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South Africa - Flock to Marion - Sani Pass pre-tour extension

© Bokmakierie by Adam Riley
South Africa - Flock to Marion - Sani Pass pre-tour extension 2025

21 Jan 2025 - 24 Jan 2025 (4 days)

ZAR20,950 - No Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: Daniel Danckwerts

Tour price (Per person): ZAR20,950 * USD1,156 * GBP923 * EUR1,111 * AUD1,780

Single Supplement: ZAR1,150 * USD63 * GBP51 * EUR61 * AUD98

Embark on a thrilling birding expedition to the famed Sani Pass, the highest mountain pass anywhere in South Africa where the rugged beauty of the Drakensberg Range meets the high Lesotho Plateau. With a blend of modern convenience and untamed wilderness, this journey promises an unforgettable encounters with several of South Africa’s most sought-after near-endemic species. Top among these are the Drakensburg Rockjumper and Gurney’s Sugarbirds, each belonging to endemic bird families. Other notable targets will include the little-known Mountain Pipit, Sentinel Rock-thrush, endangered Cape Parrot, Orange Ground Thrush, Bush Blackcap, Barratt’s Warbler, Cape and Bearded Vultures, and Drakensburg Siskin. Join us for a short tour that will leave a lasting impression on both novice and seasoned birdwatchers alike!

Top Birds

Blue Crane, Denham's Bustard, Southern Bald Ibis, Cape & Bearded Vultures, Black Harrier, Drakensberg Rockjumper, Gurney's Sugarbird, Bush Blackcap, Ground Woodpecker, African Rock Pipit, Cape Longclaw, Knysna Turaco, Cape Parrot, Olive Bushshrike, Bokmakierie, Layard's Warbler, Orange Ground Thrush, Cape & Sentinel Rock Thrushes, Buff-streaked Chat, Southern Double-collared Sunbird, Drakensberg Siskin, Forest Canary. 

Top Mammals

Grey Rhebok, Common Eland, Springhare, Slogget's Ice Rat. 

Habitats Covered

mist-belt forests, high-elevation grasslands, mountains, wetlands. 

Expected Climate

Subtropical conditions with chances for rain. Cool in the highlands. 

Max Group Size

6 with 1 Rockjumper tour leader

Tour Pace & Walking

Relaxed. 

Accommodation

Excellent

Ease of Birding

Easy

Number of Species Expected

150+

Other Attractions

Sani Pass into Lesotho, excellent scenery

Photographic Opportunities

Good but time limited

What our clients say about us

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.

André Bernon
K

Andre, our guide, has such an infectious nature, which had a huge positive effect on our stay. His incredible knowledge of birds was indeed humbling. A birder's paradise and a guide passionate about birds and nature - what more could one ask for?

Keith Valentine
JT & LT - Birds & Wine

We are writing to say thank you for all you did for us on our recent Birds and Wine tour with you and Alvaro. We really enjoyed meeting you and spending two weeks touring with you around South Africa. The itinerary that you put together with Alvaro was great and all the arrangements worked out to give us a wonderful tour. Your knowledge of the birds and patience spent helping us find and see all the birds really helped us to enjoy our experience and increase our knowledge. We spent much of our time in the Manyoni Reserve in the vehicle with you and it was always exciting finding the wildlife and hearing your analysis of the situation. We also truly appreciated your selection of wineries to visit, the wines we tasted, and the wines you selected to take with us to Zebra Hills Lodge. Your knowledge of the wine and wineries greatly added to our pleasure on the tour. We live in the Northern California wine region and the opportunity to compare South Africa’s wine with the product we know was very enlightening for us. Both the wineries we visited and the wines we tasted convinced us that we were in an excellent wine producing region of the world.

Gregory de Klerk
KK, Eastern South Africa X 2016

Greg was a fantastic guide, and I hope that I can take another tour/bird with him again in the future. I greatly enjoyed birding and spending time with him, he was very personable and I'm glad that we were able to become friends. Greg knew where to search for the birds and was extremely knowledgeable about birds and other wildlife and natural history. I also greatly appreciated how Greg dealt with issues that arose with other guests, and how quickly he tried to step in and prevent problems from escalating further. Guiding can be a difficult job, and Greg did a terrific job.

Gregory de Klerk
RB - South Africa 2024

Both Greg and Wade were amazing. Greg has a fantastic knowledge of the area and it's wildlife. He was always willing to add information and facts regarding the wildlife we observed. He managed the tour expertly and his enthusiasm was contagious. And Wade is flat out the best bird/wildlife finder that I have ever been around. Truly extraordinary. The trip was beyond my expectations.

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