South Africa Extensions, Western Cape Pre-trip Extension

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Letitia Whitehead
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1 South Africa Extensions, 2016 Western Cape Pre-trip Extension 7 Days / 6 Nights 17,980 Rand Birding in the spectacular beauty of the Western Cape is a required entry on every birder s bucket list. The area is rich in endemics, features jaw-dropping scenery, offers world-class pelagic birding and is floristically the richest place on earth. No other spot on Earth has more to offer than the Western Cape, so buckle up and enjoy the trip. This trip will start in the Mother City, Cape Town, constantly voted as one of the top 5 most beautiful cities in the world. From here we will visit the splendors of the world famous Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, enjoy one of the few mainland Penguin breeding colonies in the world and all this whilst searching for some of the birding gems that Cape Town has to offer. After a couple of days in Cape Town we ll head inland to the small town of Ceres on the edge of the Karoo, and this will be our base for a day s exploration into this arid wonderland where we hope to find a whole bunch of Karoo specialties. From here we head back to the coast, to the West Coast National Park to be precise, an area of significant importance for migrating shorebirds but also our main stake-out for birds such as the nearendemic Black Harrier. We ll conclude our trip back in Cape Town, where you will depart for home or continue on to the Eastern South Africa Trip. Optional Pelagic Pelagic trips out of Cape Town are renowned as some of the best in the world. This trip has been timed so participants who would like to do a pelagic can fly in two days early, do a pelagic and then join the rest of the group at the start of the Western Cape Trip. Any pelagic trip is weather dependent and could be moved to the following day for those adventurous enough. This is an opportunity not to be missed as Cape Town offers some of the most rewarding sea-birding anywhere in the world. We usually find at least four species of Albatross as well as the likes of Pintado Petrel, Sooty Shearwater, White-chinned Petrel, Cape Gannet, Sabine s Gull, Pomarine Skua, Parasitic Jaeger, Great, Manx and Cory s Shearwaters and many more. A good number of cetaceans are possible as well, with possible sightings of Bryde s Whale and Dusky Dolphins. Enquire for more details. Western Cape Extension Day 1 (Nov 8) Everyone in the group will arrive in the beautiful city of Cape Town today with the exception of some folks that might have decided to come in a day early. We ll take it easy today as participants might be

2 arriving on different flights and everyone will welcome the chance to settle in before birding starts in earnest. Some of the more energetic could even just bird around our accommodation which has some pretty birdy gardens, with birds such as Chaffinch, African Harrier-Hawk and Black Sparrowhawk as regular visitors. Some who were scheduled for a pelagic trip on Oct.3 could see their outing postponed and rescheduled for today. O/N at one of the fine accommodation establishments in Cape Town (D) Day 2 (Nov 9) Good birding awaits us today as we explore the rich variety of habitats around Cape Town. The exact sequence of sites to visit may vary a bit but we are sure to visit all the strategic sites which includes Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens where we often encounter Spotted Eagle-Owl, Forest Buzzard, Cape Spurfowl, Cape Sugarbird, Orange-breasted Sunbird, Swee Waxbill, Cape Batis, Forest Canary and Lemon Dove. The Constantia Greenbelt and Tokai Plantations often yield Cape Siskin and European Honey Buzzard and at Strandfontein Sewage Works we ll be treated to Maccoa Ducks, Great White Pelican, Black-necked Grebe, Purple Heron and African Marsh-Harrier. O/N Cape Town (BLD) Day 3 (Nov 10) In our search for Cape Rockjumper we ll visit sites such as Rooiels where we often also find Cape Rock- Trush, Cape Bunting, Verreaux s Eagle and the elusive Ground Woodpecker. We ll also stop in at the Harold Porter Botanical Gardens which boasts cultivated gardens, surrounded by moist mountain fynbos. This site is particularly good for the skulking Victorin s Scrub-Warbler, Black Saw-Wings abound and Karoo Prinia, Southern Boubou, Brimstone Canary and Cape Bulbul usually put in a showing. A short stop at Stony Point will net us African Penguin, here at one of only two mainland breeding sites, we stand a good chance of finding all three marine Cormorants, Cape-, Bank- and Crowned-, here as well. If we failed to find the Rockjumper at Rooiels earlier on, we ll continue our search near Chapman s Peak where we should also find Cape Siskin. O/N Cape Town (BLD) Day 4 (Nov 11) Today s drive to the town of Ceres, the gateway to the Karoo, will takes us through breathtaking scenery and along this route we have another back-up site for the elusive Cape Rockjumper as well as the possibility of finding such mouth-watering specials as Victorin s Warbler, Cape Siskin and Cape Grassbird. Commoner species such as Grey-backed Cisticola, Bokmakierie and Fiscal Flycatcher are normally easy finds and we ll have a stop en-route for one of the more difficult endemics, Protea Canary. We ll drive through to famous fruit growing valley of Ceres before entering the Tanqua Karoo, a different world altogether. We ll slowly make our way to our lodge situated in the heart of the Tanqua Karoo, with a quick stop for some late afternoon birding which could produce the enigmatic Cinnamonbreasted Warbler as well as an outside chance of Cape Eagle-Owl. O/N Tanqua Karoo (BLD) Day 5 (Nov 12) A full day s birding in the Karoo with its rich bounty of endemic birds, stark landscapes and beautiful sunsets. Early morning birding in the Karoo can be extremely rewarding, on the open Karoo plains we ll

