This 8 day voyage out of Cape Town will sail through the Indian Ocean towards The Prince Edward Islands group, comprising two small islands in the sub-antarctic Indian Ocean. The islands are a declared Special Nature Reserves under the South African Environmental Management and activities on the islands are restricted to research and conservation management.
The wildlife on Marion is particularly vulnerable to introduced species and has suffered terribly with introduced mice and cats. While cats are now believed to have been eradicated, mice are still a major problem. A portion of the fees paid for this trip will be donated to the Mouse Free Marion Project.
We expect to see a host of seabirds with highlights including Kerguelan, Blue and Grey Petrels; Grey-headed, Sooty, Light-mantled and Wandering Albatrosses; King, Gentoo, Macaroni and Southern Rockhopper Penguins; Fairy and Salvin’s Prions and Kerguelan Tern. Should we obtain permission to venture into the marine protected area around Marion, we should also find Crozet Shag and Black-faced Sheathbill. A number of marine mammals are also anticipated, with Southern Elephant and Subantarctic Fur Seals; Fin, Sperm, Humpback and Killer Whales, as well as Dusky Dolphin being amongst the most likely.
More than 40 bird tour leaders and guides will be onboard for the cruise, including many who are very good at their cetacean identification too. Peter Harrison MBE, author of Seabirds: An Identification Guide – considered the bible of seabird identification will also be onboard, during which time he will not only be guiding, but also release his new seabird identification guide.
The tour is dynamically priced, and will become more expensive over time.
Good chances - Black-faced Sheathbill*, Grey-headed, Hartlaub's and Kelp Gulls; Greater Crested, Sandwich and Kerguelen Terns; Brown Skua; King Penguin; Wilson's and Black-bellied Storm Petrels; Wandering, Sooty, Black-browed, Shy, Grey-headed and Indian Yellow-nosed Albatrosses; Southern Giant, Northern Giant, Great-winged, Soft-plumaged, Grey, White-chinned and Blue Petrels; Salvin's and Fairy Prions; Cory's, Sooty and Great Shearwaters; Common Diving Petrels; Cape Gannet; Cape Cormorant; Crozet Shag*. Moderate chances - Sabine's Gull; Common and Antarctic Terns; Pomarine and Parasitic Jaegers; Gentoo, Southern Rockhopper, Macaroni and African Penguins; Light-mantled and Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatrosses; European Storm Petrel; Cape, Kerguelen and White-headed Petrels; Antarctic Prion; Subantarctic Shearwater. Low chances - Lesser Crested and Arctic Terns; Long-tailed Jaeger; Grey-backed and White-bellied Storm Petrels; Southern Royal and Northern Royal Albatrosses; Leach's Storm Petrel; Southern Fulmar; Slender-billed Prion; Barau's, South Georgia Diving and Spectacled Petrels; Manx and Little Shearwaters; Crowned, Bank and White-breasted Cormorants. Very Low chances - White-faced Storm Petrel, Amsterdam and Tristan Albatrosses, Broad-billed Prion, Atlantic Petrel, Flesh-footed Shearwater. *At present, Birdlife has not obtained the necessary permission to enter the marine protected areas of Marion Island. These species would not be expected unless permission is gained.
Good chances - Subantarctic Fur and Southern Elephant Seals; Humpback Whale. Moderate chances - Antarctic Fur Seal; Sperm, Killer, Fin and Long-finned Pilot Whales; Dusky Dolphin. Low chances - Heaviside's, Short-beaked Common, Hourglass and Bottlenose Dolphins; Southern Right, Common Minke, Sei and Bryde's Whales. Very Low chances - Southern Right Whale Dolphin; Blue Whale.
pelagic
cold and windy
2300+ with 40 leaders
easy
comfortable ship
mostly easy
55+
remote and rarely visited island, vast Indian Ocean
good to excellent
Greg de Klerk was one of the best guides I've had – EVER. Excellent with bird ID, calls and habitat. And probably just as important in a group setting, VERY good with people, fun, friendly and left no one out. I have heard good things about Rockjumper Tours for years and now I see why. Keep up the good work.
