NATURE NERDS
Birding Day Tripsfrom Johannesburg
GENERAL INFORMATION
These trips depart from and return to Johannesburg. While we suggest the timing and itinerary that will maximise your birding and nature experience, we are able to customise the day to suit your needs. Timing varies but usually trips involve an early collection from the client’s hotel and a return to the same venue after dark. We love being in the field and are always excited to spend as much time as possible with our clients on a day out. If you are looking to see a specific bird or animal let us know and we will do our best to show them to you!
Tours are conducted in a luxury 4-wheel drive vehicle with high clearance. The price is R5000 p/day which includes up to 3 clients. Coffee and an early morning snack are provided as well as a light lunch, bottled water and soft drinks. Entrance to any game or nature reserves visited are included unless otherwise specified.
DEPARTS & RETURNS JOHANNESBURG
LUXURY 4X4 VEHICLE
HIGH CLEARANCE
COFFEE & SNACKS
LIGHT LUNCH, WATER & SOFT DRINKS
ENTRANCE FEES INCLUDED
UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED
Standard Tours
Johannesburg Nature Highlights
Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens and Cradle Moon Game Lodge
This tour begins with a walk around Walter Sisulu Botanical Garden where a variety of birds can be seen including the magnificent Verreaux’s Eagle. This beautiful eagle nests within the gardens and is regularly seen. The tour includes a light lunch at the café in the gardens where many of the birds will approach close enough to allow excellent photographic opportunities. Sightings of some mammals, including rock hyrax, are possible.
After our lunch we drive to Cradle Moon Game Lodge in the Cradle of Humankind. Here we will explore the reserve on foot. The presence of many habituated mammal species at Cradle Moon allows us to approach these animals quite closely and good photo opportunities are to be had. Impala, blue wildebeest and plains zebra are usually seen and there is always potential for other species such as giraffe and hippopotamus to make an appearance. The birding at Cradle Moon focuses on both water and grassland birds with African Black Crake, Malachite Kingfisher, Little Rush Warbler, African Fish Eagle and many other species regularly seen.
Grassland and Waterbirds of Southern Gauteng
Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve and Marievale Bird Sanctuary
This tour begins in the Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve just South of Johannesburg, where we are likely to see a good selection of mammals and birds. Commonly seen mammals include eland, giraffe, plains zebra and many others. There is also always a chance of seeing some of the more difficult to spot smaller mammals such as ground squirrel, yellow mongoose, suricate (meerkat), or even rock elephant shrew. The bulk of the birding here is from the car and a wide variety of grassland and bushveld birds will be seen. These may include Red-throated Wryneck, Greywing Francolin, Mountain Wheatear, Cape Rock Thrush and many others.
After a relaxed picnic lunch at Suikerbosrand, we will drive to the Marievale Bird Sanctuary where the focus will be on viewing the waterbirds found in the area. As well as a variety of ducks, cormorants and kingfishers, we should also see several warbler species and a collection of other grassland and water birds. At Marievale water mongoose and Cape clawless otter can sometimes be seen.
Northwest Gauteng Birding
Zaagkuildrift Road and Borakalalo National Park
This tour’s objective is to see as many of the region’s birds in a day as possible. Although mammals are sometimes seen, they should be viewed as a bonus as the focus will be on birding. After an early start we drive the Zaagkuildrift Road, stopping in different habitats to view a variety of woodland, grassland and water birds. This area allows us to see many of the dry country specials more common in the western parts of South Africa. These may include Crimson-breasted Shrike, Pied Babbler, Barred Wren Warbler, Scaly-feathered Weaver and Shaft-tailed Whydah. When the floodplain of the Pienaars River has a good volume of water, we will spend some time there as many waterbirds can be seen including Black-winged Pratincole, African Comb Duck and Lesser Moorhen.
Leaving the Zaagkuildrift Road behind us, we travel to Borakalalo National Park which boasts a variety of different habitats including dry thornveld, grassland and broadleafed woodland. We will enjoy a picnic lunch on the shores of the dam at Borakalalo before spending the afternoon birding throughout the park. This reserve invariably produces a good variety of birds which may include such specials as Meyers Parrot, Marico Flycatcher and Red-headed Weaver. Between 100 and 200 bird species can be expected to be viewed on this one-day tour.