3 be looking for the likes of Yellow and White-throated Canaries and with luck even Black-headed Canary, both Karoo and Trac-trac Chat should make our list as well as several species of Lark such as Spikeheeled, Karoo, Large-billed and Karoo Long-billed. Pale Chanting Goshawk and Greater Kestrel are frequently seen as they perch on the utility poles along the road, whilst terrestrial specials such as Karoo Korhaan and Burchell s courser will require diligent scanning, we may even be rewarded with the much rarer Ludwig s Bustard. Closer to our lodge we should find Rufous-eared Warbler and Karoo Eremomela before stopping in for a quick lunch. We ve had some luck in locating the highly nomadic Black-eared Sparrowlark around here in the past year so let s hope our luck continues. Towards the afternoon we ll start making our way back to Ceres with a stop at a narrow Canyon as we exit the Tanqua Karoo, we often find Fairy Flycatcher, Grey Tit, Mountain Wheatear and Pririt Batis here, whilst a search in the nearby reedbeds should produce Namaqua Warbler. O/N Ceres (BLD) Day 6 (Nov 13) Early morning will depend on our success in finding Protea Canary two days prior, which could mean an early morning stakeout in the Protea covered hillsides just outside of town or an early departure to the West Coast National Park. The National Park encompasses the Langebaan Lagoon as well as protecting the surrounding Strandveld (a unique type of coastal vegetation), the lagoon is a very important site for migrant shorebirds and scanning from several hides should net us Red Knot, Ruddy Turnstone, Eurasian Curlew, Grey Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit and Terek Sandpiper. The Strandveld sections should produce the likes of the stunning Black Harrier, Southern Black Korhaan, Grey-winged Francolin, Cape Penduline Tit and Fiscal Flycatcher. Time permitting we ll exit the northern end of the park and go in search of Cape Long-billed Lark, a South African endemic here at the southern limit of its range. O/N Langebaan (BLD) Day 7 (Nov 14) We will be able to fit in a bit of birding before making our way back to Cape Town for flights to Johannesburg for the start of the Eastern South Africa Birds and Beasts trip or International flights home for those not joining the main tour. PAYMENT INFORMATION: Deposit of $300 with registration (registration form can be downloaded from a link on the Cheepers! Africa website). Balance is due on or before July 8, Checks should be made payable to Cheepers! Birding on a Budget and mailed with the registration form to: Cheepers! Birding on a Budget Post Office Box 385 Spring Valley, OH Cancellation policy: Cancellation should be made in writing ( or snail mail) More than 6 months prior to departure full refund of deposit

