Day 1: The tour begins this evening in Johannesburg. 

Day 2: We’ll take an early morning flight Upington. Having collected our vehicle we’ll begin our drive north toward the Kalahari. We’ll have not gone far before we see the first of many massive Sociable Weaver nests perched atop roadside poles. Other species that could break our journey include White-backed Vulture, Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk, Pygmy Falcon, Southern Ant-eating Chat, Fawn-coloured Lark, and possibly Short-toed Rock Thrush. Night near Kgalagadi Reserve.

Day 3: Sandwiched between Namibia and Botswana, the Kgalagadi Trans Frontier Reserve is one of Africa’s wildest and least-known national parks. We’ll have a short journey to get to the reserve gate when it opens for the day. Once inside we’ll head for a small waterhole, where we should be treated to flocks of Namaqua Sandgrouse coming to drink, hopefully joined by good numbers of Burchell’s Sandgrouse and hordes of other birds such as Namaqua Doves, Cape Sparrows, Red-headed Finches, and of course those ubiquitous Sociable Weavers. We are allowed out of our vehicle in only a few designated places, so we’ll spend the morning slowly driving along a road that follow an old riverbed, using the vehicle almost as a mobile blind. Small birds that will be instantly obvious include Chat and Marico Flycatchers, Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters, and swarms of Scaly-feathered Finches, while some special birds we’ll be looking for include the stunning Crimson-breasted Shrike, Ashy Tit, and Kalahari Scrub-Robin. 

The park is a great place for raptors, and we can expect to see Gabar Goshawk, Lanner and possibly Red-necked Falcon, Bateleur, and Martial Eagle. Both Spotted and Verreaux’s Eagle Owls might be found at roost, and in the more open areas we stand a chance of finding the striking Secretarybird or a Kori Bustard. Gemsbok are common here, as are Springbok and Blue Wildebeest, and an encounter with an endearing troop of Meerkats is always possible. We may also see a pride of the large, black-maned Kalahari Lions or a skulking Cheetah.

The countryside outside the reserve is also good for birds, and we’ll be on the lookout for Northern Black Korhaan, African Grey and Southern Yellow-billed Hornbills, Pearl Spotted Owlet, Red-billed Buffalo Weaver, Southern Pied Babbler, Groundscraper Thrush, and vivid Violet-eared Waxbill to mention a few. Night near Kgalagadi Reserve.

Day 4: We’ll retrace our steps to Upington, stopping on the way to look for Eastern Clapper and Pink-billed Larks. We may also encounter hundreds of Grey-backed Sparrow-larks overhead and we’ll look out for a mighty Lappet-faced Vulture drifting by. Upington sits on the Orange River and we’ll spend time this afternoon birding in and around the grounds of our lodge overlooking the river as well as at some nearby locations. Birds should include African Black Duck, Giant Kingfisher, South African Cliff-Swallow, White-throated Swallow, White-backed and Red-faced Mousebirds, African Hoopoe, Crested Barbet, Red-eyed Bulbul, Orange River White-eye, and Black-throated Canary. Night in Upington. 

Day 5: After a final look around the lodge grounds we’ll begin our journey to Poffader, following the course of the Orange River. We’ll stop at Augrabies National Park. Here the river tumbles through a narrow gorge and over a spectacular waterfall. We’ll have time admire the falls, and the brightly coloured Cape Flat Lizards that chase each other around the boulders.  Alpine Swifts and African Rock Martins buzz around the gorge and there is a chance of the rarer Bradfields Swift as well. Other birds we may encounter in the gorge include Black Stork, Peregrine Falcon, and Verreaux’s Eagle while around the wooded camp site we’ll look for Golden-tailed Woodpecker, Pririt Batis, Pale-winged Starlings, African Reed Warbler, and the localized Namaqua Warbler. As we near Pofadder we may encounter our first Karoo Korhaans or a lone Double-banded Courser. Night in Pofadder.

