phone-icon 1-888-990-5552 email-icon info@rockjumper.com
user-icon Log in / Register

South Africa - Birds, Wine & Big Game

© White Rhinoceros by Adam Riley

This Birding, Wine and Big Game tour has been specifically crafted for those who wish to view the wide variety of South Africa’s most sought after birds and mammals, whilst also enjoying South Africa’s award-winning, famous wines. We base ourselves in Cape Town for the beginning of the tour, widely recognised as one of the world’s most beautiful cities and within easy reach of the country’s prime vineyards! From here we venture north along the Atlantic Coast, experiencing the diverse ecosystem of the West Coast National Park, before heading east for the interior dry country riches of the Tanqua Karoo. After exploring and sampling the best wines of the Western Cape, we wing our way to the province of KwaZulu-Natal on South Africa’s eastern seaboard. From our base within the Manyoni Private Game Reserve, a private 'Big 5' wildlife reserve, we shall enjoy comfortable game drives through some of the country’s finest birding and mammal habitat. From the endemic rich Fynbos Kingdom of the Western Cape to the teeming wildlife of Manyoni Private Game Reserve, this tour offers the very best of southern African birding, game viewing and wine!

Please note: these prices are subject to foreign exchange fluctuations.

Top Birds

Western Cape: Cape Rockjumper, Cape Sugarbird, Cape Siskin, Protea and Cape Canaries, Orange-breasted, Malachite & Southern Double-collared Sunbirds, African Penguin, African Oystercatcher, Crowned, Bank & Cape Cormorants, Black Harrier, Southern Black and Karoo Korhaans, Cape Spurfowl, Bokmakierie, Jackal Buzzard, Southern Boubou, Swee Waxbill, Karoo and Large-billed Larks, Karoo Eremomela, Ground Woodpecker, Cape Weaver, Cape Bulbul, Maccoa Duck, Cape Teal, Cape Shoveler, South African Shelduck, Victorin’s, Cinnamon-breasted, Rufous-eared and Namaqua Warblers, Cape Penduline Tit, White-backed Mousebird, Greater and Lesser Flamingos Zululand: Common Ostrich, Saddle-billed and Marabou Storks, African Openbill, Bateleur, Martial, Crowned, African Hawk- and Tawny Eagles, African Cuckoo-Hawk, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Lappet-faced Vulture, Natal Spurfowl, Crested Guineafowl, Bronze-winged Courser, Southern White-faced Owl, Trumpeter and Crowned Hornbills, Neergaard’s and Scarlet-chested Sunbirds, African Broadbill, Gorgeous, Orange-breasted & Grey-headed Bushshrikes, Pink-throated Twinspot, Rudd’s Apalis, Eastern Nicator, Bearded Scrub Robin, White-throated, White-browed and Red-capped Robin-Chats, White-eared Barbet, Black-bellied & Violet-backed Starlings, Narina Trogon, Blue-mantled & African Paradise Flycatchers, Black-bellied Bustard

Top Mammals

Western Cape: Afro-Australian Fur Seal, Common Eland, Blesbok (Bontebok), (Cape) Mountain Zebra, (Red) Hartebeest, Cape Grysbok, Cape Grey Mongoose Zululand: The ‘Big 5’ (Lion, Leopard, African Elephant, Black and White Rhinoceroses, African Buffalo), Cheetah, African Wild Dog, Serval, Waterbuck, Natal Red & Grey Duikers, Steenbok, Bushbuck, Common Wildebeest, Plains Zebra, Giraffe, Chacma Baboon and Vervet, Hippopotamus, Spotted Hyena, Cape Porcupine, Black-backed Jackal, White-tailed Mongoose, Common Genet, African Savanna Hare and Thick-tailed Greater Galago

Habitats Covered

Western Cape: mountains, Fynbos, coastal waters, semi desert, wetlands Zululand: acacia savanna, bushveld, sand forest, riverine forest, grasslands, rivers, wetlands

Expected Climate

Western Cape: subtropical with occasional rain, can be cold at times Zululand: subtropical and dry, warm to hot

