop is Van Staden’s Wild Flower Reserve which will provide an opportunity to see some of the unique Fynbos-dwelling species, such as Cape Sugarbird, Orange-breasted Sunbird and Cape Siskin. Many other scrub-dwelling birds such as Cape Grassbird, Yellow Bishop, Cape Bulbul  and a variety of other sunbirds, including Malachite,  Amethyst and Greater and Southern Double-collared are also found here.

After lunch we take a drive through the Zwartkops Trust adjacent to the tidal mudflats, which enables us to see most of our local as well as migrant Waders, Herons, Ducks as well as  certain scrub species such as Karoo Robin, Bar-throated Apalis, Karoo Prinia and Cape Robin Chat.

Finally we take in a local coastal and marine reserve, which incorporates beach, rocky outcrops, fresh-water ponds, dune fynbos and dune-land scrub. A wide variety of species ranging from beach and sea birds, ducks, marsh-dwellers and coastal scrub species will be seen.  Included amongst the birds we may see here are: White-breasted, Reed and Cape Cormorant, Cape Gannet, Roseate, Swift, Caspian, Common and Damara Tern, Pied and Giant Kingfisher, Le Vaillant’s Cisticola and Brimstone Canary.

Approximate tour duration:  10 hours.

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Overnight Tours

You should see about 160 species of birds, including 25 Southern African endemics.

Day one:   We begin our day at the Thunzi Nature Reserve, followed by the Van Staden’s Wild Flower Reserve (see EC 1 above)   We then visit the Addo National Park, where a large variety of bird species that inhabit Thicket and Karoo type vegetation can be seen. These include Southern Tchagra, Chestnut-vented Titbabbler, Black-collared Barbet, Diedericks and Klaas’s Cuckoo, Speckled and Red-faced Mousebirds, Dark-capped Bulbul, African Firefinch, Pale Chanting Goshawk, Jackal Buzzard and a variety of different canaries.

An afternoon birding/game-viewing drive through an area populated with large herds of Elephant, Eland, Cape Buffalo, Blesbok, Springbok, coupled with the presence of Black Rhino and Lion make the birding experience all the more memorable. We overnight at the Riversview Lodge on the Sundays River at Colchester.

Day two:  A leisurely 3-hour early morning cruise on the Sundays River should reveal a wide variety of waders, African Purple Swamp Hen, duck, heron (including Goliath and Purple Heron) as well as river-bank dwellers.  Four different types of Kingfishers may be seen – including - Half-collared Kingfisher.  Horus Swift, Pied Starling, Spotted Eagle Owl  and White-fronted Bee-eaters nest in the river banks.

After brunch at the Lodge we visit Tankatara, where we should see numerous waders from very close quarters, as well birds on the plains and certain scrub species including Blue Crane, Ludwig’s Bustard, Southern Black Korhaan, Ant-eating and Stone Chats, African Pipit and Crowned Lapwing. A variety of raptor species are regularly seen on the roadside telephone poles. These include Steppe and Jackal Buzzard, Common  (Rock) Kestrel and Black-shouldered Kite.

Our final stop is the Zwartkops Trust – see afternoon of EC 1 above.

Our tour ends in Port Elizabeth at approximately 18h00.

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You should see about 180 species of birds, including 26 Southern African endemics.

Day one:   We begin our day at the Alexandria Forest, about 100 km from Port Elizabeth. A walk under the cool canopy of giant yellowwoods, Cape Coral trees and White Stinkwoods offer a variety of forest bird species, including Knysna Woodpecker, Black-bellied Starling, Black-headed Oriole, Terrestrial Brownbul, Chorister Robin-chat, Collared and Grey Sunbird, Olive Pigeon, Trumpeter Hornbill, Knysna Turaco and Narina Trogon.

After a picnic lunch in the forest we travel for about an hour to Tankatara (see afternoon of Day two of EC 2 above)  We overnight at the Riversview Lodge at Colchester.

Day two:   A river cruise on the Sundays (see morning of day two of EC 2 above)  At midday a 45 minute drive takes us to the Amakhala Game Reserve. Late afternoon birding by canoe (optional) and the drive through the bush to get to the river can be very rewarding as this Reserve supports a wide variety of birds, including raptors such as Martial Eagle, African Goshawk, Little Sparrowhawk, Black Harrier and Yellow-billed Kite,  as well as Bushveld species such as Red-fronted Tinkerbird, Green Woodhoepoe, Rufus-naped and Eastern Long-billed Larks and many more.

On the river we should see Malachite and Giant Kingfishers, Water Thick-knee, Hamerkop, African Darter and  Goliath Heron. On the drive back we often encounter Fiery-necked Nightjar.

Birding/game-viewing drives also produce an interesting variety of mammals, including Cape Buffalo, Giraffe, Kudu, Eland, Springbok, Gemsbok, Elephant, White Rhino and Cheetah.

Overnight  luxury accommodation at Woodbury Lodge in the Reserve.

Day three:  Another early morning birdwatching/game-viewing drive and river cruise will provide further opportunities to see many more species, particularly the African Finfoot, which is resident on this stretch of river.

We leave for the Addo National Elephant Park at midday (see afternoon of the first day of EC 2 above)

Our tour ends at approximately 19h00 on the third day.

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You should see about 190 species of birds, including 27 Southern African endemics.

Day one:  Same as day one of EC 3 above.

Day two:  River cruise on the Sundays River – see morning of day two of EC 2 above.

At midday we travel to Mpofu Game Reserve, where we end the day with a birding/game-viewing drive and traditional South Africa  “snoek barbeque.”

We overnight in the Reserve.

Day three:  The morning is spent in the Reserve where Chinspot Batis, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Black Cuckoo-shrike, Greater Honeyguide, African Olive Pigeon and many more additional species can be seen.

At lunch time we travel to the Amakhala Game Reserve – (see afternoon of day two of EC 3 above)

Day four:  As for day three of EC 3

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All our clients receive a complimentary copy of our unique bird watchers' diary with 319 colour illustrations of birds occurring in our area.