Day 6: South of the Orange River lie the arid and semi-arid regions of Bushmanland, a primeval landscape where, in the not-too-distant past, San tribes hunted the migrant herds of antelopes. This area is still sparsely populated, and it’s possible to travel through the stark wilderness all day without seeing another person. Driving along the endless dirt roads that service the remote farms, we’ll hope to see Great Kestrel, Karoo Korhaan, Ludwig’s Bustard, Tractrac and Karoo Chats, Layard’s Tit-babbler, Southern Grey Tit, and Lark-like Bunting, among others. In such an arid region, water is a great attraction, and we’ll stop at the many small drinking troughs to see what’s about. In particular we hope to find more of the region’s larks, including Sclater’s, Stark’s, Thick-billed, Karoo Long-billed, and Spike-heeled. Later we’ll travel to a specific area of red sand dunes to look for the rare Red Lark, which is found in only a few tiny areas of the Northern Cape. Night in Pofadder.

Day 7: We’ll leave early to travel west to Namaqualand and the world-famous wildflower region. Turning south, we’ll drive into the hills following a maze of dirt tracks that weave through a mosaic of agricultural land where, if the rains have been generous, we should be treated to some fabulous wildflower displays. Whether or not the flowers are there (and they are dependent on there having been good rains), we’ll still have many birds to see, including Ground Woodpecker, Mountain Wheatear, Bokmakierie, Malachite Sunbird, and Black-headed Canaries. 

Dragging ourselves away from what we hope will be a botanical extravagance will not be easy, but an ornithological one awaits us farther south at the thriving fishing port of Lambert’s Bay. We’ll arrive in the evening, just in time to sample the delights of an excellent open-air fish restaurant on the beach with the Atlantic waves crashing just a few yards away. Night at Lambert’s Bay.

Day 8: We’ll begin with a dawn visit to the extensive coastal fynbos that surrounds the town, looking for Karoo and Cape Clapper Larks, both of which should be performing their aerial song displays. Other species could include Karoo Scrub Robin, Karoo Prinia, Grey-backed Cisticola, Cape Penduline Tit, and Bar-throated Apalis. After breakfast we’ll visit the famous Cape Gannet colony, which will be teeming with tens of thousands of birds well into their breeding season. The sight, sound, and, it must be said, smell of all these birds packed together is memorable. In the throngs of Cape Gannets we should also find Cape and Crowned Cormorants jostling for space, and we’ll watch Cape Fur Seals basking on the rocks. Leaving Lambert’s Bay, we’ll head inland, stopping first at a location for the very elusive Protea Canary before driving on through some increasingly dramatic scenery towards the great Karoo where we spend two nights.

Day 9: The Karoo is a vast open and dry place and it must be said, not exactly full of birds.  However there are some real gems lurking in this landscape and we’ll begin with a visit to a rocky gorge to look for Cinnamon-breasted Warbler as well as Fairy Flycatcher, Pririt Batis, and Layard’s Tit Babbler. The Karoo is an endless stony plain covered in a beautiful array of small euphorbias and succulent scrub. If there has been rain, we may find flocks of Black-eared Sparrowlarks displaying, while Karoo Korhaan and Burchell’s or Double-banded Courser could turn up anywhere. This is good “chat” country, and we’ll have time to compare Karoo and Tractrac Chats. Elsewhere we’ll search for Rufous-eared Warbler, Karoo Eremomela, and the localized Namaqua Warbler

Day 10: We’ll have time this morning to search for any species we may have missed yesterday before setting out for Swellendam. The route we take depends on what birds we still need to see in this area but whichever route we follow, we are assured of some fantastic scenery before we reach the quaint town of Swellendam and the Bontebok National Park, where we’ll spend the night. 

Day 11: The Bontebok National Park comprises some extensive fynbos, and driving along the tracks we should find Stanley’s Bustard, possibly with some males performing their impressive display. Elsewhere there should be more Black Harriers along with Pearl-breasted Swallow, “Agulhas” Cape Clapper Lark, Yellow Bishop, Malachite Sunbird, and African Stonechat. Fiscal Flycatchers are common here, and we may encounter a Greater Double-collared Sunbird, just on the western edge of its range. An early walk around our cabins may reveal Southern Tchagra, Olive Bushshrike or even Knyasna Woodpecker.  Later we’ll head south, driving through undulating arable fields where we’ll look for Agulhas Long-billed Lark among the many Red-capped and Large-billed Larks and where we should find large groups of Blue Cranes. We’ll cross the Breede River at the Malgas ferry and drive down to Potberg, a towering hill that is one of the last strongholds of Cape Vulture. Here we should have good views of these magnificent birds circling overhead.  Moving on we’ll drive to the village of Stanford where we’ll spend the night.

