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South Africa
Western Cape
Birding
Tour
All Year Round
Cape
Peninsula,
False Bay,
West Coast,
Karoo,
Garden Route,
Algulhas Plains
 
Cape Endemics
Ground Price from R35,883 per person based on two people sharing - reductions for
larger groups - [Prices are quoted in Rand as the exchange rates fluctuate] See foot of page for rates...Flights from London can be had for around £500 return
Partner &
Guide
Our partner's team in
Namibia is made up of
experienced guides; Dr. Chris Lotz, Nick Lotz, Eduardo Ormaeche, Errol de Beer
and Nadia Gunter. Chris Lotz has operated his own company since July 2002.
Itinerary
Overview:
We recommend that you discuss this itinerary and your personal preferences with
one of our guides before booking your tour. Each birder is different, and
although we highly recommend the itinerary as it stands, we might suggest minor
(or even large) modifications according to how intense or relaxed you want the
trip to be, whether you want to maximize the bird (and especially endemic) list,
or whether mammals, plants and other things are also very important to you
(typically, we focus very strongly on finding the strategic birds and
incidentally we find a lot of other wildlife, splendid scenery, etc.).
This, our standard 2-week
Fairest Cape birding
itinerary, is designed to give adequate time for finding the bulk of the Western
Cape Province’s birds. We have also often offered an 8-day Western Cape birding
tour, but this hardly gives enough time in this spectacular (for both scenery
and endemics) province. The Cape happens to be the greatest hotspot for endemic
birds on the entire African continent. We search for fynbos endemics on the
Cape
Peninsula
and along the breathtaking False Bay coastline, then we head up the West Coast,
through magnificent Cape Fold Mountains into the Karoo semi-desert, where tons
and tons of endemics lurk. Eventually, we head to the idyllic Garden Route,
where the likes of Knysna Turaco, Knysna Woodpecker, the endangered Knysna
Warbler and hosts of others can be found. On our way back to
Cape Town
– one of the world’s most beautiful cities - we spend time on the Agulhas Plains
around the southernmost tip of the African continent. Here, Blue Cranes abound,
together with good numbers of other spectacular species and some extremely
localized birds.
Tour
Day 1 - Fri: Arrival
(Friday arrival is usually
best as most pelagic trips run on the weekends)
International flight arrives
in Cape Town,
transfer to B&B, and if time permits we can begin our Cape Peninsula birding.
Overnight:
Afton Grove B&B
Day 2 - Sat: Pelagic
Pelagic trip or Cape
Peninsula birding (if pelagic trip is postponed until Day 3 due to last minute
weather forecast – we will find out one or two days before the pelagic). One-day
pelagic trips, which depart from Simonstown (where we will find African
Penguin), involve going 30-50 km out to sea. En route, we pass the magnificent
Cape Point – really spectacular when seen from the sea. Our first pelagic
species are usually Sooty Shearwater and White-chinned Petrel (with the
occasional Spectacled Petrel), followed soon by both species of Giant Petrel.
Further out to sea, a minimum of four albatross species, the beautiful Pintado
(in winter only) and other petrels, several storm petrels (two species are
usually common), shearwaters and lots of others are observed. We almost always
find at least one trawler, and it is around these fishing boats that huge
congregations of albatrosses and other seabirds create an amazing spectacle. We
often encounter marine mammals such as Bryde’s Whales on these pelagics.
Overnight:
Afton Grove B&B
Day 3 - Sun:
Cape
Peninsula
Cape Peninsula birding or
pelagic trip. Cape Town, one of the world’s most beautiful cities, is located
near Table Bay
on the northern extremity of the stunning
Cape Peninsula. This morning
your guide will fetch you from Afton Grove B&B and spend the day taking you to
some of the Peninsula’s top birding sites. We will try to find a lot of the
localized fynbos endemics (of which there are many), and we will also see
flamingo, pelican and other waterbird spectacles, plus we will enjoy fantastic
botanical garden birding in idyllic surroundings.
