South Africa - Mega Birding Tour I 2024

01 Nov 2024 - 22 Nov 2024 (22 days)

ZAR107,950 - No Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: James Wade Lee

Tour price (Per person): ZAR107,950 * USD6,116 * GBP4,711 * EUR5,627 * AUD9,293

Single Supplement: ZAR9,500 * USD538 * GBP415 * EUR495 * AUD818

Can be linked with: South Africa - Kruger Extension I 2024

South Africa - Mega Birding Tour II 2024

24 Nov 2024 - 15 Dec 2024 (22 days)

ZAR107,950 - No Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: Quinton Paul Josop

Tour price (Per person): ZAR107,950 * USD6,116 * GBP4,711 * EUR5,627 * AUD9,293

Single Supplement: ZAR9,500 * USD538 * GBP415 * EUR495 * AUD818

Can be linked with:

South Africa - Mega Birding Tour I 2025

31 Oct 2025 - 21 Nov 2025 (22 days)

ZAR107,950 - Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: Julian Parsons

Tour price (Per person): ZAR107,950 * USD6,116 * GBP4,711 * EUR5,627 * AUD9,293

Single Supplement: ZAR8,500 * USD482 * GBP371 * EUR443 * AUD732

Can be linked with: South Africa - Kruger Extension I 2025

South Africa - Mega Birding Tour II 2025

23 Nov 2025 - 14 Dec 2025 (22 days)

ZAR107,950 - Spaces Available

Book Now

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Tour Leader: James Wade Lee

Tour price (Per person): ZAR107,950 * USD6,116 * GBP4,711 * EUR5,627 * AUD9,293

Single Supplement: ZAR8,500 * USD482 * GBP371 * EUR443 * AUD732

Can be linked with: South Africa - Kruger Extension II 2025

South Africa - Mega Birding Tour I 2026

30 Oct 2026 - 20 Nov 2026 (22 days)

ZAR112,300 - Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: Ryan Tyrer

Pricing notes : *Prices are estimated and dates may change*

Tour price (Per person): ZAR112,300 * USD6,362 * GBP4,900 * EUR5,853 * AUD9,668

Can be linked with: South Africa - Kruger Extension I 2026

South Africa - Mega Birding Tour II 2026

22 Nov 2026 - 13 Dec 2026 (22 days)

ZAR112,300 - Spaces Available

Book Now

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Tour Leader: James Wade Lee

Pricing notes : *Prices are estimated and dates may change*

Tour price (Per person): ZAR112,300 * USD6,362 * GBP4,900 * EUR5,853 * AUD9,668

Can be linked with: South Africa - Kruger Extension II 2026

South Africa has the highest number of endemic and near-endemic bird species of any country on the African continent. Some of these special birds such as Drakensberg Rockjumper and Blue Crane – are beautiful and charismatic; while others, including the endangered Rudd’s and Botha’s Larks, are less striking but incredibly range-restricted. To boot, South Africa is also home to two very impressive endemic families, the striking Rockjumpers and Sugarbirds.

The focus of this 22-day endemics mega-birding tour is to see as many of these South African endemic, breeding endemic and near-endemic species as possible. Every single one of the 99 birds falling into this category as well as most of the 78 species falling into the category of endemic or near-endemic to the southern African sub-region are targeted during the tour. Furthermore, we will seek out many other special and sought-after African species; and, in the course of this tour, we have the potential to rack up a very impressive bird list in terms of species numbers, rarities and great sightings. Mammals will likewise form a major focus of our attention, and we can expect to also find an incredible diversity of reptiles, amphibians, and other wildlife. We invite you to join us on this exciting celebration of our endemic treasures during this ultimate South African mega-birding adventure!

