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| Safari Name | 9-Days Kruger National Park and Escarpment Birding Safari |
| Tour Code | |
| Destination |
Full Itinerary
Day 1. Arrival, transfer to Dullstroom
Your international flight arrives in the mile-high city of Johannesburg, and we immediately embark on our 2.5-hour drive eastwards to the escarpment, where we’ll spend some time at one of South Africa’s premier grassland endemic birding sites, Dullstroom. Here, we may find Gurney’s Sugarbird, Malachite Sunbird, Cape Eagle-Owl, Secretarybird, Yellow-breasted Pipit, and a host of others. We sometimes also visit a nearby farm for African Grass Owl, time permitting.. Overnight: Linger Longer Country Retreat, near Dullstroom
Day 2. Birding the Escarpment
We’ll head to a completely different part of the escarpment today, this time to an area of beautiful evergreen forest and other habitats. En route we’ll look for one of Africa’s rarest birds, the small but powerful and extremely fast Taita Falcon. This was only recently discovered as a breeding bird in South Africa, but this site is probably the most reliable place on earth to find this species at present. As usual, we may find all sorts of other birds, including Mocking Cliff Chat, Lanner Falcon, Cape Vulture, etc. Eventually we’ll reach Mount Sheba Lodge, where we’ll look for South African endemics including Knysna Turaco, Swee Waxbill, and Southern Tchagra, along with many other more widespread but nevertheless sought-after birds such as the beautiful Narina Trogon. Overnight: Mount Sheba Lodge, Pilgrim’s Rest
Days 3 – 7. Kruger National Park
<We descend the escarpment to the “lowveld”, a mega-diverse wildlife region, in which one of Africa’s greatest game parks sprawls, the massive Kruger National Park. This park has a staggering bird diversity, and we are bound to find multiple species of each of the following groups: hornbills, barbets, rollers, bee-eaters, kingfishers, cuckoos, storks, eagles (including the amazing Bateleur), vultures, owls, weavers (including Red-headed Weaver), turacos, and many others. We should also encounter elephant, lion, rhinoceros, giraffe, buffalo, a plethora of antelope species, hippopotamus, Nile crocodile, and many small mammals, such as mongooses, etc. We will, however, require much luck for leopard or cheetah. We stay at some of the very best parts of the park for animals as well as birds – Lower Sabie and Satara Restcamps being focal places. Overnight: Restcamps within the Kruger National Park
Day 8. Transfer to and birding the Rust de Winter Nature Reserve
After a long drive (about five hours), we will spend our last part of this diverse-habitat tour at KwaNdaba Game Lodge (approx.1.5 hour’s drive from Johannesburg airport), where we will immediately be overwhelmed by an incredibly rich assemblage of Kalahari bird species, quite a lot of them extremely spectacular, in the beautiful Rust de Winter Nature Reserve. 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 Weaver (Finch), Blue-cheeked Bee-eater as well as various other bee-eaters, Kalahari Scrub Robin, and a host of others. Overnight: KwaNdaba Game Lodge, Rust de Winter
Day 9. Departure
We will do some final birding at this splendid site, which has a plethora of species absent from Kruger or from the Escarpment, before driving to Johannesburg airport for your international flights home.
Activities/services included in the cost:
• Arrival and departure airport transfer. • Accommodation as per the itinerary.
• Accommodation in the National Parks is based on Full Board
• Road transportation in custom made safari vehicles.
• Exclusive private vehicle and driver-guide throughout the safari
• Game dives as per the itinerary
• Park and game reserve entrance fees
• English Driver guides available for the safari
• Our 24hours support throughout the safari
Activities/services excluded in the cost:
• All International Flights/local Flights + Taxes
• Visa fees, Travel & Personal accident insurance
• Excursions, services and activities not mentioned in this program
• Flying option available for certain safaris at an extra cost
• Personal expenses e.g. laundry, telephone calls, Drinks, Tips etc
To get costs for this tour, contact our Sales Office Team on sales@trailsofafrica.co.ke
Just give us the Safari Tour Code and name of the safari you want to book and we shall revert back with costs and availability.
As one of the most diverse and enchanting countries in the world, South Africa competes with the best of them when it comes to Mother Nature’s beauty pageant. She scores top marks for her diverse offering of beautiful beaches, dramatic mountains and cliff-faces, famed Table Mountain with its cloudy tablecloth, the luscious Garden Route stretching from the Eastern to Western Cape, lush forest belts, intriguing semi-desertscapes, and unforgettable sunsets over the African veld. The country is rich in natural beauty and wildlife, with unspoiled beaches, dramatic mountains, protected wilderness areas, national parks and game reserves. Exotic combinations of landscapes, people, history and culture offers travelers a unique and inspiring experience.
Besides the common Big 5 in most African safari, South Africa has Big 7: add the Great White Shark and Southern Right Whale to the list of the Big 5. And don’t forget all the other South African favourites – cheetah, giraffe, zebra, hippo, hyena, warthog and the famed dung beetle may not be the bigger 7, but they certainly like to claim their moment in the spotlight. South Africa boasts no less than 20 national parks, with literally hundreds of other private parks and game lodges to ensure you get a generous slice of the ‘African experience.’
Accommodations vary from deluxe safari camps and hotels to self-service bungalows. On Safari, you may view game by closed vehicle in national parks and by open vehicle and walking tours in private game reserves and wilderness areas to view the Big 5. Touring around the Cape and on the Garden Route is very popular.
South Africa is located on the southern tip of the African continent, bordered by northern neighbours Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It encompasses the independent mountain kingdoms of Lesotho and Swaziland and is flanked by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and the warm Indian Ocean on the east – giving the country its spectacular range of biodiversity.
South Africa’s Tourist Attractions
As one of the most diverse and enchanting countries in the world, South Africa competes with the best of them when it comes to Mother Nature’s beauty pageant. She offers beautiful beaches, dramatic mountains and cliff-faces, famed Table Mountain with its cloudy tablecloth, the luscious Garden Route stretching from the Eastern to Western Cape, lush forest belts, intriguing semi-desertscapes, and unforgettable sunsets over the African veld. Besides the common Big 5 in most African safari, South Africa has Big 7: add the Great White Shark and Southern Right Whale to the list of the Big 5. Exotic combinations of landscapes, people, history and culture offers travelers a unique and inspiring experience.
Cape Town Tour
Garden Route
Grootbos Nature Reserve
Kruger National Park
Kruger Sabi Sands
Kwandwe Private Game Reserve
Phinda Private Game Reserve