4 Between 4 and 6 months prior to departure 50% refund of deposit Less than 4 months prior to departure No refund of deposit If cancellation occurs after full payment is made, a refund will be given only if the vacant spot is filled. Drakensberg Plateau post-trip Extension 4 Days / 3 Nights 9530 Rand The Drakensberg, a world heritage site, forms the border between South Africa and Lesotho and it is here, on the Sani Pass, that we ll concentrate on finding the high-altitude specials of the Drakensberg Massif. This extension is a must for any endemic-hunter, with almost guaranteed sightings of several endemics. We ll also do some birding in the foothills of the mountain. Day 1 (Nov 30) We ll do some early morning birding around our lodge grounds in Umhlanga, just north of Durban and will hope to find Brown-backed Honeybird, Black-throated Wattle-Eye and maybe even the elusive Buffspotted Flufftail. After breakfast we tackle the longish road to the village of Creighton in the KwaZulu- Natal midlands and this will be our base for two nights of our extension. We ll probably have time to do some birding en-route and we often take the scenic route via the Hella-Hella Pass, good birds to be on the lookout for include African Crowned Eagle, Pale-crowned Cisticola, White-starred Robin. We often encounter Striped Pipit and Lazy Cisticola on the dry, rocky slopes. African Black Duck and Mountain Wagtail can be seen from the bridge over the Mkomazi River. We ll time our arrival at the lodge for the late afternoon. O/N Creighton B&B or similar (LD) *Breakfast is provided as part of the main tour. Day 2 (Dec 1) We ll be off to a very early start heading up Sani Pass into the small mountain kingdom of Lesotho so have your passports handy. The ascent up Sani Pass is rightly famous as one of the top birding routes in South Africa and this will soon become apparent as we have packed breakfast at our usual stop often in the company of Gurney s Sugarbird, Malachite Sunbird, Buff-streaked Chat and even Cape Rock-Thrush. Higher up we ll scan the skies for White-necked Raven, Cape Vulture and the majestic Bearded Vulture. We hope to find Barrat s Warbler en-route but with the prospect of road works on the pass for the foreseeable future it might not be as easy as on past tours. One we reach the top we ll be on the lookout for Drakensberg Siskin, Drakensberg Rockjumper, Mountain Pipit, Sickle-winged Chat, Cape Bunting and Large-billed Lark. Our lunch stop is usually good for Ground Woodpecker, Grey Tit, Layard s Warbler, Sentinel Rock-Thrush and the dainty Fairy Flycatcher. We ll be in no rush today as we ll be staying over on the mountain. Our lodge, at an elevation of 2874 metres asl. can get very cold even in early summer so make sure to pack a few layers. The lodge is superbly comfortable with magnificent views over KwaZulu Natal. O/N Sani Mountain Lodge (BLD)

5 Day 3 (Dec 2) We ll take it easy this morning as the birds here don t get going too early, with a cup of coffee in one hand we ll enjoy some of the birds around the lodge before settling in for a welcome breakfast. We ll concentrate on finding any birds we might have missed the previous day as well as driving out to Black Mountain for African Rock Pipit, Black Stork and Bearded Vulture. After lunch we ll start our descent, birding all the way. We ll also stop at some of the streams on the way down to look for Half-collared Kingfisher and the dams at the base of the pass often hold some surprises. Fallow field on the way back to our guesthouse often yield Denham s Bustard, Grey Crowned Crane, Secretarybird and Southern Bald Ibis. O/N Creighton B&B or similar (BLD) Day 4 (Dec 3) Up at the crack of dawn we ll head to a nearby stakeout for Blue Swallow, this critically endangered breeding migrant to South Africa occur here in small numbers annually and we hope to connect with it here. We ll also look for Black-bellied Bustard, Denham s Bustard and may even visit a nearby patch of forest that may hold Cape Parrot and Orange Ground Thrush. We ll return to the lodge for breakfast before making our way to the busy port city of Durban but en-route we might stop at Bulwer or Karkloof for more forest birding with emphasis on finding Bush Blackap, Cape Parrot, Knysna Turaco, Forest Canary and Orange Ground Thrush. The extent of birding this morning will largely depend on the time of your flights out. (BL) PRICING DETAILS Price includes: ~ Lodging in comfortable hotel/lodges/b&bs ~ All meals as indicated ~ All land transportation ~ Transfers ~ Entrance fees ~ Expert local birding guide at a ratio not to exceed 1 guide per 6 birders ~ Cheepers! tour leaders ~ Pre-trip gift package ~ Post-trip electronic group checklist, photo disk, and trip report Price does NOT include: ~ International airfare to Johannesburg and from Durban, South Africa ~ Alcoholic drinks ~ Travel insurance ~ Gratuities ~ Expenses of a personal nature such as laundry, phone calls, extra drinks and snacks, etc. PAYMENT INFORMATION: Deposit of $150 with registration (registration form can be downloaded from a link on the Cheepers! Africa website). Balance is due on or before July 30, Checks should be made payable to Cheepers! Birding on a Budget and mailed with the registration form

6 to: Cheepers! Birding on a Budget Post Office Box 385 Spring Valley, OH Cancellation policy: Cancellation should be made in writing ( or snail mail) More than 6 months prior to departure full refund of deposit Between 4 and 6 months prior to departure 50% refund of deposit Less than 4 months prior to departure No refund of deposit If cancellation occurs after full payment is made, a refund will be given only if the vacant spot is filled. Trip insurance is recommended. You can compare prices offered by various trip insurance companies at this website:

SOUTH AFRICA BIRDING PHOTO TOUR WESTERN CAPE, WITH EXTENSION TO KRUGER NP

SOUTH AFRICA BIRDING PHOTO TOUR WESTERN CAPE, WITH EXTENSION TO KRUGER NP 1 11 SEPTEMBER 2018 Cape Rockjumper (photo Andre Stapelberg) is one of our targets on this trip. 2 I T I N E R A R Y South Africa