Kruger National Park and Escarpment Birding
9 days/8 nights
Let us schedule this tour for you, whether you are two people or a group of 10 ...
This is a tour for those who want the ultimate African mammal safari experience while also seeing a huge diversity of birds, many of them brightly colored, charismatic and spectacular, as well as some strategic Drakensberg endemics and incredibly rare raptors. This tour should yield elephant, lion, many antelope species, crocodile and all the other megafauna that sub-Saharan Africa is famous for, as well as multiple species of bee-eater, roller, kingfisher, cuckoo, hornbill, eagle (including Bateleur), vulture, owl, turaco, seed-eater, stork, and a myriad others. The Kruger National Park boasts 450 bird species! We also target the phenomenally rare Taita Falcon and Cape Parrot, Black-fronted Bush Shrike, Yellow-streaked Greenbul, the magnificent Blue Swallow and many other localized species occurring along the forested Great Escarpment, west of the dryer Kruger National Park lowlands.
During this tour we concentrate on the northern Kruger National Park where we can find good numbers of bird species only just making it into South Africa over the Mozambique and Zimbabwe borders. The exciting list of possibilities includes Bohm’s Spinetail, Mottled Spinetails, Arnott’s Chat, Grey-headed Parrot, Tropical Boubou, Meeve’s (Long-tailed Glossy) Starling and a host of others alongside a host of more widespread South African species.
Day 1: International flight arrives in Johannesburg. We will spend our first night at Genius Loci Guest Ranch (1.5 hours’ drive from the airport), where we will immediately be overwhelmed by an incredibly rich assemblage of Kalahari bird species, quite a lot of them spectacular. The list includes the likes of Northern Black Korhaan, Crimson-breasted Shrike, Southern Pied Babbler, Violet-eared Waxbill, Black-cheeked Waxbill, White-browed Sparrow-weaver, Red-billed Buffalo Weaver, Scaly-feathered Finch, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater and other bee-eaters, Kalahari Robin and a host of others. O/N Genius Loci Game Ranch.
Day 2: After early morning birding around Genius Loci, we will continue our journey northwards. We will stop at Polokwane Game Reserve for the very localized Short-clawed Lark (picking up other new species as a by-product). In years of good rainfall, it may also be worth stopping at the remarkable Nyl River Floodplain. When flooded, this wetland hosts huge numbers of breeding tropical waterbirds, and the area as a whole supports a staggering 400 bird species. We also recommend a visit to a cliff breeding colony of Cape Vultures which also hosts the only known Ruppell’s Griffon Vulture (1 or 2 individuals) outside of East Africa! For this, however, we recommend adding one night to this itinerary. After a stunning day of birding, we eventually reach Tshipise (or a similar lodge) where we will spend the night. Our lodge is well poised for visiting a huge hollow baobab tree where thousands of the rare Mottled Spinetail roost, so we plan to be at this tree before dusk for the spectacle. O/N Tshipise Lodge (or similar).
Day 3: We start early with a picnic breakfast, heading for the nearby extreme northern part of the Kruger National Park (the Pafuri area) where Bohm’s Spinetail, Meve’s Starling, White-crowned Plover, Arnot’s Chat and MANY others lurk. Occasionally, Racket-tailed Roller occur alongside the more common roller species (European, Purple and Lilac-breasted). O/N Pafuri River Camp (low budget), or Pafuri Lodge (quite luxurious) or Punda Maria Rest Camp, Kruger National Park.
Day 4: We continue birding the very exciting extreme north of Kruger, where we will also see many big and small mammals. O/N Punda Maria or Shingwedzi Rest Camp, Kruger National Park.
Day 5: We travel southwards in Kruger, eventually reaching the extremely pleasant, green and shaded Letaba Rest Camp where we will spend the night. As we travel southwards, the birdlife changes. Specials of the central region of the park, where we now find ourselves, include African Mourning Dove, Bennett’s Woodpecker and many more. O/N Letaba Rest Camp, Kruger National Park.
Day 6: After a final morning of birding in Kruger, we head westwards to the forested escarpment. Here we will bird the marvelous Woodbush Forest, inhabited by a critically endangered Yellowwood Forest specialist – the Cape Parrot. There are only about 1000 individuals of this fine parrot left on earth, and all of them occur in South Africa. This sprawling mountain forest also supports other localized species such as Orange Ground Thrush (we have an interesting method for finding this species), Black-fronted Bush-shrike, Yellow-streaked Greenbul and more. The rare and beautiful Blue Swallow breeds in this area in summer. O/N Kurisa Moya Nature Lodge, Magoesbaskloof.
Day 7: We will bird the Woodbush area for the entire day. O/N Kurisa Moya Nature Lodge, Magoesbaskloof.
Day 8: After completing Woodbush birding, we head for the Abel Erasmus Pass to seek TAITA FALCON. This was only recently discovered as a breeding bird in South Africa, but this site is now probably the most reliable place on earth to find this small, yet very powerful and fast falcon. As usual, we may find all sorts of other birds, such as Mocking Cliff Chat, Lanner Falcon, Cape Griffon Vulture, etc. We then head for the Dullstroom area. Yellow-breasted Pipit, Gurney’s Sugarbird, Denham’s Bustard, Secretarybird, Eastern Long-billed Lark, Bald Ibis, occasionally Wattled Crane, Black Harrier and other spectacular and localized birds can often be found quartering the green rolling hills around Dulstroom. O/N Dullstroom.
Day 9: After early morning birding in the lovely Dullstroom area (South Africa’s trout fishing mecca), we depart for Johannesburg for our international flight home.