Kenya - Mega Birding Tour 2024

01 Nov 2024 - 26 Nov 2024 (26 days)

USD10,795 - No Spaces Available

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Tour price (Per person): USD10,795 * GBP8,261 * EUR9,870 * AUD15,993

Single Supplement: USD1,510 * GBP1,156 * EUR1,381 * AUD2,237

Flight costs: USD110 * GBP84 * EUR101 * AUD163

Kenya - Mega Birding Tour 2025

01 Nov 2025 - 23 Nov 2025 (23 days)

USD11,495 - 2 Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: Stephan Lorenz

Tour price (Per person): USD11,495 * GBP8,797 * EUR10,510 * AUD17,030

Single Supplement: USD1,840 * GBP1,408 * EUR1,682 * AUD2,726

Flight costs: USD130 * GBP99 * EUR119 * AUD193

Kenya - Mega Birding Tour 2026

14 Oct 2026 - 05 Nov 2026 (23 days)

USD12,000 - Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: James Wade Lee

Pricing notes : *Prices are estimated and dates may change*

Tour price (Per person): USD12,000 * GBP9,183 * EUR10,972 * AUD17,779

This tour is the ultimate African birding and wildlife adventure. Over three weeks of non-stop birding, we hope to see more than 700 bird species, plus an incredible diversity of wildlife, superb scenery, wonderful lodges and tented camps, and super-friendly Kenyans.

Our tour begins with an exploration of the lush Shimba Hills and Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. Here we will endeavor to find some of the rarest birds in Africa, including the diminutive Sokoke Scops Owl, Sokoke Pipit, Green-headed Oriole, Amani Sunbird and Clarke’s Weaver. We then travel through both Tsavo West and East Parks, offering excellent game viewing and a huge bird list. The isolated Taita Hills, with its critically endangered species, will no doubt be memorable, and we’ll search all elevations of the Aberdare’s and Mount Kenya’s slopes for avian gems such as Jackson’s Francolin, Bar-tailed Trogon, Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon, localized Hinde’s Babbler and Abyssinian Ground Thrush. We then enter the true arid zone at Samburu-Shaba, where highlights should include Golden-breasted Starling, Vulturine Guineafowl, Williams’s Lark, Somali Bee-eater and Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse. The dry woodlands of Lake Baringo are home to Jackson’s Hornbill, Northern Masked Weaver, and Somali Sparrow, while the famous Kakamega forest adds a plethora of forest specials with Blue-headed Bee-eater. Turner’s Eremomela, Chapin’s Flycatcher, Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat and Yellow-bellied Wattle-eye being notable targets. Our tour concludes after exploring the papyrus swamps and moist woodlands along Lake Victoria!

**The tour logistics for 2025 have changed. We are no longer visiting the Masai Mara NR due to unmitigated price increases & rule changes.**

Top Birds

Sharpe's Longclaw; Sokoke Scops & Cape Eagle Owls; Sokoke & Malindi Pipits; Clarke's, Compact & Taveta Weavers; Hinde's & Scaly Babblers; East Coast Akalat; Green Barbet; Green Tinkerbird; Fischer's, White-crested and Ross's Turacos; Amani, Plain-backed, Tsavo, Violet-breasted & Golden-winged Sunbirds; Green-headed Oriole; Taita & Abyssinian Ground Thrushes; Taita Apalis; Taita & Kikuyu White-eyes; Jackson's & Elgon Francolins; Aberdare Cisticola; Abbott's, Golden-breasted, Magpie & Fischer's Starlings; Abyssinian Crimsonwing; Somali & Three-banded Coursers; Rock Pratincole; William's & Friedmann's Lark; Jackson's Hornbill; Red-naped Bushshrike; Somali Sparrow; Donaldson-Smith's Sparrow-Weaver; Somali & Blue-headed Bee-eaters; White-headed Mousebird; Turner's & Yellow-vented Eremomelas; Yellow-bellied & Jameson's Wattle-eyes; Vulturine Guineafowl; White-spotted Flufftail; Bar-tailed Trogon; Hartlaub's Bustard; Sooty Gull; Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse; Eastern Black-headed & Forest Batis; Donaldson-Smith's Nightjar; Forbe's-Watson's Swift; White-headed Wood Hoopoe; Pallid Honeyguide; Mombasa & Speckle-breasted Woodpeckers; African Broadbill; Grey-crested Helmetshrike; Papyrus Gonolek; Red-throated Tit; Uganda Woodland, Black-faced Rufous & Basra Reed Warblers; Somali Crombec; Southern & Yellow-bellied Hyliotas; Brown-chested Alethe; Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat; Easy Coast Akalat; White-throated Robin; Chapin's & Gambaga Flycatchers; Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher; Fire-fronted & Zanzibar Red Bishops; Jackson's Widowbird; Red-throated & Brown Twinspots; Grey-headed Silverbill; Steel-blue Whydah; Papyrus Canary; Southern Grosbeak-Canary; Oriole Finch.

