13 Day Birding Tour in South Africa

Cape Peninsula And Garden Route
12th to 24th September 2010

This new itinerary begins in the Cape Peninsula region then heads eastwards along the coast to Port Elizabeth before swinging inland to the thicket region of Addo and the arid but beautiful Karoo semi-desert. The bird list for this trip is varied and features many endemics and special species that are found nowhere else on earth.

Whales, Elephants and Penguins - Tour Itinerary

Days 1 to 3: Afton Grove; Cape Peninsula

• Arrive in Cape Town and drive south along the Peninsula to Afton Grove in Noordhoek.
• This will be our base for the next three days and we will explore the area and include all of the main birding spots, such as Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Cape Point, Boulder’s Beach, Strandfontein and so forth.
• Birding and wildlife highlights include African Penguin, Cape Sugarbird, Cape Siskin, Orange-breasted Sunbird, Cape, Bank and Crowned Cormorants, Cape Rockjumper, Ostrich and mammals such as Bontenbok, Eland, Cape Fur Seal and Southern Right Whale.

Days 4 and 5: Swellendam Lodge, Swellendam

• Moving eastwards along the coast we stop in Swellendam for the next two nights.
• From Swellendam we will explore Bontebok National Park and De Hoop Nature Reserve on the Agulhas Plain. Grootvadersbos, a large tract of forest, provides an additional habitat to explore if we have time.
• Birding and wildlife highlights include Agulhas Clapper Lark, Agulhas Long-billed Lark, Karoo Korhaan, Cape Vulture, Denham’s Bustard, Blue Crane, Capped Wheatear, Southern Tchagra, Knysna Woodpecker, Southern Black Korhaan and others.

Day 6: Tsitsikamma National Park

• Moving into the region known as the Garden Route, our next stop is along the coast in the Tsitsikamma National Park, a region synonymous with Yellowwood Forests and a spectacular coastline. We have one night at Storm’s River Rest Camp.
• Birding and wildlife highlights here include Half-collared Kingfisher, Bar-throated Apalis, Yellow-throated Woodland-Warbler, Scaly-throated Honeyguide, Knysna Turaco, Forest Canary, Swee Waxbill and many others. Marine mammals could include Southern Right Whales, Common and Bottle-nosed Dolphins.

Days 7 to 9: Addo Main Camp, Addo Elephant National Park

• Moving on from the coast we head on to Addo Elephant National Park near Port Elizabeth, the eastern end of the Garden Route. Addo is synonymous with large herds of African Elephants, as well as a good variety of general game, including Lion since 2004, when they were re-introduced into the area.
• We will have two full days to explore this wonderful reserve.
• Birding and wildlife highlights include Secretarybird, Southern Black Korhaan, Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk, Blue Crane, Pearl-breasted Swallow and mammals such as Elephant, Black Rhino, Cape Buffalo, Eland, Red Hartebeest and Kudu, among others.  

Days 10 and 11: Mountain Zebra National Park

• From Addo we head inland into the Karoo, a rocky arid area inland from the coastal mountains. Just as Addo was set up to conserve the last few elephants in the area, so was Mountain Zebra set up to conserve the last few remaining Cape Mountain Zebras.
• We will have two nights and a full day here to explore the park, which offers spectacular arid scenery and wonderful birding.
• Birding and wildlife highlights include Ground Woodpecker, Layard’s Tit-Babbler, Cape Eagle-Owl, Dusky Sunbird, Eastern Clapper Lark, Sickle-winged Chat, African Rock Pipit, Karoo Prinia and mammals such as Cape Mountain Zebra, Black Wildebeest, Springbok and Yellow Mongoose, to name but a few.

Day 12: Dungbeetle River Lodge; Greater Addo Elephant National Park

• After the Karoo we will head back to the Addo area for our final night of the tour. this will give us a chance to relax after a wonderful tour, and means that we’ don’t have a rush to depart on the final day.

Day 13: Departure.

• After a last morning activity at Dungbeetle, we’ll have breakfast and head on to Port Elizabeth to catch a connecting flight to Johannesburg or Cape Town for international departure flights.

Other Highlights and Attractions

Southern Right Whales all along the coast, Table Mountain, Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, a wide variety of game species in Addo Elephant National Park, the desolate beauty of the Karoo and of course the excellent food and wine of the region.

What's Included in Your Tour

• Accommodation
• All meals
• Ground transport
• Bottled water in vehicles whilst travelling
• Game drives in open vehicles when in private reserves
• Personalised bird and mammal checklists
• Entrance fees
• National Park Conservation fees where necessary
• Specialist guide fees
• Single accommodation for tour leader

What's Not Included

• All airfares
• Travel and medical insurance
• All drinks
• Optional night drives when in Kruger Park
• Excursions not mentioned in the itineraries
• Items of a personal nature

For advice, consultations and bookings, contact Close Encounters on 0844 415 0155 or email us

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For consultations & bookings, please call  0844 415 0155 or  Email us