Southern
Africa offers superb bird watching in diverse nature destinations
Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Professional
guides lead every bird watching trip to ensure the highest success
rate. Some of the famous names involved in these safaris
are Geoff Lockwood and Ian Davidson.
SOUTHERN
AFRICAN BIRD WATCHING SAFARIS
Botswana's
Best Birding -
6 Days
This 5-night bird watching vacation safari to the Okavango
Delta at a time of the year when all the intra-African and
European migrants are in residence and breeding is at its
peak. We travel with one of the region's foremost
bird painters and authors.
We travel to two Okavango camps offering contrasting habitats
and birding watching experiences within the Okavango Delta.
Most of the region's rarities and endemics should be seen
- from Pel's Fishing Owl to the diminutive Brown Firefinch.
Within the waterways, savannahs and lagoons, countless herons,
ducks, jacanas, eagles, vultures, ibis, storks, plovers
and all the 'LBJ's should be found. Some of the rare species
include Slaty Egrets, Wattled Cranes, Coppery-tailed Coucals,
Black Coucals, Thick-Billed Cuckoo, Chirping Cisticola and
Lesser Jacana. Contact
us for more information and rates...
Recommended time of year to travel - early to mid November
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Malawi
Ultimate Bird Watching Safari with Ian Davidson -
15 Days
We ran our first bird watching vacation trip in Malawi
in 1987 and have done many more since. Our record number
of species for a 2-week birding safari is 425 and our experience
has helped us pick the very best bird watching itinerary
possible.
This 15-day safari travels to many different habitats in
Malawi. Being a small country with a huge variety of habitats
from pristine miombo woodland to montane forest and grassland,
swamp, rainforest and mature riverine, the country has a
species list of over 620, many of which cannot be seen south
of the Zambezi.
We start the bird watching safari in the capital of Lilongwe
where we spend two nights; included is a full-day excursion
to the Dzalanyama Forest Reserve. We continue north to the
Viphiya Plateau for one night where we visit the expanses
of miombo woodlands. The Vwasa Marsh Game Reserve is the
next destination and activities here include walks and game
drives.
We continue to the Nyika Plateau for three nights, scenically
one of Malawi's most spectacular wild areas. Here the days
are spent walking, game driving or relaxing at the camp.
Making our way southwards to the lake we spend two nights
on the lakeshore and then on to Blantyre, where accommodation
has been arranged for two nights. The trip continues southwards
to the Zomba Plateau where we spend one night in a hotel
perched on the steep edge of the Zomba Mountain.
We move on to Liwonde National Park on the banks of the
Shire River for a two-night stay. In this park the habitat
is varied and includes the river, lagoons and marshes, and
open savannah country, woodland and hills. We return to
Lilongwe where the safari ends.
This bird watching trip will be guided by Ian Davidson,
a superb field guide who has a number of very successful
Malawi trips under his belt. While his primary interest
is birds, he has extensive knowledge in the entomological,
botanical and general zoological fields and has written
over 40 scientific papers on entomological and bird-related
subjects. Contact us for more information and rates...
Recommended time of year to travel - mid Oct to early November |
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Malawi's
& Zambia's Best Birding with Geoff Lockwood - 11
Days
This 11 day bird watching safari is led by one of southern
Africa's top birding experts, authors, painters and wildlife
lecturers. Geoff has many Malawi bird watching safaris under
his belt and will help to bring this safari alive. Malawi
has many National Parks. Each harbours a number of different
vegetation types and different birds.
We travel to Liwonde National Park and the Shire River for
some of Africa's best birding - White Backed Night Herons,
Pels Fishing Owl, Boehm's Bee-Eater, Palm Nut Vulture, Brown
Breasted Barbets and huge flocks of African Skimmer.
We then move up in the Bachestegia forests for Bar-Tailed
Trogons, Akalats and Alethes before reaching the mountain
grasslands of the Nyika Plateau. It is an incredible birding
destination and a great birding safari. Contact us for more information and rates...
Dates subject to request
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Namibia's
Best Birding Safari with Peter Steyn -
9 Days
This 9-day safari travels to many of the different habitats
in Namibia at a time of year when the migrants are resident
and when guests should see as many of the Namibian birds
as possible.
We start the bird watching safari in the southern Namib
region at Sossusvlei before travelling north to Swakopmund.
Here we have three nights of Namib Desert bird watching
and nature viewing (including a boat trip out to sea). We
travel up to Etosha for two nights, ending the safari in
Windhoek. We will focus on many of the Namibian endemics.
Contact us for more information and rates...
Recommended time of year to travel - mid March
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The
Ultimate Southern Africa Birding Safari with Geoff Lockwood
-
13 Days
We travel throughout the region to minimise delays and
maximize time bird watching on the ground. All the key birding
areas on or south of the Zambezi are explored.
This 13 day bird watching safari starts off in Windhoek.
We then head for the Atlantic Coast and Swakopmund where
we bird in the Namib Desert and out to sea. We then head
for Etosha and Ongava Lodge, followed by the complete contrast
of Botswana's central Okavango Delta at Xigera Camp.
We fly northwards to the River Club on the Zambezi River
- and then to Chikwenya in Mana Pools.
The safari ends up at Ndumo Game Reserve in Northern Natal
where we enjoy some of South Africa's best bird watching.
Guests can extend onto Cape Town and Peter Steyn's back
yard for some "fynbos" habitat and Cape birding.
Contact us for more information and rates...
Dates on a tailormade basis
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