Tour Leader: Stephan Lorenz
Tour price (Per person): USD11,495 * GBP9,183 * EUR11,049 * AUD17,690
Single Supplement: USD1,840 * GBP1,470 * EUR1,769 * AUD2,832
Flight costs: USD130 * GBP104 * EUR125 * AUD200
Tour Leader: James Wade Lee
Tour price (Per person): USD11,595 * GBP9,263 * EUR11,145 * AUD17,844
Single Supplement: USD1,950 * GBP1,558 * EUR1,874 * AUD3,001
Flight costs: USD140 * GBP112 * EUR135 * AUD215
This tour is the ultimate African birding and wildlife adventure. Over three weeks of non-stop birding, we hope to see more than 700 bird species, plus an incredible diversity of wildlife, superb scenery, wonderful lodges and tented camps, and super-friendly Kenyans.
Our tour begins with an exploration of the lush Shimba Hills and Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. Here we will endeavor to find some of the rarest birds in Africa, including the diminutive Sokoke Scops Owl, Sokoke Pipit, Green-headed Oriole, Amani Sunbird and Clarke’s Weaver. We then travel through both Tsavo West and East Parks, offering excellent game viewing and a huge bird list. The isolated Taita Hills, with its critically endangered species, will no doubt be memorable, and we’ll search all elevations of the Aberdare’s and Mount Kenya’s slopes for avian gems such as Jackson’s Francolin, Bar-tailed Trogon, Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon, localized Hinde’s Babbler and Abyssinian Ground Thrush. We then enter the true arid zone at Samburu-Shaba, where highlights should include Golden-breasted Starling, Vulturine Guineafowl, Williams’s Lark, Somali Bee-eater and Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse. The dry woodlands of Lake Baringo are home to Jackson’s Hornbill, Northern Masked Weaver, and Somali Sparrow, while the famous Kakamega forest adds a plethora of forest specials with Blue-headed Bee-eater. Turner’s Eremomela, Chapin’s Flycatcher, Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat and Yellow-bellied Wattle-eye being notable targets. Our tour concludes after exploring the papyrus swamps and moist woodlands along Lake Victoria!
**The tour logistics for 2025 have changed. We are no longer visiting the Masai Mara NR due to unmitigated price increases & rule changes.**
Sharpe's Longclaw; Sokoke Scops & Cape Eagle Owls; Sokoke & Malindi Pipits; Clarke's, Compact & Taveta Weavers; Hinde's & Scaly Babblers; East Coast Akalat; Green Barbet; Green Tinkerbird; Fischer's, White-crested and Ross's Turacos; Amani, Plain-backed, Tsavo, Violet-breasted & Golden-winged Sunbirds; Green-headed Oriole; Taita & Abyssinian Ground Thrushes; Taita Apalis; Taita & Kikuyu White-eyes; Jackson's & Elgon Francolins; Aberdare Cisticola; Abbott's, Golden-breasted, Magpie & Fischer's Starlings; Abyssinian Crimsonwing; Somali & Three-banded Coursers; Rock Pratincole; William's & Friedmann's Lark; Jackson's Hornbill; Red-naped Bushshrike; Somali Sparrow; Donaldson-Smith's Sparrow-Weaver; Somali & Blue-headed Bee-eaters; White-headed Mousebird; Turner's & Yellow-vented Eremomelas; Yellow-bellied & Jameson's Wattle-eyes; Vulturine Guineafowl; White-spotted Flufftail; Bar-tailed Trogon; Hartlaub's Bustard; Sooty Gull; Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse; Eastern Black-headed & Forest Batis; Donaldson-Smith's Nightjar; Forbe's-Watson's Swift; White-headed Wood Hoopoe; Pallid Honeyguide; Mombasa & Speckle-breasted Woodpeckers; African Broadbill; Grey-crested Helmetshrike; Papyrus Gonolek; Red-throated Tit; Uganda Woodland, Black-faced Rufous & Basra Reed Warblers; Somali Crombec; Southern & Yellow-bellied Hyliotas; Brown-chested Alethe; Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat; Easy Coast Akalat; White-throated Robin; Chapin's & Gambaga Flycatchers; Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher; Fire-fronted & Zanzibar Red Bishops; Jackson's Widowbird; Red-throated & Brown Twinspots; Grey-headed Silverbill; Steel-blue Whydah; Papyrus Canary; Southern Grosbeak-Canary; Oriole Finch.
