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This was one of the best five of the 53 guided birding tours I have taken! Paul Josop is not only a truly excellent local guide who knows African birds and their calls phenomenally well, but is also extremely pleasant to deal with, polite, supportive of all levels of participant birding skills and very thoughtful. Paul also has an infectious sense of humor: We all laughed a lot on this tour! He loves to teach participants the finer points of the biology of the animals and plants encountered on a tour; he also managed group dynamics very well. It is clear that Paul enjoys guiding and he is very focused on getting all of the tour participants onto every bird species we encountered: He is living proof of my dictum that ""A good local guide is a thing of joy"". Our two local guide/drivers, Roger in Tanzania and Edson in Kenya, were also excellent: They dealt very well with severely pot-holed African roads and erratic African drivers and traffic; they also pointed out very many birds and big game as we bounced through the national parks, reserves and paved roads, all filled with aggressive opposing traffic! They have my highest recommendation. However, I do urge the local tour operator, Tanzania Birding and Beyond, to have their Land Cruiser passenger seats rebuilt - they were singularly uncomfortable on our long drives. This Rockjumper tour has my highest recommendation for all levels of participants' birding skills.
Paul was raised by his grandmother in the Northern Cape, more specifically the windswept Namaqualand region near the town of Springbok. He fondly remembers overturning rocks in search of scorpions, snakes and spiders, and this is where his love and passion for the natural world began!
Paul’s interest for fauna and then flora grew when he moved back to Cape Town and started exploring the Table Mountain National Park. Hikes on Lions Head, Table Mountain and through Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens introduced Paul to the rich diversity of the Cape Floral Kingdom, birdlife, and other animal life. At high school Paul spent time in the Cederberg mountains learning about the geology, the San people that inhabited the area hundreds of years ago, the animal and plant life that is unique to the area and encountered his first Cape Rockjumper! This experience solidified his destiny to pursue a career in nature.
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Paul then moved to Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, and went on to study a two-year program in nature guiding & conservation, both terrestrial and marine. This is where he met like-minded people, was introduced to an entire new ecosystem and climate, and his excitement for birding took off! Time on this course allowed him to explore all the game reserves in the area, identify many different species of trees, wildflowers, birds, insects, amphibians and reptiles. With the prospect of becoming a professional field guide, and teaching people about our natural heritage, Paul also furthered himself with trails guiding qualifications and specialized in the birding field.
After qualifying, Paul went on to further his learning - completing the &Beyond ranger course at Phinda Private Game Reserve, and working at some of their lodges. He continued his career guiding for a tour operating company on the Elephant Coast, leading overland tours around KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland and the Kruger National Park. Paul then decided to head back into the bush, full-time, and guided for a private game reserve in Zululand before finally moving to the Sabi Sand Game Reserve (any field guide’s dream!).
Paul started working along the Sabi River, learning about the Southern Sabi Sand environment, getting introduced to the remarkable lives of Leopards, witnessing extraordinary game sightings, connecting with many of the Lowveld bird species and getting a better understanding of the Greater Kruger ecosystem. It is during this time that his photography of wildlife, especially birds, came to fruition. In 2018 he progressed to Singita, Sabi Sand, a leading conservation and ecotourism company with key focuses on biodiversity, sustainability and community upliftment. This opportunity also allowed him to travel to other properties in the Kruger National Park, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Tanzania was an incredible highlight for Paul, as it encapsulated the great migration and introduced him to the vibrant and magnificent bird life of the region!
It has been a long-term aspiration for Paul to work at Rockjumper, the market leading bird tour company, and to finally be guiding worldwide in his specialist field of interest! Paul looks forward to sharing many exciting adventures alongside fellow nature loving enthusiasts.
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CH - Kenya & Tanzania 2024GK - Kenya & Tanzania 2024
The guide , Paul Josop was excellent and his identification and spotting skills were unparalleled. He repeated the bird names frequently when asked and was very enthusiastic about everything he pointed out to the group. He always took care of the group and was very patient and enjoyable to be around. He has excellent knowledge of the areas we visited. The two drivers that helped in Tanzania and Kenya were both knowledgeable and friendly and assisted Paul well. We saw very abundant wildlife in all the parks we visited and exceeded expectations in most areas . The accommodations were also very good . Food was excellent throughout.
This was probably the best Rockjumper tour I have ever been on. I cannot praise our leader, Paul, highly enough. His enthusiasm for the birds was contagious and he made birding fun which is what its supposed to be. This was his first tour to this area and even though he got several lifers, I thought he was brilliant. Incredible at spotting and although my eyes are not what they used to be I came back with many wonderful photos and memories. We were Americans and one Canadian and we keep our records on eBird. Paul didnt have to do it, but he provided several eBird lists for each day of the tour and shared them with us. This made the trip for me. We dispensed with the checklist summaries that often take up so much time at the end of the day on other trips. Instead we got all the information we needed via eBird. My wife suffered a fall on the first day which took her to the emergency room. Paul was superb at providing first aid and taking care of her injuries as a "first responder" and continued to offer aid and comfort during the rest of the tour. He was also our driver and even though he had not been to all the places, he did a great job finding birding locations and maximizing our birding opportunities. Paul made a personal connections with everybody on the tour without playing favorites. It was a long tour but he kept the camaraderie going the whole time. Rockjumper is lucky to have him.