Nov. / Dec. 2024 / 2025: Eastern South Africa Endemics

Areas covered:

Our eastern South Africa Birding Safari starts in Umhlanga, near the port city of Durban. From there we do Sani Pass in the Southern Drakensberg. Next up on the trip is Eshowe and Dlinza Forest. We then move on to St Lucia on the Indian Ocean coast. Heading north we visit Tembe Elephant Park. Wakkerstroom and its first-class birding is next up. And then we visit the Kruger National Park. After that it’s the misty forests of Magoebaskloof. And finally, we have a last stop in Polokwane. The tour then ends off in Johannesburg.

Accommodation:

The accommodation is of a medium-plus standard. It includes several guest houses, a tented safari lodge, national park chalets and a small hotel. Importantly, all accommodations have en-suite facilities, and are clean and comfortable.

The birding:

Endemic birds are the name of the game! Our South Africa birding safari covers most of the birding hot-spots of the eastern side of South Africa. These spots have been chosen on the basis of their special birds and geographic location to create a concise route. This route is designed to maximise the chances for the endemics. These endemics include: Drakensberg Rockjumper, Drakensberg Siskin, Gurney’s Sugarbird, Bush Blackcap, Cape Vulture, Southern Bald Ibis, Ground Woodpecker, Cape Parrot, Eastern Long-billed Lark, Rudd’s Lark, Botha’s Lark, Blue Korhaan, Chorister Robin-Chat, Knysna Turaco, Buff-streaked Chat, African Rock Pipit, Yellow-breasted Pipit, Drakensberg Prinia and many others. Exciting near-endemics and other specials include: Blue Crane, Jackal Buzzard, Cape Vulture, Lammergeier, Southern Banded Snake Eagle, Bokmakierie, Plain-backed Sunbird, African Broadbill, Secretarybird, Livingstone’s Turaco, Southern Ground Hornbill, Orange Ground Thrush, Narina Trogon, Short-clawed Lark and many others. See the species check list on the digital itinerary for the full species list.

The mammals:

Although this is primarily a birding safari, there are plenty of mammals and other wildlife to see. For example, these include the classic African big game species such as: Elephant, African Buffalo, Lion, Leopard, South African Giraffe and Hippopotamus. In addition, one can expect to see a range of Antelope, plus some smaller species such as various Primates, Honey Badger, Black-backed Jackal, various Mongoose species and others. In addition, there’s a range of reptiles, amphibians, butterflies and other insects to be seen.

In conclusion, this South Africa Birding Safari tour offers the more serious birders a real chance at bagging most of the endemics of eastern South Africa. The pace is quite fast, as there’s a lot of ground to cover, so it’s not really suited to the more casual birder. But for serious birders, combining our two endemics tours offers a real chance to ‘clean up’ on South Africa’s specials.

Have a look at our Western South Africa Endemics safari, for the endemics and near-endemics found in the other side of the country.