We will start the day at the
Constantia Greenbelt where our main target bird is the endangered, skulking,
Knysna Warbler. Here we may also find African Olive (Rameron) Pigeon, Red-chested
Cuckoo, Buff-spotted Flufftail (with lots of luck), the characterful
Cape Batis, and other forest
birds. Then we will spend a couple of hours birding the famous Kirstenbosch
Botanical Gardens. Here, it is quite easy to find some important fynbos endemics
such as Orange-breasted Sunbird and Cape Sugarbird. Other fine birds such as
Cape Francolin, Southern Boubou, Cape Canary, Brimstone Canary, Cape Thrush,
Cape Robin-chat, Spotted Prinia, Swee Waxbill (with luck) and a whole host of
other excellent birds abound. Eurasian Honey Buzzard, a very rare bird in South
Africa, is actually regular at Kirstenbosch in late summer. Many other raptors
are possible in the gardens and at other sites we will visit during our
Peninsula birding – including Verreaux’s (Black) Eagle, several exciting
accipiters, Jackal Buzzard (endemic), Forest Buzzard (endemic), Peregrine
Falcon, Rock (Common) Kestrel and others. After an early lunch, we will visit a
wetland, either Rondevlei or Strandfontein Bird Sanctuary. Here we should find
wildfowl such as Cape Teal, Maccoa Duck and many others, Greater Flamingo, Great
White Pelican, African Black Oystercatcher, African Purple Swamphen, three grebe
species, shorebirds, African Marsh Harrier, a host of heron species, four
species of reed-associated warbler, and MANY more. We will visit a colony of
African Penguin (one of only three mainland colonies of this Namibia/South
Africa endemic), en route to the spectacular south-western-most tip of the
African continent, Cape Point. From this ‘end of the world’ spot, we should see
Cape Gannet, a large breeding colony of Cape Cormorant and quite a number of
interesting terrestrial birds – Cape Grassbird, Cape Siskin, Bokmakierie and
Cape Bulbul are exciting possibilities. Time-permitting, we may be able to
briefly visit Kommetjie for both species of endemic cormorant (Bank and
Crowned), White-fronted Plover and other species. We may not have time to visit
all the sites discussed above, but will prioritize according to the species we
are lacking and other factors. There will also be time at the end of the 2-week
trip to visit a couple of Cape Peninsula sites.
Overnight:
Afton Grove B&B
Day 4 - Mon: West Coast
Today we begin an exciting
birding journey northwards from
Cape Town, up the West
Coast. As usual, this is a very full day of birding. We will drive north from
the beautiful city of Cape Town. Our first stop will be at the tiny Tienie
Versveld Wildflower Reserve, an excellent stakeout for the unique Western Cape
subspecies of Cloud Cisticola. Here it is also usually easy to find the stunning
Orange-throated (Cape) Longclaw, Common Quail (in spring), Large-billed Lark,
several water-birds often including South African Shelduck, and good numbers of
other fine birds. This tiny reserve hosts an endemic plant species and a
plethora of other stunning flowers. We will then head to the extremely
interesting fishing town of Yzerfontein for the tiny, beautiful and localized
Chestnut-banded Plover, two endemic cormorant species, and others. Yzerfontein
is an excellent site for the West Coast endemic Heaviside’s Dolphin. We will
continue northwards to the West Coast National Park, which has fantastic
terrestrial endemic birding as well as a huge lagoon, which is one of Africa’s
primary shorebird stopover sites. Sought-after species we can find include Black
Harrier (and also African Marsh Harrier), Grey-wing Francolin, Cape Penduline
Tit, Southern Black Korhaan and many others. Ostrich is common.
Shorebirds (waders) include
impressive numbers of Red Knot, Curlew Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Curlew, Little
Stint, Bar-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, Marsh Sandpiper, Grey (Black-bellied)
Plover, Greater Flamingo and a host of others. Several shorebird species such as
Common Redshank that are generally vagrants to
South Africa are actually
regular here at the Langebaan Lagoon in the West Coast National Park. We can
also visit a freshwater wetland within the national park for a suite of new
species including African Rail (with luck), Black Crake (with luck), several
waterfowl, Brown-throated Martin, Eurasian Sand Martin (late summer),
reed-associated warblers and many more.
Overnight:
Glenfinnan Guest House,
Langebaan
Day 5 - Tue: West Coast -
Cape
Fold
Mountains
We will continue our West
Coast birding in the morning, searching sites such as the Berg River Mouth for
flamingos, Great White Pelican, etc. and the
Columbine
Peninsula for birds such as Tractrac Chat and Cape Long-billed Lark. We will
then head through spectacular Cape Fold Mountains towards our next overnight
stop, Ceres. En route, we will seek the elusive Protea Canary and other fynbos
endemics.
