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South Africa - Northern Birds & Big Game (Relaxed)

© Baillon's Crake by Rob Williams
South Africa - Northern Birds & Big Game (Relaxed) 2026

31 Mar 2026 - 11 Apr 2026 (12 days)

ZAR87,950 NO SPACES AVAILABLE

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Tour Leader: Quinton Paul Josop

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Tour Price (Per person): ZAR87,950 (USD5,085 * GBP3,948 * EUR4,486 * AUD7,925)

Single Supplement: ZAR9,100 (USD526 * GBP408 * EUR464 * AUD820)

Flight costs (Linked Tour): ZAR1,800 (USD104 * GBP81 * EUR92 * AUD162)

Pricing notes : Linked flight is for CPT - JNB flight necessary for guests participating on Southern Endemics (Relaxed) tour.

South Africa - Northern Birds & Big Game (Relaxed) 2027

01 Mar 2027 - 12 Mar 2027 (12 days)

ZAR93,000 3 SPACES AVAILABLE

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Tour Leader: Ryan Tyrer

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Tour Price (Per person): ZAR93,000 (USD5,377 * GBP4,174 * EUR4,743 * AUD8,380)

Flight costs (Linked Tour): ZAR1,800 (USD104 * GBP81 * EUR92 * AUD162)

This tour pairs with: South Africa - Southern Endemics (Relaxed) 2027

Pricing notes : *Prices are estimated, and dates may change* Linked flight is for JNB - CPT flight necessary for guests participating on Southern Endemics (Relaxed) tour.

South Africa - Northern Birds & Big Game (Relaxed) 2028

15 Feb 2028 - 26 Feb 2028 (12 days)

ZAR98,500 SPACES AVAILABLE

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Tour Leader: Quinton Paul Josop

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Tour Price (Per person): ZAR98,500 (USD5,695 * GBP4,421 * EUR5,024 * AUD8,876)

This tour pairs with: South Africa - Southern Endemics (Relaxed) 2028

Pricing notes : *Prices are estimated, and dates may change* Linked flight is for JNB - CPT flight necessary for guests participating on Southern Endemics (Relaxed) tour.

South Africa is quite simply one of the most pleasurable countries in which to travel, offering fantastic birding, exceptional wildlife viewing, and breath-taking photographic opportunities, along with world-class infrastructure. This relaxed tour of northern South Africa takes us birding in the Highveld grasslands around Johannesburg, the open Acacia woodlands of Zaagkuildrift and cool montane forests of Magoebaskloof for a series of endemic and near endemic species.  

We’ll then head to the bird- and game-rich lowlands and the world-renowned Kruger National. Here we will enjoy several days in this spectacular reserve enjoying the classic African savanna and the many superb birds and mammals associated with this massive conservation area.

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

 

 

Top Birds

Johannesburg, Rust-de-Winter & Magoebaskloof: Fairy Warbler; Red-throated Wryneck; Black-faced & Violet-eared Waxbills; Chestnut-vented Warbler; Scaly-feathered Weaver; Cut-throat Finch; Green-winged Pytilia; Cape Parrot; Knysna Turaco; Orange Ground Thrush; Chorister Robin; Black-fronted Bushshrike; Kruger NP: Common Ostrich; Kori Bustard; Southern Ground Hornbill; Bateleur; Martial & Crowned; Eagles; Marabou & Saddle-billed Storks; Lappet-faced, White-backed, Hooded & White-headed Vultures; Double-banded Sandgrouse; Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl; Lilac-breasted Roller; Southern Red-billed & Southern Yellow-billed Hornbills; Brown-headed Parrot; Burchell’s Starling; Southern White-crowned Shrike; Red-headed Weaver; White-browed Robin-Chat.

