South Africa: The East

South Africa has long been considered a prime birding destination and our Eastern South Africa tour offers an incredible experience of one of Africa’s most ecologically diverse countries. Our route will draw us from sea level at the Indian Ocean coast to above 9400’ along Sani Pass in the Drakensberg escarpment, a route which will provide us with a sampling of a host of habitat types and bird communities.

The tour begins in Durban, our gateway to the vistas of the Drakensberg escarpment where we will revel at the dramatic views of this rugged landscape while admiring Drakensberg Rockjumpers bounding between boulders and Gurney’s Sugarbirds adorning the tops of proteas — members of two of South Africa’s endemic families. High elevation grasslands will offer us the opportunity to sort through cryptic but incredibly range-restricted larks as well as bustards and francolins, whose emphatic voices can fill the morning air, and the vulnerable Blue Swallow. This tour will also offer a dramatic change in elevation, drawing us from the vast biodiverse coastal wetlands of the Indian Ocean coast, which will offer us the opportunity to scour through hundreds of shorebirds and waterbirds and a host of localized species including Rudd’s Apalis and the elusive Brown Scrub-Robin, where we may also find ourselves sharing roadways in town with the likes of Hippopotamuses. Beautiful Afromontane forest will paint our birding pallets with deep green as we search for forest specialties such as Black-fronted Bushshrike, Orange and Spotted Ground-Thrushes, Knysna Turaco as well as the more widespread but no less impressive Narina Trogon. Shortly thereafter we will embark upon the world-renowned Kruger National Park, home to the ‘Big 5’ — Lion, Leopard, African Bush Elephant, Cape Buffalo, and White or Black Rhinoceros — and a host of other mammals as well as an impressive diversity of birds. We will stay in two regions of this expansive park, offering us the chance to experience the highly diverse and mammal-rich southern section as well as the more open savanna of the central section favored by Kori Bustards and Cheetah alike. Lastly, we will head north and bird the savannas of the highveld and will likely to be serenaded by Short-clawed Larks and a selection of Kalahari species including the gaudy Crimson-breasted Shrike before finishing the capital of Johannesburg.

Our Eastern South Africa tour will provide you with an exciting experience of the biodiversity offered by the country while also enjoying spectacular accommodations, mouth-watering food, and hospitable and friendly people. This tour perfectly complements our South Africa: The West – Kalahari to the Cape tour for complete coverage of South Africa.