Overnight:
Village
Guest House, Ceres
Day 6 - Wed:
Karoo
We will embark on a full day
of Karoo birding.
Ceres is the gateway to the Karoo. The Karoo happens to be full of unique
endemics, and almost everything will be new to birders who haven’t yet visited
these parts. We will start our
Karoo
proper birding at a canyon near Katbakkies, which is a famed site for the
bizarre, crevice-skulking Cinnamon-breasted Warbler. But, this canyon is also
full of other incredibly exciting species such as the beautiful Fairy
Flycatcher, Pale-winged Starling, Mountain Wheatear, Layard’s Tit-babbler,
Rufous-vented Tit-babbler, Cape Eagle Owl (this one requires a lot of luck), and
a host of other rock- and mountain-associated species. We will then head onto
the vast flat plains for a completely different suite of endemics including
Karoo Korhaan, Tractrac Chat, Sickle-winged Chat, Karoo Chat, Karoo Eremomela,
Pale Chanting Goshawk, Rufous-eared Warbler, Southern Grey Tit, Karoo Lark,
Karoo Long-billed Lark, Southern Large-billed Lark, Spike-heeled Lark and many
others. Booted Eagle is relatively common here in these dry parts of the
south-western Cape.
By the time we reach the rustic but very hospitable Tanqua B&B, our chances of
finding Ludwig’s Bustard, Namaqua Warbler, Namaqua Sandgrouse, Namaqua Dove,
Dusky Sunbird (with luck), Double-banded Courser and the rare and declining
Burchell’s Courser will have markedly increased. The vicinity of the B&B itself
has proved one of the most reliable sites in
South Africa (and the world)
for the tough Burchell’s Courser.
Night drives at the Tanqua
B&B sometimes generate Rufous-cheeked Nightjar, Spotted Eagle Owl,
Cape Eagle Owl (with lots of
luck), Steenbok, Bat-eared Fox, Black-backed Jackal, Caracal (red Lynx – with
luck) and good numbers of other small mammals.
Overnight:
Tanqua Guesthouse B&B
Day 7 - Thu: Tanqua Karoo -
Great Western Escarpment
We will spend the morning
doing further Tanqua Karoo birding. One exciting thing we plan to do in the
morning is ascend the Great Western Escarpment, which gives us second chances at
the hyper-skulking Cinnamon-breasted Warbler, Pale-winged Starling, and other
rock-loving species. We then plan to embark on a long drive (3.5 hours without
stops) out of the Tanqua Karoo (which is a particularly desolate valley within
the Karoo bordered by the fynbos-clad Cederberg Mountains on the west and the
Escarpment on the east) and finally to the town of Beaufort West in the heart of
the Great Karoo. This area hosts a couple of strategic species that are very
difficult in the Tanqua, such as South African Rock Pipit. For those birders not
wanting so much driving and who are prepared to sacrifice a couple of endemics,
we suggest modifying the itinerary slightly.
Overnight:
Ko-ka-tsara
Bushcamp
Day 8 - Fri: Great
Karoo
- Swartberg
Mountains
After early morning Great
Karoo birding, we
will cross the magnificent Swartberg Mountain Range (which gives us another
chance at any fynbos endemics we may have missed so far, plus Sentinel Rock
Thrush) to the town of Outshoorn, the centre of the Ostrich farming industry.
This town, in the middle of what is called the Little Karoo (like the Tanqua, a
huge valley surrounded by mountains), is good for Cape Penduline Tit, meerkats
and tons more.
Overnight:
A country B&B near
Outshoorn
Day 9 - Sat:
Outeniqua
Mountains
- Garden Route
We will cross the
rain-shadow Outeniqua
Mountains into the beautiful Garden Route. This stretch of Indian Ocean
coastline is as different from the Karoo as ever, with forests, lots of lakes,
and green fynbos-covered mountains. We will begin our Garden Route birding this
afternoon.
Overnight:
Ebb
& Flow, Wilderness National Park
Day 10 - Sun:
Garden Route
We will have a full day of
Garden Route birding.
In this extremely pleasant area, we will look for African Finfoot, Knysna Turaco
(endemic), Scaly-throated Honeyguide, Chorister Robin-chat (endemic),
White-starred Robin-chat (seasonal and uncommon in the Cape) and a lot of
others. And, the Garden Route is the only place in South Africa where certain
species - such as the endemic Forest Buzzard and Half-collared Kingfisher - are
common.
