November 2024 / 2025: Western South Africa Endemics

Areas covered:

Our western South Africa Birdwatching Safari tour starts in Upington. From there we visit Augrabies Falls National Park. Moving on, we then stay in the Springbok area followed by Calvinia. Then it’s Langebaan on the Atlantic Coast, followed by Simon’s Town on the Cape Peninsula. After that we stay in Swellendam, before a final night in Wilderness. The tour then ends in George at the airport for flights to Johannesburg or to Durban to continue with Eastern South Africa Endemics.

Accommodation:

The accommodation on this trip is of a medium-plus standard. It includes national park chalets, B&B’s and guest houses. Importantly, all accommodations have en-suite facilities, and are clean and comfortable.

The birding:

Endemics are the name of the game! Our South Africa birdwatching safari covers most of the birding hot-spots of the western side of South Africa. These spots have been chosen on the basis of their special birds and geographic location to create a concise route designed to maximise the chances for the endemics. These endemics include: Grey-winged Francolin, Southern Black Korhaan, Knysna Woodpecker, Knysna Turaco, Cape Weaver, Ground Woodpecker, Cape Rock Thrush, Southern Tchagra, Cape Rockjumper, Cape Sugarbird, Cape Siskin, Orange-breasted Sunbird, Agulhas Long-billed Lark, Karoo Lark, Red Lark, Large-billed Lark, Cape Bulbul, Victorin’s Warbler, Forest Canary, Protea Canary and others. And on the exciting pelagic trip participants will be introduced to a host of marine species, including a range of Albatrosses, Petrels, Prions, Shearwaters, Storm Petrels etc.

Exciting near-endemics and other specials include: Blue Crane, Cape Vulture, Denham’s Bustard, Secretarybird, Black Harrier, Jackal Buzzard, Cape Grassbird, Namaqua Warbler, Cinnamon-breasted Warbler, Karoo Eremomela, Karoo Korhaan, Swee Waxbill, Black-headed Canary, Cape Gannet, African Penguin, Crowned, Cape and Bank Cormorants, Malachite Sunbird and many others.See the species check list on the digital itinerary for the full species list.

The mammals:

This is primarily a birding safari, though there are some mammals to be seen. The western side of the country doesn’t have the mammal biomass of the east. However, we may see species such as South African Giraffe, Rock Hyrax, Bontebok, Gemsbok, Springbok, Klipspringer, Cape Mountain Zebra, Cape Grysbok, Red Hartebeest and others. And by November numbers of Southern Right Whales offshore will be decreasing, but there should still be a fair few to be seen.

In conclusion, this South Africa Birding Safari 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 Eastern South Africa Endemics safari, which begins the day after the Western leg ends.