Day 12: We’ll start the day early searching the nearby rocky escarpments for the wonderful Cape Rockjumper and the skulking Victorin’s Warbler, along with other more common species such as Cape Rock Thrush, and Neddicky.  Hermanus is famous as a place to see whales and as we head west towards Cape Town we may see some of these mighty leviathans out to sea. We’ll stop to look at a colony of African Penguins and may have time to visit a small botanical gardens where brightly coloured Swee Waxbills feed around the flower beds. Later we’ll continue to Cape Town following a wonderfully scenic coastal road. Night in Cape Town.

Days 13-16: We’ll have four days in which to sample the delights that birding around the tip of Africa has to offer. The weather here is notoriously fickle, but if conditions allow we’ll venture out on a boat one day into the South Atlantic in search of seabirds. Our objective is to find a deep-sea trawler, which is likely to be followed by thousands of seabirds, mostly albatrosses, petrels, and shearwaters. If we find one, binoculars will hardly be necessary as many of the birds will be almost too close to focus on. The mix of birds is variable with a wide range possible, and we should see Shy, Black-browed, and with luck both Yellow-nosed Albatrosses, Southern Giant, Pintado, and White-chinned Petrels, Sooty and Great Shearwaters, Sub-Antarctic Skua, and Wilson’s Storm-petrel. Less common possibilities include Antarctic Fulmar, Wandering Albatross, and Soft-plumaged Petrel, and there is always the chance of a real seabird rarity. There may be a few Antarctic Terns heading to their southern breeding grounds, or a Sabine’s Gull freshly arrived from the north, and all of these will be mingling in the feeding frenzy with thousands of Cape Gannets, Cape Gulls, and Cape Fur Seals.

Back on land, we’ll explore the Cape’s verdant mountains, passes, and valleys looking for special birds such as Cape Grassbird, Orange-breasted Sunbird, and Cape Siskin. We’ll take time to visit the world-famous Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, lying in the shadow of Table Mountain. These gardens are not just a wonderful place for plants—there are plenty of birds to be seen as well. A resident Spotted Eagle Owl can usually be found at its daytime roost, Cape Batis and Forest Canaries feed among the undergrowth, while Cape Sugarbirds, Cape White-eyes, and Lesser Double-collared Sunbirds buzz around the masses of flowers and Sombre Greenbuls call loudly from the undergrowth. Black Saw-wings skim overhead, and we have a good chance of seeing a majestic Verreaux’s Eagle or a Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk soaring around the slopes of Table Mountain. 

One day we’ll leave early to drive north to the West Coast Nature Reserve. Here we’ll look for striking Black Harriers quartering the flower-strewn coastal fynbos, and we’ll spend time searching through the flocks of waders that make this huge natural lagoon their winter home. Among the migrants from farther north, there will also be resident birds such as White-fronted and Kittlitz’s Plovers. Around the edge of small pools we’ll find nesting Cape Weavers, and Southern Black Korhaans while Cape and Grey-winged Francolins can frequently be seen along the roadside. There should also be some superb flower displays here.  

Leaving the reserve, we’ll visit Veldriff at the mouth of the Berg River. Swift Terns will be much in evidence along with Caspian Terns, Cape and Hartlaub’s Gulls, and a variety of waders including Pied Avocet and Marsh Sandpiper. There should also be flocks of both Greater and Lesser Flamingos and thousands of Cape Cormorants. At some small salt pans we hope to find a number of smart Chestnut-banded Plovers, and from there we’ll explore the open agricultural areas, looking for Cape Long-billed Lark and Sickle-winged Chat.

Back at the Cape, a visit to the famous Strandfontein Sewage Farm should give us close encounters with Glossy Ibis, Pied Avocets, and a number of ducks including Southern Pochard and Maccoa Duck and there is always the chance of a rarity such as Allen’s Gallinule. Nights in Cape Town.

We’ll have time during the morning of Day 16 to explore any areas we feel warrant a second visit before we travel to the Cape Town airport where the tour concludes around midday.