Top Mammals

Johannesburg, Rust-de-Winter & Magoebaskloof: Blesbok; Black Wildebeest; Mountain Reedbuck; Yellow Mongoose; Cape Clawless Otter; Kruger: The ‘Big 5’ (Lion; Leopard; African Elephant; Black & White Rhinoceroses; African Buffalo); Cheetah, African Wild Dog; Side-striped Jackal; Greater Kudu; Southern Giraffe; Spotted Hyena; Nyala; Common & Central African Large-spotted Genets; Wild Cat; African Civet; Cape Porcupine; White-tailed Mongoose; Klipspringer; Plains Zebra; Common Warthog

Habitats Covered

highveld grassland, montane forest, acacia savanna, bushveld, terminalia woodland, riverine forest, grasslands, rivers, 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.

Undemanding, perfectly suited for all birding / wildlife interest levels and most mobility capabilities. our Relaxed series of tours are designed to focus on having an enjoyable holiday with a bird and wildlife focus. Where possible; we have reduced or removed long drives, single night stays and poor/rustic accommodation. We have also sought to reduce or remove difficult hikes, narrow/muddy trails and otherwise oppressive environmental conditions. Early starts and night birding are mostly optional, and we will not spend much time searching for difficult and/or skulking species. These tours are not suitable for hardcore birders and listers, or dedicated photographers.

Accommodation

Good to comfortable.

Ease of Birding

Undemanding, most species provide good visuals. A small number of scare / tricky species.

Other Attractions

vast, pristine wilderness, huge numbers of African mega-fauna

Photographic Opportunities

Very good to excellent.

What our clients say about us

Daniel Danckwerts
MW, South Africa 2021

This was our first tailor-made tour. It won't be our last. We had a great time. Dan was an excellent guide, working all the angles to get us our target birds while still covering the area specialties, affording us great looks at birds for which we had only fleeting views on our previous South Africa tour with Rockjumper (which was also great!). Dan was very persistent, which paid off in seeing a good number of very difficult specialty birds that many avid South African birders have not seen. We even had two lifer flufftails in a single day, thanks in part to Doug McCulloch, who took the morning off from his new job to help out with the Red-breasted Flufftail. Thanks, Doug! We could have used one more day in the Joburg area, as there were a few birds that were not accessible within the time frame of the tour. This always happens, though, and I am glad we went from a 6-day to a 10-day tour. This is the reason for the overall rating of 9 rather than 10. Overall, the three of us had a great time on the tour. Thanks for putting it together for us!

André Bernon
PO, South Africa 2018

André Bernon was top notch in finding birds and getting us to see and/or hear them. He drove the car like a pro and had everything in control. Everything went totally smooth all the time and we would go on any trip with him again, in a heartbeat.

Daniel Danckwerts
MW, South Africa 2021

"We all immensely enjoyed this Tailor-made tour. Dan is an excellent guide: great ears, great eyes, persistent, patient, cheerful, and knowledgeable about all nature. He really went all out for us, and he succeeded in finding very elusive and range-restricted species. We hope to travel with him in the future. Other aspects of the trip: lodging, transportation, etc. were excellent too. We appreciate the behind-the-scenes efforts by Heinz and the rest of the Rockjumper team."

Glen Valentine
RH & SH, South Africa 2021

First, compliments to whoever came up with the concept of this tour. It seems unusual, even unique. This was a second choice for us because COVID restrictions postponed our tour to Cape, Kruger, and the Victoria Falls extension. The inclusion of the wine tastings seemed whimsical but it was genius. It’s as if we had 2 different vacations, back-to-back, and both memorable. We suspect that logistics for this tour were especially challenging. Glen was more than up to the task, every booking was right on time and of excellent quality. Rockjumper is a class act! We had some really memorable sightings and wildlife experiences due to Glen’s knowledge and diligence. We also appreciate that besides the birds and big mammals he gave us lots of information on habitat, environmental challenges, and especially for Suna and me, knowledge of plants. We walk around our California neighbourhood and notice all the imported African plants growing in our yards! We felt the timing was good too. It was late spring in the fynbos with many flowers still showing, and we were able to see many migrant birds down from the north.

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. "

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