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

Top Birds

African Penguin, Blue and Wattled Cranes, Ludwig’s and Denham’s Bustards, Blue, Southern Black and Karoo Korhaans, African Oystercatcher, Crowned, Cape and Bank Cormorants, Cape and Natal Spurfowls, Southern Bald Ibis, Cape Vulture, Black Harrier, Cape & Drakensberg Rockjumpers, Cape & Gurney’s Sugarbirds, Bush Blackcap, Ground Woodpecker, Rudd’s, Botha’s, Short-clawed, Red, Sclater’s, Cape Long-billed & Barlow’s Larks, African Rock & Yellow-breasted Pipits, Cape Longclaw, Knysna, Purple-crested & Livingstone’s Turacos, Cape Parrot, Gorgeous, Black-fronted & Olive Bushshrikes, Bokmakierie, Victorin’s, Namaqua, Cinnamon-breasted, and Layard’s Warblers, Fairy Flycatcher, Karoo Eremomela, Cape and Grey Penduline Tits, White-backed Mousebird, Spotted & Orange Ground Thrushes, Cape and Sentinel Rock Thrushes, Rudd’s Apalis, Woodward’s Batis, Karoo & Brown Scrub Robins, Karoo & Buff-streaked Chats, Pink-throated Twinspot, Neergaard’s, Orange-breasted & Southern Double-collared Sunbirds, Cape & Drakensberg Siskins, Protea, Cape, Forest & Black-headed Canaries.

Top Mammals

Black & White Rhinoceroses, Southern African Hedgehog, Meerkat, Black Wildebeest, Nyala, Cape Grysbok, Aardvark, Aardwolf, Springhare, Common Eland, Bat-eared Fox, Blesbok (Bontebok), Grey Rhebok, Klipspringer, Springbok, African Wild Dog, Cheetah

Habitats Covered

dune and mist-belt forest, acacia savanna, high elevation and coastal grasslands, mountains, semi-desert, fynbos, coastal waters, wetlands

Expected Climate

subtropical conditions with occasional rain, cooler in the highlands and the Cape

Max Group Size

8 with 1 Rockjumper leader

Tour Pace & Walking
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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.

Accommodation

comfortable guesthouses and lodges

Ease of Birding

mostly easy with some difficult species

Number of Species Expected

500 - 550

Other Attractions

Cape Peninsula, Sani Pass, Lake St. Lucia, Zululand game reserves, good food & wine, remote and seldom visited areas, spectacular scenery

Photographic Opportunities

good, but limited by time

What our clients say about us

Gregory de Klerk
SK & TG, South Africa

Greg de Klerk was a truly superb guide, and his supporting guides were a great complement to his leadership. He was knowledgeable beyond our highest expectations, patient, helpful, well-organized, and disciplined. If we have the chance to do further tours with you, chances are very high that I would specifically look for ones that Greg leads, because he personally made the tour special. His expertise and professionalism speak well for the South African guiding profession, your company, and the country as a whole. We felt genuinely fortunate to be introduced to South Africa by Greg. Susan and I have worked with several South Africans over the course of our careers, and they all returned back to their homeland when they stopped working. Greg’s display of the country showed us why they all do this, and he personally could not have been a more clear-headed and knowledgeable spokesperson for the country (including its challenges). We normally dread long drives, but he made them not only tolerable, but educational, fun, and memorable. You have a special resource in your employ, the kind of person who can go beyond creating satisfied customers, and convert us into stark raving fans of your tours. We hope you realize that, because it is not common.

André Bernon
A

A massive thanks has to go to André, the ranger, he was exceptional. His knowledge of wildlife was incredible. We were able to learn so much about the animals, plants and he is the 'bird' guru!! We cant thank him enough for his time, going out of his way to show us everything possible, we saw everything.

Daniel Danckwerts
LW, South Africa 2019

"Daniel was a fantastic guide. Great at handling everything and anything. Superb with all and great at talking to everyone - just a young man beyond his years. And his spotting and guiding skills were amazing. Will book another trio when he is guiding as soon as possible. "

David Hoddinott
RH, South Africa 2021

This was my first pelagic tour, and I loved every minute of it. The guides were excellent - informative, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and patient. Couldn't have asked for better, thank you.

Gregory de Klerk
CS - South Africa 2019

As a guide myself for more than 10 years (starting back in the early 90s), I believe I can give a sincere and realistic review of Greg de Klerk's performance during our nearly 2 weeks in Eastern South Africa. With this in mind, I can say that Greg did an excellent of maintaining and overseeing all aspects of our trip from start to finish. I particularly felt that his capacity for maintaining the various and sometimes complex logistics was impressive and well above average. Whether it was making sure that everyone's accommodations were comfortable, or helping us find a restroom during one challenging afternoon, when the restaurant we were eating in randomly closed their bathrooms down, Greg was always "on top of his game." This is not to mention his excellent abilities in the field as well. As a professional wildlife biologist, I was very impressed with Greg's abilities "beyond " just identifying species, so to speak. ln other words, Greg gave impressive, in-depth natural history descriptions of nearly every species of wildlife we recorded.

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Tour Route Map

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