Overnight:
Ebb & Flow, Wilderness
National Park
Day 11 - Mon:
Garden Route
- Agulhas Plains
After final Garden Route
birding, we will drive westwards (back toward Cape Town) to the Buchu Bush Camp
which lies on the Agulhas Plains (about 3.5 hours’ drive from the Garden Route
and 2.5 hours’ drive from Cape Town). Despite the fact that these plains are
largely covered by huge wheat, barley and canola fields, they host an unusual
number of large and spectacular birds. This is the stronghold of the world’s
Blue Crane (South
Africa’s national bird) population and we should see many hundred individuals of
this species (sometimes with youngsters in early summer). The Agulhas Plains are
one of the few areas where Denham’s Bustard and Secretarybird are still common.
Hundreds of White Stork visit in late summer. The stunning, endangered, endemic
Black Harrier quarters low over the plains. The endemic Jackal Buzzard is
common, along with many other raptors that sometimes include Lanner Falcon and,
in late summer, Amur Falcon.
The rolling hills and flat
plains are also home to two extremely localized lark species – i.e. Agulhas
Clapper Lark (with its bizarre breeding display) and Agulhas Long-billed Lark
(which has a slightly less crazy display). Other slightly more widespread (but
still endemic to southern
Africa) larks, such as
Southern Large-billed Lark, also abound. We will bird the de Hoop Nature Reserve
(which protects the highly threatened lowland – as opposed to mountain - fynbos)
for Cape Vulture, the rare Knysna Woodpecker, Southern Tchagra, a host of
water-birds (including Maccoa Duck, South African Shelduck and other quite
difficult species) and shorebirds, Grey-wing Francolin, Cape Francolin, African
Hoopoe and a host of others. Big mammals such as Bontebok, Springbok and Cape
Mountain Zebra (arguably the neatest-looking zebra species) can also usually be
found. The Buchu Bush Camp, where we will spend the night, has become one of the
best-known sites for Hottentot Buttonquail, but this skulking species need lots
of luck to find.
Overnight:
Buchu Bushcamp
Day 12 - Tue: Agulhas Plains
- de Mond Nature Reserve
We can visit more Agulhas
Plains sites such as the pretty de Mond Nature Reserve, where one of the best
birds is the endangered endemic Damara Tern, a tiny and beautiful species. Here
we should also find several other species not yet encountered.
Overnight:
Pride of Africa B&B at Cape
Agulhas, another pretty town situated on the southern-most tip of the African
continent which is also where the
Indian Ocean
meets the Atlantic.
Day 13 - Wed:
Cape
- False Bay
- Cape Point
We will drive the stunning
coastal route from
Cape Agulhas back to Cape Town. During this drive, we will (weather-permitting)
look right across the beautiful False Bay to Cape Point 20 miles over the bay.
Below us (we will be looking down from a road that curves around mountains
extending right down to the sea), we have an excellent chance, in the correct
season, of seeing close inshore Southern Right Whales. We may also find Cape Fur
Seals (which are fed on by Great White Sharks). We will stop at an excellent
site for Cape Rock-jumper and other strategic fynbos species, before eventually
reaching the Cape Peninsula again.
Overnight:
Afton Grove B&B
Day 14 - Thu:
Cape
Peninsula
– Departure or Extension
The final Cape Peninsula
birding opportunity for anything we still need, followed by international flight
home from Cape Town, or followed by an extension to 1) the Northern Cape (for
localized larks and other endemics), 2) eastern South Africa (for a spectacular
bird diversity), 3) Namibia (for one of Africa’s most unique countries with lots
of Namib endemics), or 4) another southern African destination.
Prices
Price includes:
daily full breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, cool-drinks, bottled water,
accommodation, entrance fees, guiding fees, and all transport while on tour in
South Africa.
Not included:
Air ticket to South Africa, personal insurance, alcoholic beverages, tips,
laundry and personal expenses such as gifts.
NB
All Anytime Tour itineraries are essentially drafts - the final itinerary will
be arrived at during discussions with the clients and tailored to the client's
individual needs and is, of course, subject to the availability of accommodation
etc. and any changes in local conditions. Our aim is to arrive at an itinerary
which gives you the maximum chance to see the birds [& etc.] you want to see.
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