phone-icon 1-888-990-5552 email-icon info@rockjumper.com
user-icon
Log in / Register

South Africa - Rallid Quest (Small Group)

© Baillon's Crake by Rob Williams
South Africa - Rallid Quest (Small Group)

ZAR59,000 SPACES AVAILABLE

client-img

Tour Leader: Local Leader

Book Now

Tour Price (Per person): ZAR59,000 (USD3,465 * GBP2,661 * EUR3,022 * AUD5,314)

This tour pairs with: South Africa - Rallid Quest (Small Group)

Pricing notes : Estimate based on a minimum group size of 5 guests. Please contact our Tailor-made team on tailormade@rockjumper.com

Our South Africa - Rallid Quest is part of a never before series of tours in birding history. This unique tour is dedicated to finding mythical and ultra-difficult rallids and flufftails as well as a number of other regional endemics along the way. Included in this spectacular list of crakes, rails, quails and flufftails are such mega species as Striped Crake, White-winged and Striped Flufftails, along with a supporting cast of Red-chested and Buff-spotted Flufftails, African, Baillon’s, Spotted and Corn Crakes, African Rail, Allen’s Gallinule, Lesser Moorhen, Lesser Jacana and Black-rumped Buttonquail. As if this once-in-a-lifetime rallid quest wasn’t enough, we’ll also be on the lookout for those species restricted to the montane grasslands of South Africa such as Buff-streaked Chat, Yellow-breasted Pipit, Ground Woodpecker, Southern Bald Ibis, Denham’s Bustard, Secretarybird and Blue Korhaan.

Please note: these prices are subject to foreign exchange fluctuations.

Top Birds

White-winged, Striped, Buff-spotted & Red-chested Flufftails, Spotted, Baillon's, Corn & Black Crakes, African Rail, Harlequin Quail, Allen’s Gallinule, Lesser Moorhen, Lesser Jacana, Black-rumped & Common Buttonquails, Greater Painted-snipe, Wattled, Blue & Grey Crowned Cranes, Buff-streaked Chat, Yellow-breasted Pipit, Ground Woodpecker, Southern Bald Ibis, Sentinel Rock Thrush, Eastern Long-billed Lark, Amur Falcon, Gurney’s Sugarbird, Denham’s Bustard, Malachite Sunbird, Mountain Wheatear, Secretarybird, Blue Korhaan, South African Shelduck, Orange-breasted Waxbill, Red-headed Quelea, Short-tailed Pipit, Cuckoo-finch, Barratt’s Warbler, Bush Blackcap, Bokmakierie, Black Harrier

Top Mammals

Black Wildebeest, Blesbok, Meerkat, Yellow Mongoose

Habitats Covered

high altitude wetlands, marshes, montane grassland, montane forest patches, waste treatment ponds, Acacia woodland, dry scrub

Expected Climate

hot and humid in some areas. Can be cool to cold and windy in the early morning around Ntsikeni

Max Group Size

6 with 1 Rockjumper leader

Tour Pace & Walking

DIFFICULT: This is a high-intensity “mega” tour designed for passionate listers and serious birders who enjoy a fast-paced schedule. Due to its demanding nature, it’s not recommended for avid photographers, inexperienced birders, or anyone with mobility or health limitations.

Difficult. This a Mega style tour designed for the dedicated lister and serious birder. Not suitable for avid photographers, anyone with mobility or health challenges. Our Mega tours are very fast-paced birding adventures designed for the dedicated lister and serious birder. The focus of the tour is to see as many of the endemics and area specials as possible in our given time. In order to cover the necessary route to maximise the species list we tend to spend a single night at most sites and travel large distances. There is very little down time aside from that spent driving from one site to the next. These tours are not suitable for dedicated or avid photographers; inexperienced or new birders; as well as anyone with serious mobility or health challenges.

Accommodation

Good to comfortable.

Ease of Birding

Demanding. Completely targeted at very difficult species.

Photographic Opportunities

Primary aim is a visual of target species, photography options likely to be very limited.

What our clients say about us

André Bernon
RT, South Africa 2018

As an experienced world traveller and birder, I must say that the Eastern South Africa and Cape Extension III tours went beyond my already high expectations. All in all, we saw nearly 540 bird species, plus many mammals, including the "Big Five". Our guide, Andre Bernon, really made an effort for us all to see each and every species, and was also very knowledgeable about reptiles, mammals, South African history etc. An excellent guide!

André Bernon
JL, South Africa 2018

This was my first experience with Rockjumper - it far exceeded my expectations. In fact, it far exceeded my experiences with other tours. I don't know how anybody could have been better than Andre Bernon. He was always professional, organized, and I felt completely safe with his driving. His knowledge of birds, animal behavior, the country, the history, goes without saying - but really it was his personality that made the trip. I so enjoyed his sense of humor. I know it is an old-fashioned word, but he was a complete gentleman - showing respect and courtesy to everyone but always with a twinkle in his eye and ready to either hand out or be on the receiving end of a joke. We just plain had fun on this trip! When time and money allows, I would happily go on another trip with him.

Julian Parsons
RK, South Africa

The tour was fantastic. Julian Parsons is an excellent guide. Outstanding with both birds and people. Several times he was required to troubleshoot problems and issues and did so without distracting from the trip in any way. Our driver was also fantastic. Two flat tires, but he quickly changed out to the spare and arranged to have both fixed, after hours! He was very personable and incredibly safe driver. We always arrived on time (or early) without incident, including when we had the flat tires.

David Hoddinott
MW, South African Mega 2015

David was a fantastic guide whose love for his homeland, and passion for its wildlife, shone brightly. I couldn’t have wished for a better guide to show me the wonders of South Africa.

Julian Parsons
MW, South Africa

Julian did an outstanding job leading the tour. I understand he is a new guide w/ Rockjumper, but it seemed like he had years of experience. His birding skills were superb, as expected. His knowledge of all the obscure larks and LBJs was very impressive. Importantly, he handled logistics very well, managed client expectations and personalities superbly, and was always cheerful and kept things positive. I've got to give a nod to the driver as well, he was a joy to be around. Always cheerful (regardless of tire problems in the Karoo) and willing to jimmy the vehicle around so everyone gets a good look. A definite asset to the tour. I understand these trips run smoothly because of all the support back at the office. Thanks to everyone involved. All of my communications pre-tour were handled promptly and professionally. The whole Rockjumper team were a real pleasure to work with. Can't wait to do it again!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

  • Your details

  • This field is hidden when viewing the form

  • Contact permission

    We would love to send you Newsletters (twice yearly).via Type a message, Promotions/Discounts (weekly), Blog Articles/Image of the Month (monthly) and other content that we think you would find interesting. If you are happy with this then please select your preferences below. If you would like to unsubscribe from previous subscriptions, or leave our mailing list entirely, then please do so by visiting the Preference Centre link at the bottom of these emails.

Route Map

Tour Route Map

map-direction-img
Download Tour Itinerary