Pilanesberg National Park
Pilanesberg National Park offers excellent game viewing and a day spent in the park is likely to provide sightings of a good variety of large mammals. The Big Five game animals are present in the park and there is always an excellent chance of seeing some of them during the tour. Elephant, buffalo and rhinoceros are commonly seen and predators such as lion and leopard are not uncommon. Pilanesberg is probably the best place close to Johannesburg to catch a glimpse of the rarely seen brown hyena which is most active at dawn and dusk. While we are on game drive in the park we will also have the opportunity to view many of the birds in the area. Large birds of prey are regularly seen and we may enjoy views of Bateleur, Black-chested Snake-eagle and others. Bushveld and thornveld birds are common with Violet-eared waxbill, Lilac-breasted Roller and Eurasian Bee-eater among the most colourful of the bunch. Ask your guide to show you one of the diminutive Pearl-spotted Owlets which are common in the area – it is the owl species most often active during the day and certainly one of the cutest creatures you will ever see! A picnic lunch will be enjoyed somewhere in the park during the course of the day. The drive to and from Pilanesberg takes approximately 2 and a half hours each way.
*Please note that the Park Entrance fee is not included in this tour (currently R750 per person per day for non-SA nationals).
Birds and Otters
Klipdrift Dam and Boskop Dam Nature Reserve
This tour is designed specifically to provide an opportunity to see an otter in the wild. While sightings are not guaranteed, a trip on Klipdrift Dam in our small boat provides the best possible chance to see these shy creatures. Both Cape clawless and spotted-necked otters are present in the dam, with Cape clawless being the more common species. Apart from searching for otters, Klipdrift Dam is an excellent spot for waterbirds. Black-winged Pratincole, African Snipe, South African Shelduck and African Purple Swamphen are often seen, along with a good variety of other waterbirds and waders.
After a picnic lunch on the shores of Klipdrift Dam we head to Boskop Dam Nature Reserve where we will focus on Grassland birding for the rest of the day. At the right time of year Boskop offers a wide variety of grassland birds including potentially Banded Martin, Orange River Francolin, Double Banded Courser and many others. There are also some large mammals in the reserve and there should be an opportunity to see plains zebra, and a variety of antelope including Red Hartebeest and Grey Duiker.
*Please note that the price for this tour is R5000 for one person. A surcharge of R1000 per person is levied for an additional 1 or 2 persons. Our boat is able to accommodate a maximum of 3 clients plus the guide.
Rust-de Winter Dam
Birding by Boat
Rust-de Winter Nature reserve offers excellent birding and there are a few bird species here which are not easily seen elsewhere in Gauteng. These include African Finfoot and African Pygmy Goose which are more easily seen from a boat than from shore. An added bonus of a boat trip is that we are also able to see crocodiles and hippos in their natural habitat. After our morning boat trip we will enjoy a picnic lunch on the shore before continuing birding in the reserve on foot and in the vehicle. We are likely to see several large mammal species from the boat and the shore including animals such as kudu, giraffe and plains zebra.
*Please note that the price for this tour is R5000 for one person. A surcharge of R1000 per person is levied for an additional 1 person. Our boat is able to accommodate a maximum of 3 clients plus the guide but we recommend no more than 2 clients on this particular tour due to the distances travelled on the water.
Dinokeng Game Reserve
Birds and Mammals
Dinokeng Game Reserve, situated north of Pretoria is the closest place to the city where there are wild populations of the Big Five game animals. On a typical day trip to the reserve you are likely to see one or two of the Big Five plus a good selection of other mammals including giraffe, plains zebra, blue wildebeest, impala, kudu and many others. If you are lucky Dinokeng can also deliver good cheetah viewing. Apart from the large animals, Dinokeng offers excellent bushveld birding and you can expect to consistently see over a hundred bird species on a day safari. The drive to Dinokeng is on excellent roads and this means less time driving and more time looking for birds and animals. During our day in the game reserve we will enjoy a picnic lunch under the trees.