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South Africa - Eastern Bird Photography Tour (Small Group)

© Drakensberg Rockjumper by Adam Riley
South Africa - Eastern Bird Photography Tour (Small Group) 2025

27 Feb 2025 - 11 Mar 2025 (13 days)

ZAR78,950 - No Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: Quinton Paul Josop

Tour price (Per person): ZAR78,950 * USD4,238 * GBP3,386 * EUR4,072 * AUD6,750

Single Supplement: ZAR7,250 * USD389 * GBP311 * EUR374 * AUD620

Can be linked with:

South Africa - Eastern Bird Photography Tour (Small Group) 2026

31 May 2026 - 12 Jun 2026 (13 days)

ZAR89,950 - Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: David Hoddinott

Tour price (Per person): ZAR89,950 * USD4,828 * GBP3,858 * EUR4,639 * AUD7,691

Single Supplement: ZAR7,500 * USD403 * GBP322 * EUR387 * AUD641

Can be linked with: South Africa - Western Bird Photography Tour (Small Group) 2026

The provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga on South Africa’s eastern seaboard offer up some of the finest photographic opportunities on the continent and boast some of the country’s best birding as well as exceptional mammal viewing. The regions incredible natural diversity, coupled with a modern infrastructure well suited to the needs of the modern traveller, makes travelling here an absolute delight. Focusing on a variety of the country’s very best sites including the endemic-rich mist-belt forests of the Natal Midlands, the lofty peaks of the magnificent Drakensberg and the classic African savanna of the world-renowned Kruger National Park this unique bird photo tour of eastern South Africa offers the very best of southern African photography, birding, and game viewing!

Highlights

  • Spending time exploring Kruger National Park in open air safari vehicles. Kruger is one of Africa’s, and indeed the world’s, largest wildlife havens
  • Enjoy an exhibition of big mammals with the likes of Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, African Wild Dog, African Elephant, African Buffalo, White Rhinoceros, and Southern Giraffe all likely.
  • Visit a dedicated vulture hide offering incredible photo opportunities, where Cape and Bearded Vultures regularly attend
  • Exploring Sani Pass, one of the most dramatic passes in Africa with incredible scenery throughout the day and a plethora of unique endemics to enjoy
  • Opportunities to see and photograph a variety of South Africa’s rarest endemic, near-endemic and range-restricted species including Cape Parrot, Yellow-breasted Pipit, Bush Blackcap, Southern Bald Ibis, Blue Korhaan, Drakensberg Rockjumper, and Gurney’s Sugarbird
  • Excellent chances of seeing the two endemic bird families to Southern Africa – Rockjumpers & Sugarbirds

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

Top Birds

Cape Parrot; Yellow-breasted Pipit; Bush Blackcap; Southern Bald Ibis; Blue Korhaan; Drakensberg Rockjumper; Gurney’s Sugarbird.

Top Mammals

Lion; Leopard; Cheetah; African Wild Dog; African Elephant; African Buffalo; White Rhinoceros; Southern Giraffe.

Habitats Covered

Mist-belt forest, acacia savanna, high elevation grasslands, mountains, wetlands

Expected Climate

Subtropical and dry, warm to hot. Can be cold to very cold in the early mornings and evenings

Max Group Size

5 with 1 Rockjumper leader

Tour Pace & Walking

UNDEMANDING: This tour is ideal for birders and wildlife enthusiasts of all experience levels. It’s suitable for most mobility levels and offers a relaxed pace, ensuring an enjoyable experience for everyone.

Moderate. Suitable for all photography / birding / wildlife interest levels and most mobility capabilities. Can be a little tiring due to travel distances. Our Bird Photo Tours are a hybrid between our Classic birding tours and dedicated photographic tours. You don’t have to be a professional photographer or have the biggest lens; this is for everyone with an interest in photography and birding. Whether you’re using a bridge camera or the latest body and prime lens, our aims are the same. • These tours are not aimed at seeing the most species possible on the route, rather taking time to photograph key targets and any other interesting species we may find. Naturally, the overall species list will be lower than a comparable birding focused tour. • Whilst we may use blinds, feeders and hide setups on some of these tours, we will not be spending an entire day nor even several hours fixed in one spot. • These tours are suitable for photographers who prefer opportunistic photography over entire days in a hide. • Our leaders will assist in helping everyone secure good photographic opportunities and advise as much as they can on camera setup. However, they are not professional photographic tour leaders.

Accommodation

Good to comfortable.

Ease of Birding

Undemanding, most species provide good visuals. A small number of scarce/rare species.

Photographic Opportunities

Good to very good. Some hides will be visited.

What our clients say about us

André Bernon
M

I am not a twitcher or even a knowledgeable birdwatcher, but I am always keen to see new things. Our ranger André had a huge knowledge of birds. He shared this and more about all the flora and fauna that we came across. He explained about insects and trees as we passed them and didn't fail to answer a question.

Gregory de Klerk
CB, South Africa 2017

Greg handled all personalities with poise, humor and attentiveness and constantly checked to see if everyone was happy. If someone had a problem, he immediately worked on a solution. It is obvious he loves his job, and he went out of his way to find birds for us, even in the most difficult weather conditions. His knowledge of the area was superior. He took excellent care of us and made us feel very welcome!

David Hoddinott
EB, South Africa 2014

My wife and I were part of a six person tour of South Africa that was led by David Hoddinott. Our trip was excellent and seamless. David was the perfect guide for our group and, as I’m sure you’re aware, is an extraordinary birder and bird finder.... Thank you to Rockjumper, and David especially, for taking the time to create such a wonderful trip for our group. As always, I’m sure that it’s a challenge to accommodate numerous personalities within a group and David was great at it. We all liked him from day one and he was always positive and up for anything. He was an absolute joy to be with. We’d previously been to Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Botswana and South Africa was a totally different experience. We really enjoyed the people that we got to meet and the sheer beauty of the country is breathtaking. David’s enthusiasm and pride of his homeland was inspiring and infectious. We can’t thank him enough for making it come alive for us. And thanks to all who had a part in setting it all up. We’d happily recommend Rockjumper to anyone thinking about a trip led by you.

Daniel Danckwerts
AC & MJ, South Africa 2019

Thanks to Rynart Bezuidenhout and Daniel Danckwerts for an unforgettable tour. Their effort to give us the very best experience was sublime. Not only was our ambition to see the wanted birds, animals and nature much more than fulfilled – our competent, friendly and openminded guides also managed to give a perspective into the life and culture in South Africa of today. This we appreciate a lot.

Glen Valentine
BC, South Africa 2021

Hi. Glen and Julian were great guides. I really enjoyed spending time with them. The trip was great, lodging was great. The wineries were amazing, as were the bird and animal sightings. I would travel with Glen or Julian again any time!

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