Day 1: Kaapschehoop

Participants fly directly into the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, for the start of this tour. After checking into the lodge, we will head out for an afternoon in a beautiful patch of Afromontane Forest. This habitat holds a completely different and mouth-watering set of birds from Kruger. These include African Emerald Cuckoo, Orange Ground-Thrush, Narina Trogon, and Bush Blackcap.

 

Day 2: Blue Swallow Grasslands to Hazyview

We’ll head out early to the Blue Swallow Heritage Site grasslands. Some of the rare species here include Stripped Flufftail and Black-rumped Buttonquail. With luck, and at the right time of the year, we might see the endangered and gorgeous Blue Swallow. After checking out of the lodge, we’ll walk along a beautiful area of grassland and rock outrcrops in search of a few endemic birds, namely Gurney’s Sugarbird, Drakensberg Prinia, and Buff-streaked Chat. At mid-day, we’ll drive to Hazyview and check into our next hotel. The afternoon will be spend enjoying the area’s beautiful mountain scenery, and searching for birds like Cape Rock-Thrush and Barratt’s Warbler.

 

Day 3: Hazyview to Letaba, Kruger NP

This is an exciting day, as it’s the day we enter the legendary Kruger National Park. This park is huge and diverse. Birding here is fantastic, with many species living right in the park’s camps. The staccato calls of the Woodland Kingfisher and ridiculous moans of the Gray Go-away-bird reverberate throughout most lodgings. Elsewhere Saddle-billed Storks and White-crowned Lapwings patrol the river edges, while menacing Nile Crocodiles watch from distant sandbanks. While looking for birds, we will undoubtedly bump into vast numbers of large mammals, including the possibility of Lion, Leopard, African Elephant, African Buffalo, and two species of rhinoceros. Kruger holds the famous “Big Five”, and much much more. This is an area where there is never a dull moment! We’ll enter the park via the Phabeni Gate. Lunch will be at Satara Camp, and the night will be spent at Letaba Camp.

 

Day 4: Letaba Area

This day will combine drives along the Letaba River, bird walks inside of the camp for species like African Scops-Owl, and Golden-tailed and Bearded Woodpecker, and some time off in the head of the day. The Letaba areas is fairly dry, and the area to the west is dominated by endless broadleaved Mopane woodland. This dryness makes the Letaba River a major drawcard for wildlife. We’ll explore a variety of river vistas, including the one from the camp itself. Species that we might spot on the broad and sandy banks of the river include Hippo, Nile Crocodile, Saddle-billed and Marabou Storks, and Goliath Heron. African Fish Eagles and Pied Kingfishers patrol the skies, and swoop down on unsuspecting fish, which they pluck from the river’s amazingly clear water. 

 

Day 5: Letaba to Satara

Today we drive through a vast and wild section of south / central Kruger. Although there aren’t as many big mammals here as there are further south, the seemingly endless and open nature of this landscape gives it a special, Serengeti-like feel. The sight of a distant herd of Elephants or Giraffe necks littering the horizon is not soon forgotten. Small dams along the way can hold a bounty of waterbirds like Abdim’s Stork, Hamerkop, Water Thick-knee, and African Jacana.

 

Day 6: Satara Area

This day will combine “game drives” outside the camp, bird walks inside of the camp, and some time off in the heat of the day. Satara Camp is exceptionally birdy. Its spacious grounds hold Crested Barbed, Bearded and Bennett’s Woodpeckers, Brown-headed Parrot, and Sulphur-breasted Bush-Shrike. Sometimes there are even tame Bushbuck munching on the green lawns! 

 

Day 7: Satara to Lower Sabie

During this day’s drive, we’ll stop at the iconic Mkumbe lookout point, which has a panoramic view over the western lowlands of Kruger. On the latter portion of the drive, we’ll enter one of the very best mammal-watching portions of the park, along the banks of the Sabie River. This is a great area for the rare Nyala, highly threatened White Rhino, and for Lion and Leopard. Careful scans of the sandy riverbanks may reveal the localized White-headed Lapwing.

 

Day 8: Lower Sabie Area

This morning, we’ll spend some time at Ntandanyathi Bird Hide, a good chance to get out of the vehicle, and perhaps enjoy intimate views of some waterbirds. Then we’ll continue through some beautiful grasslands, looking for marquee birds like Secretarybird, Lappet-faced Vulture, and Lilac-breasted Roller. At mid-day, we’ll have some time off, then head out for an afternoon drive.

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Day 9: Lower Sabie to Skukuza

Around mid-day, we’ll spend some time at the perfectly-situated Lace Panic bird hide, a great spot for waterbirds like African Jacana, Black Crake, African Fish Eagle, Giant and Pied Kingfishers, and Black Heron. In the afternoon, we’ll make our way to our last comfortable and birdy Kruger camp: Skukuza.

 

Day 10: Skukuza to Kruger Airport

After a final drive, we’ll head out of Kruger, and back to the Kruger Mpumalanga airport, to catch outbound flights.