Max Group Size

9 with 1 Rockjumper leader

Tour Pace & Walking

relaxed to moderate pace with undemanding walks

Accommodation

comfortable to very comfortable

Ease of Birding

mostly easy with a few tougher species

Other Attractions

Western Cape: Table Mountain, incredible coastal scenery, Tanqua-Karoo, great food & wine Zululand: vast, pristine wilderness, large numbers of African mega-fauna

Photographic Opportunities

excellent

What our clients say about us

Julian Parsons
RO, South Africa 2022

Julian was an excellent tour leader and bird guide. I would happily travel with him again.

Gregory de Klerk
KB, Best of South Africa: Cape & Kruger I 2016

Since our trip left right after Easter, and the office was supposed to be closed, I REALLY appreciated Lorna responding to my questions in such a timely fashion. She was right there with answers. Accommodations were very very nice, esp Whale View Manor (within walking distance of penguins). The food was fabulous. Greg de Klerk is the best guide I’ve ever travelled with. He is very knowledgeable, kind, and has a great sense of humour. He did his best to make sure everyone saw as many birds as possible, and that we knew what we were seeing. He continually checked in with us, to make sure everyone was having a good time. He made a good trip into a great trip.

Daniel Danckwerts
MW, South Africa 2021

This was our first tailor-made tour. It won't be our last. We had a great time. Dan was an excellent guide, working all the angles to get us our target birds while still covering the area specialties, affording us great looks at birds for which we had only fleeting views on our previous South Africa tour with Rockjumper (which was also great!). Dan was very persistent, which paid off in seeing a good number of very difficult specialty birds that many avid South African birders have not seen. We even had two lifer flufftails in a single day, thanks in part to Doug McCulloch, who took the morning off from his new job to help out with the Red-breasted Flufftail. Thanks, Doug! We could have used one more day in the Joburg area, as there were a few birds that were not accessible within the time frame of the tour. This always happens, though, and I am glad we went from a 6-day to a 10-day tour. This is the reason for the overall rating of 9 rather than 10. Overall, the three of us had a great time on the tour. Thanks for putting it together for us!

Gregory de Klerk
KK, Eastern South Africa X 2016

Greg was a fantastic guide, and I hope that I can take another tour/bird with him again in the future. I greatly enjoyed birding and spending time with him, he was very personable and I'm glad that we were able to become friends. Greg knew where to search for the birds and was extremely knowledgeable about birds and other wildlife and natural history. I also greatly appreciated how Greg dealt with issues that arose with other guests, and how quickly he tried to step in and prevent problems from escalating further. Guiding can be a difficult job, and Greg did a terrific job.

David Hoddinott
G, South Africa Mega

I would like to add my thanks to you, Crystal, and all the other people associated with Rockjumper for making this the best birding tour in which I have participated. David's leadership was superb as our trip bird count shows. I would be happy to go with Rockjumper on future trips. Thanks again for your assistance during the Mega South Africa trip.

South Africa - Birds, Wine & Big Game 2025

19 Sep 2025 - 30 Sep 2025 (12 days)

ZAR83,950 - Spaces Available

Book Now
client-img

Tour Leader: Quinton Paul Josop

Tour price (Per person): ZAR83,950 * USD4,470 * GBP3,580 * EUR4,179 * AUD6,841

Single Supplement: ZAR9,950 * USD530 * GBP424 * EUR495 * AUD811

Flight costs: ZAR1,800 * USD96 * GBP77 * EUR90 * AUD147

  • Your details

  • Hidden

  • Contact permission

    We would love to send you Newsletters (twice yearly).via Type a message, Promotions/Discounts (weekly), Blog Articles/Image of the Month (monthly) and other content that we think you would find interesting. If you are happy with this then please select your preferences below. If you would like to unsubscribe from previous subscriptions, or leave our mailing list entirely, then please do so by visiting the Preference Centre link at the bottom of these emails.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Route Map

Tour Route Map

map-direction-img
Download Tour Itinerary
English