This special tour offers an opportunity to view some of Africa’s rarest and most localised species in the Dakatcha Woodlands and coastal forests of Arabuko-Sokoke, as well as the Taita Hills, which have been strongly supported by the African Bird Club’s conservation efforts in recent years. Participants will each be expected to contribute £300 to the Club in advance of the tour. We hope to have a chance to meet some of the local people who have been involved in the efforts to conserve Dakatcha and the Taita Hills.
We start out exploring a handful of coastal sites including the famed Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, which holds several localized and range-restricted species. Here we will endeavour to find Sokoke Scops Owl, Sokoke and Malindi Pipits, stunning Fischer’s Turaco, Mombasa Woodpecker, Green-headed Oriole, Chestnut-fronted Helmetshrike, Green Tinkerbird, East Coast Akalat, Little Yellow Flycatcher, Scaly Babbler, Amani Sunbird and the enigmatic Clarke’s Weaver. Other sites in this area include the Dakatcha Woodlands, Mida Creek for Crab-plover and the Sabaki River Mouth. The second half of our tour is spent exploring the exceptional Tsavo reserves which hold a wonderful assortment of dry country birds and mammals such as African Elephant, Big Cats such as Lion, Leopard and Cheetah and a variety of different antelope. On the birding front the list of quality species is numerous and includes Scaly Chatterer, Red-naped Bushshrike, Pringle’s Puffback, Tsavo Sunbird, Taveta Weaver, Golden-breasted and Fischer’s Starlings, White-throated Robin, the rare and little known Friedmann’s Lark, Hartlaub’s Bustard and Grey-headed Silverbill to name a few. We also take time to visit the Taita Hills where three extremely localized Kenyan endemics can be found: Taita Thrush, Taita White-eye and Taita Apalis.
Client Testimonials
Tour price (Per person): USD4,145 * GBP3,330 * EUR3,875 * AUD6,198
Single Supplement: USD490 * GBP394 * EUR458 * AUD733
Flight costs: USD110 * GBP88 * EUR103 * AUD164
I really can’t think of a way this tour could have been improved.... The itinerary was wonderful, the accommodations lovely, and the birds fantastic. Greg de Klerk is one of my all-time favorite guides. He genuinely cares about his guests, and does his best to make sure they have a great experience. This was truly a trip I have dreamed of since I was a kid, and it certainly fulfilled my expectations.
The booking was complicated by the COVID crisis and the many participants who cancelled the tour, but I am very grateful to RJ who managed to maintain the tour. The tour itself was absolutely outstanding, because of Kenya, because of the protected areas system, because of the birds and the mammals, because of the scarcity of other tourist, because of the small number and high quality of tour participants, but above all, because of the enthusiasm and professionalism of our Kenyan birdguide and our driver-birder guide. From the first minutes to the last hour of the 26 days tour, they have been fantastic guides, with amazing spotting capacity, top skill to attract skulking and shy species, and difficult to beat knowledge of songs and calls, of identification criteria, of local repartition and habitat preference of each species. And added to this, a thorough knowledge of all the places we visited and a great network of local guides who provided additional assistance to both locate rare and difficult birds, but also to avoid problems with local peoples. I cannot praise highly enough their work and the great atmosphere they created during this long tour, and I am sure I will return to Kenya with them.
Heinz Ortmann was charming and funny, outstanding on the birds and other animals, and excellent in dealing with the logistics. I would be very happy to travel with Heinz again.
We very much enjoyed our East Africa experience, finding it to be the adventure we dreamed it would be. With Greg de Klerk as our excellent and informative guide and the incredible wildlife, the tour exceeded our expectations. Greg took care of us all throughout the tour and was extremely patient and considerate to make certain that all were able to find the birds we were seeking. We had a group with different levels of birding experience and Greg worked so well with all. Thanks to all who made this wonderful experience happen for us.
Stuart took my "hit list" and ensured that I saw as many as possible. Driver/guide Jack and local guides also helpful. Accommodation and food generally good. One negative was that Landcruiser was cramped and difficult to enter and exit, but apparently a 4X4 is necessary for this tour. Overall very happy with the tour and total list. Other participants also enjoyed it.