Daniel Danckwerts was excellent—great hearing and eyesight and was excellent at pointing out exactly where the skulky bird was lurking. He was able to find the group many birds that various members of the group had missed on previous trips to South Africa. And more importantly, he was a store of information about the birds, animals and Kruger. Teamed up with Daniel was our most excellent Kruger driver-guide Dirk who knew where everything was and could find it. We navigated this very complicated trip (flight to Skukuza, travel in south Kruger, flight to Cape Town, testing for covid, boarding the MSC Orchestra and off on our cruise around the Cape of Good Hope only with Daniel’s help and guidance. I am hoping to return to Kruger (for the third time) to bird with Daniel and Dirk on the Kruger Challenge. More than the birds, the trip was fun.
Greg gave the best introductory talk (regarding group dynamics and birding etiquette), that I have ever heard. Excellent.
This was a wonderful tour...with something for everyone. The fun just never stopped! Keith Valentine's passion for wine, food, creatures; be they avian, mammal, or reptile, combined for his deep knowledge of all, and his love of the outdoors shows in everything he does!
Our short custom tour with two day trips out of Cape Town was really excellent. Our guide Julian was knowledgeable and engaging and generally a great fit for our small family of three. We found almost all our main target species and Julian was always quick to set up the scope to ensure we all got great views of the more distant birds. As a family with a range of interests including not only birds, but also mammals and plants, we really appreciated that Julian found the right balance between trying hard to find some of the more difficult birds and allowing some extra time for studying plants, especially at Kirstenbosch. Thanks Julian, for a great couple of days! Thanks also to Daniel and Laverne for your help with planning and logistics!
16 Jan 2025 - 24 Jan 2025 (9 days)
ZAR52,950 - 1 Space Available
Tour Leader: Ryan Tyrer
Tour price (Per person): ZAR52,950 * USD2,784 * GBP2,227 * EUR2,595 * AUD4,256
Single Supplement: ZAR3,500 * USD184 * GBP147 * EUR172 * AUD281
20 Jan 2025 - 24 Jan 2025 (5 days)
ZAR37,950 - Spaces Available
Tour Leader: Rockjumper Tour Leader TBC
Tour price (Per person): ZAR37,950 * USD1,995 * EUR1,860 * GBP1,596 * CAD2,724
Single Supplement: ZAR4,250 * USD223 * EUR208 * GBP179 * CAD305
Flight costs: ZAR4,840 * USD254 * EUR237 * GBP204 * CAD347
21 Jan 2025 - 24 Jan 2025 (4 days)
ZAR20,950 - 2 Spaces Available
Tour Leader: Rockjumper Tour Leader TBC
Tour price (Per person): ZAR20,950 * USD1,102 * GBP881 * EUR1,027 * AUD1,684
Single Supplement: ZAR1,150 * USD60 * GBP48 * EUR56 * AUD92
31 Jan 2025 - 03 Feb 2025 (4 days)
ZAR20,950 - 3 Spaces Available
Tour Leader: Rockjumper Tour Leader TBC
Tour price (Per person): ZAR20,950 * USD1,102 * GBP881 * EUR1,027 * AUD1,684
Single Supplement: ZAR1,150 * USD60 * GBP48 * EUR56 * AUD92
31 Jan 2025 - 05 Feb 2025 (6 days)
ZAR35,450 - Spaces Available
Tour Leader: James Wade Lee
Tour price (Per person): ZAR35,450 * USD1,864 * GBP1,491 * EUR1,737 * AUD2,849
Single Supplement: ZAR2,750 * USD145 * GBP116 * EUR135 * AUD221
Flight costs: ZAR3,025 * USD159 * GBP127 * EUR148 * AUD243
South Africa - Bletsch 2024 - March 2024
South Africa - Rallid Quest (Small Group) 2024 - February 2024
South Africa - Williamson Wild Dog ext (RWT) 2024 - February 2024
South Africa - Frederick 2024 - February 2024
South Africa - Cape Extension I 2024 - January 2024
South Africa - Eastern I 2024 - January 2024
South Africa - Kruger Extension I 2023 - November 2023
South Africa - Mega Birding Tour I 2023 - November 2023
South Africa - Ball Karoo 2023 - October 2023
South Africa - Eastern VI 2023 - October 2023
South Africa - Cape Extension V 2023 - October 2023
South Africa - Eastern V 2023 - September 2023
South Africa - Budget Eastern (Small Group) 2023 - September 2023
South Africa - Harris (RWT) 2023 - August 2023
South Africa - Heller 2023 - June 2023
South Africa - Woo 2023 - June 2023
South Africa - Cape & Kruger I 2023 - May 2023
South Africa - Inglet 2023 - February 2023
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