Lion; Leopard; Black & White Rhinoceros; Cheetah; Striped & Spotted Hyenas; Reticulated & Maasai Giraffes; Grevy’s Zebra; Gerenuk; Serval; Golden-rumped Elephant-Shrew; Crested Porcupine; Small-spotted & Blotched Genets; African Civet; African Buffalo; African Elephant; Southern Tree Hyrax; Giant Forest Hog; Lesser & Greater Kudu; Harvey's Duiker; Suni; Sable Antelope.
lowland & montane forests, Acacia savanna, papyrus swamps, rivers and wetlands, rocky gorges, grassland, semi-desert, coastal estuaries
warm to hot, dry conditions, but cool at higher elevations and occasional rain can be expected. One morning at high altitude (3 650m) in very cold conditions (freezing).
6 with 1 Rockjumer leader
WARNING: This tour involves strenuous activities and is intended for experienced adventurers. If you prefer a more relaxed experience, please check out our [Explore Relaxed Tours]
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.
Moderate to comfortable, some safari tented camps, a few basic lodges
Demanding. Some species density is low, forest birding present typical challenges. Several difficult target species.
700+
Mt Kenya, Aberdare Mountains, Shimba Hills, Lakes Elementeita & Baringo, Masaai people, African curios
Worthwhile to good but limited by time constraints.
This trip far exceeded my expectations. Our guide, Greg de Klerk, was excellent in every way. He took the time to actually teach us about bird and animal behavior. When other tour vehicles were speeding away, we got to sit and really learn. Also our driver, Martin, was superb -- an excellent driver who navigated the rutted roads with great skill, but also proved himself to be an excellent spotter and birder. Greg and Martin made a wonderful team. The selection of game reserves that we visited on this trip was perfect, especially for me as a first-timer. I felt I got an excellent overview of the Kenyan countryside. Our accommodations were all comfortable, but some were better than others. I loved the Wildebeest Eco-Lodge in Nairobi -- a wonderful introduction to the country. Castle Forest felt magical, and even the annoyance of having only one plug per room did not dampen my enthusiasm. The Sopa Lodge at Sambura was comfortable and the staff were very accommodating; I just wish the doors and windows had been a bit tighter to keep out a startling array of large critters (crickets, spiders, and something very large with lots of legs), none of which appeared at any other location. The Lodge at Lake Nakuru was a treat and very unexpected. But I loved the low-key atmosphere of the Pride Inn at Masai Mara -- a lovely location, and again the staff were wonderful. I thought the food offered at the buffets in all our lodges was excellent overall. Thank you for a wonderful experience. I can't wait to go back.
We thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of our trip with Greg. He is the ultimate Bird Whisperer. His birding skills are outstanding! He has a great sense of humor and wonderful stories. He shared his extensive knowledge about all the animals and their behavior, which made every part of the trip so much more interesting. This was certainly one of our best trips with Rockjumper. In addition, we sincerely appreciate Rockjumpers flexibility in working with us to reschedule this trip, since we were originally planning to go in March 2020.
Paul Josop is a top notch and amazing tour leader - at all times he was knowledgeable, patient, attentive and engaging. We loved the trip and feel that much of its success was because of Paul's excellent guiding skills. We feel very fortunate to have experienced all that we did.
Greg de Klerk was very friendly and competent. He worked diligently to ensure we all saw the birds. We were always given sufficient time to look closely and for some to take photos. A most enjoyable tour.
David Hoddinott and indeed the drivers and Alison were all amazing - making this a life-changing experience. Everything went far better than expected throughout the tour in my opinion. I do not see how it could have been improved. Well done to all!
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Kenya & Tanzania - Birds & Big Game IV 2023 - April 2023
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Kenya & Tanzania - Birds & Big Game I 2023 - March 2023
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Kenya - Relaxed 2023 - March 2023
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