Top Mammals

Lion; Leopard; Black & White Rhinoceros; Cheetah; Striped & Spotted Hyenas; Reticulated & Maasai Giraffes; Grevy’s Zebra; Gerenuk; Serval; Golden-rumped Elephant-Shrew; Crested Porcupine; Small-spotted & Blotched Genets; African Civet; African Buffalo; African Elephant; Southern Tree Hyrax; Giant Forest Hog; Lesser & Greater Kudu; Harvey's Duiker; Suni; Sable Antelope.

Habitats Covered

lowland & montane forests, Acacia savanna, papyrus swamps, rivers and wetlands, rocky gorges, grassland, semi-desert, coastal estuaries

Expected Climate

warm to hot, dry conditions, but cool at higher elevations and occasional rain can be expected. One morning at high altitude (3 650m) in very cold conditions (freezing).

Max Group Size

6 with 1 Rockjumer leader

Tour Pace & Walking
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WARNING: This tour involves strenuous activities and is intended for experienced adventurers. If you prefer a more relaxed experience, please check out our [Explore Relaxed Tours]

Our Mega tours are very fast-paced birding adventures designed for the dedicated lister and serious birder. The focus of the tour is to see as many of the endemics and area specials as possible in our given time. In order to cover the necessary route to maximise the species list we tend to spend a single night at most sites and travel large distances. There is very little down time aside from that spent driving from one site to the next. These tours are not suitable for dedicated or avid photographers; inexperienced or new birders; as well as anyone with serious mobility or health challenges.

Accommodation

Moderate to comfortable, some safari tented camps, a few basic lodges

Ease of Birding

Demanding. Some species density is low, forest birding present typical challenges. Several difficult target species.

Number of Species Expected

700+

Other Attractions

Mt Kenya, Aberdare Mountains, Shimba Hills, Lakes Elementeita & Baringo, Masaai people, African curios

Photographic Opportunities

Worthwhile to good but limited by time constraints.

What our clients say about us

Heinz Ortmann
RL, Kenya

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.

André Bernon
VW, Kenya 2018

Thank you for a wonderful experience! The tour exceeded my expectations. Andre Bernon is an extremely talented and knowledgeable guide. His eyes and ears are incredible and he is very thoughtful with his guests.

Quinton Paul Josop
CH - Kenya & Tanzania 2024

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.

Stuart Elsom
TW, Kenya 2022

I've never been on a safari trip so I had no way of knowing what was involved. Due to my age (83) and slight incapacity (I use a cane, aka "stick," to maintain balance) the trip was more challenging than I had anticipated. But Stuart Elsom, our guide, and Jack, our expert driver and expert birder, made accommodations that made it possible for me to undertake and get the most out of the experience. 342 life list birds! All in all, an unforgettable experience. Thank you for the wonderful birding experience. I will definitely recommend Rockjumper tours to my younger friends and family members.

David Hoddinott
Anon, Kenya - Mega

David Hoddinott and indeed the drivers and Alison were all amazing - making this a life-changing experience. Everything went far better than expected throughout the tour in my opinion. I do not see how it could have been improved. Well done to all!

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