2024 Narrative

IN DETAIL: A short flight from Johannesburg took us to Upington, the gateway to the Kalahari and the start of our birding adventure. Driving north we soon encountered the large hay-stack nests of Sociable Weavers adorning roadside poles and trees, a sight that was to dominate the landscape for the next few days.  The first of many Northern Black Korhaans were seen along the road and one stop was particularly useful with Ashy Tit, Crimson-breasted Shrike, Brubru, Southern Pied Babbler, Lilac-breasted Roller, several African White-backed Vultures, and a dashing Gabar Goshawk. Other stops gave us a noisy Golden-tailed Woodpecker and our first larks in the form of Sabota and Spike-heeled.

Once inside the park we made straight for one of the waterholes. As soon as we arrived a Red-necked Falcon put in an appearance and it was not too long before group after group of Namaqua and Burchell’s Sandgrouse flighted in to take a quick drink, their bubbling calls filling the air. They were joined by lots of Red-headed Finches, Lark-like Buntings, Grey-backed Sparrowlarks, Cape Sparrows, and Namaqua Doves.  A Lanner Falcon made a series of half-hearted passes trying to catch a sandgrouse but was unsuccessful.  Our drive around the park produced the only really wild Ostriches of the tour, as well as Kori Bustard, Black-chested Snake Eagle, Tawny Eagle, Pygmy Falcon, several Southern Pale Chanting Goshawks, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Kalahari Scrub Robin, Common Scimitarbill, Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters, a group of very obliging Stark’s Larks, Fawn-coloured Larks, and Chat and Marico Flycatchers.  The mammal numbers were lower than usual but we did find a lot of smart Gemsbok, and some herds of Springbok and Wildebeest, plus a few Red Hartebeest. And as always the Meerkats were a real delight.

Retracing our steps to Upington we had a small group of massive Lappet-faced Vultures sailing overhead and on reaching Upington the Orange River and surrounding habitat proved to be good for birds. The sought-after African Black Ducks showed well on the river from our lodge, there were Red-faced Mousebirds everywhere and Karoo Thrushes hopping around the lawn. Also on the river were African Fish Eagles, Three-banded Plover, African Pied Wagtail, Green-backed Heron, Goliath Heron, Hamerkop, Giant and Pied Kingfishers, vivid Southern Masked Weavers and monotone Lesser Swamp Warblers. As dusk approached flocks of Wattled Starlings flew upriver to roost, as did groups of Cattle Egrets.  On the edge of town we found African Hoopoe, lots of Red-eyed Bulbuls, and striking Crested Barbets. 

Further along the Orange River at Augrabies National Park we watched the river crashing through the narrow gorge while multi-coloured lizards chased each other around the rocks. Alpine Swifts buzzed around the gorge and Pale-winged Starlings were hopping around the café terrace. Our picnic lunch here was interrupted by great views of the localised Namaqua Warbler.  Heading further east we reached Pofadder and the wide-open spaces of Bushmanland. Here we battled with strong winds to find some of the special birds of this area. These included Karoo Korhaan, Martial Eagle, Greater Kestrel, more Stark’s Larks, Karoo Long-billed Lark, Black-eared Sparrowlarks, the wonderful Red Lark, more Spike-heeled Larks, and Karoo and Tractrac Chats amongst others. 

We had high hopes of some good wildflower displays as we entered Namaqualand and we were not disappointed. The areas north of Springbok were awash with orange daises and once inside Goegap National Park the landscape became a riot of colour. As well as the flowers this was a great place to see dapper Mountain Wheatears bouncing around the rocks. 

The N7 coast route took us eventually to Lamberts Bay.  Here the Cape Gannet colony never fails to impress, as did the adjacent Cape Fur Seal colony.  Thousands of Cape Cormorants were also streaming past and we had our first good looks at Swift Terns. Our journey down into the karoo was broken with one stop where we had stunning views of a pair of normally elusive Protea Canaries, while a pair of Verreaux’s Eagles sailed overhead. Further on a large wetland gave us African Spoonbills and masses of Red-knobbed Coots and a single Whiskered Tern was a surprise. 

The name Karoo means ‘dry place’ but some good rains earlier in the year meant that much of it was covered in flowers, a rare sight. We spent a day exploring this interesting landscape. Highlights included a group of 11 Ludwig’s Bustards, Pririt Batis, Fairy Flycatcher, Layard’s and Chestnut-vented Tit Babblers, a stunning male Black Harrier, Black-headed Canaries, Karoo Larks, and more Black-eared Sparrowlarks.  

We had one night in Bontebok National Park. The habitat around the chalets held Pin-tailed Whydah, Brimstone Canary, Streaky-headed Seedeater, Common Waxbill, Neddicky, lots of Fiscal Flycatchers, and an elusive Southern Tchagra while overhead Greater Striped Swallows and White-rumped Swifts buzzed around. Out on the open fynbos of the National Park we found some Stanley’s Bustards, majestic Blue Cranes, Pearl-breasted Swallow, and lots of African Stonechats. There were also several of the eponymous Bonteboks along with Red Hartbeest and Cape Mountain Zebra.

Heading south we drove through acres of agricultural land where African Pipits, Red-capped and Large-billed Larks lined the roadside and Blue Cranes were striding across the fields. After some searching we found Agulhas Long-billed Lark and a brief stop at Potberg gave us several Cape Vultures gliding along a cliff-face.  Reaching the coast we had superb views of Cape Rock Jumper and moved on to see our first Cape Sugarbirds in Harold Porter Botanical Gardens, and African Penguins at Stony Point. Here we also caught up with Bank Cormorants, joined by a few smaller Crowned Cormorants. 

We had three and a half days to see what the Cape Peninsular had to offer. One day was taken up with a pelagic and as ever it was a joy to find ourselves surrounded by thousands of seabirds including Shy and Black-browed Albatrosses, Giant, White-chinned and Pintado Petrels, Sooty and Great Shearwaters, and Wilson’s Storm Petrels. Brown (Sub-Antarctic) Skuas joined the throng as did both Atlantic and Indian Ocean Yellow-nosed Albatrosses. As always you never know what is going to turn up and this year we had great looks at up to 10 Soft-plumaged Petrels and singles each of the massive Northern and Southern Royal Albatrosses. The weather for this seabird extravaganza was excellent but the same cannot be said for all of our stay in Cape Town and we did spend some time dodging showers. 

We travelled north to witness the amazing wildflower display in the West Coast Nature Reserve, where we also caught up with Southern Black Korhaan, African Marsh Harrier, Banded Martin, Cape (Orange-throated) Longclaw, and Grey-winged Francolin.  A visit to some salt pans produced good numbers of cute Chestnut-banded Plovers, along with a few Kittlitz’s Plovers, lots of Little Stints and Curlew Sandpipers, Greater and Lesser Flamingoes, and Black-necked Grebes. We took a trip down to Africa’s most south-westerly point, the Cape of Good Hope, for the obligatory group photo but also to look for, and find, Ground Woodpecker, which showed really well, and Cape Siskins. The dubious surroundings of Strandfontein Sewage Treatment Plant held a variety of ducks including Southern Pochard, Cape Teal, Yellow-billed Duck, and Cape Shovelers. We also found a small group of Fulvous Whistling Ducks here, and a very handsome Purple Heron pretending to hide in the vegetation. There were a few Grey-headed Gulls amongst all the Hartlaub’s Gulls, a purple Swamphen clumped around the reeds and background calls belonged to Little Rush Warbler, Lesser Swamp Warbler and Levaillant’s Cisticola.

Our final morning saw us wandering around the well-kept grounds of Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Our previous visit was rained off, but not before we had seen the resident pair of Spotted Eagle Owls. This time there were lots of Sombre Greenbuls calling and Olive Thrushes skulked through the undergrowth. Target birds here included Cape Batis and Forest Canary, both of which we saw well. Booted Eagle and Forest Buzzard floated overhead and there were the inevitable Cape Sugarbirds feeding on the flowering proteas. An Amethyst Sunbird put in an appearance, its jet-black plumage relieved by purple and green iridescence, and this was joined by numerous Lesser Double Collared and Orange-breasted Sunbirds. As always Kirstenbosch was a delight to walk around and provided a fitting end to our Kalahari to the Cape tour.

                                                                                                                                                                             -          Steve Rooke

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