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South Africa - Southern Endemics (Relaxed)

© Blue Cranes by Adam Riley
South Africa - Southern Endemics (Relaxed) 2025

02 Dec 2025 - 18 Dec 2025 (17 days)

ZAR89,950 - 4 Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: Julian Parsons

Tour price (Per person): ZAR89,950 * USD5,104 * GBP3,865 * EUR4,587 * AUD7,565

Single Supplement: ZAR7,500 * USD426 * GBP322 * EUR382 * AUD631

Flight costs: ZAR1,800 * USD102 * GBP77 * EUR92 * AUD151

Can be linked with:

South Africa - Southern Endemics (Relaxed) 2026

15 Mar 2026 - 31 Mar 2026 (17 days)

ZAR93,500 - Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: Quinton Paul Josop

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

Tour price (Per person): ZAR93,500 * USD5,306 * GBP4,018 * EUR4,768 * AUD7,863

Can be linked with: South Africa - Northern Birds & Big Game (Relaxed) 2026

Another of our new Relaxed tours takes us to the key endemic birding sites of KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, and the Western Cape. An impressive 750+ bird species occur within the region, reflecting the incredible natural diversity of the area; and this, coupled with a modern infrastructure well suited to the needs of the modern traveller, makes birding here an absolute delight. Our tour winds its way from the high-altitude grasslands around Wakkerstroom, endemic-rich mist-belt forests of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, lofty peaks of the magnificent Drakensberg, and the remarkably beautiful south-western Cape.

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

Top Birds

Southern Bald Ibis; Blue Korhaan; Denham’s Bustard; Botha’s, Cape Clapper, Karoo, Agulhas Long-billed & Rudd’s Larks; Ground Woodpecker; Buff-streaked, Tractrac, Sickle-winged & Karoo Chats; Yellow-breasted & Mountain Pipits; Amur Falcon; Gurney’s & Cape Sugarbirds; Drakensberg & Cape Rockjumpers; Drakensberg & Cape Siskins; Cape Parrot; Blue Swallow; Knysna Turaco; Grey Crowned, Blue & Wattled Cranes; Cape Bulbul; African Penguin; Orange-breasted Sunbird; Protea Canary; Karoo Eremomela; Rufous-eared, Namaqua, Victorin’s & Cinnamon-breasted Warblers; Southern Tchagra; Knysna Woodpecker.

Top Mammals

Blesbuck; Bontebok; Yellow Mongoose; Meerkat; Black Wildebeest; Oribi; Mountain Zebra; Common Eland; Chacma Baboon;

Habitats Covered

highveld grassland, montane forest, grasslands, rivers, wetlands, mountains, semi-desert, fynbos

Expected Climate

subtropical with occasional rain (mostly late afternoon thundershowers)

Max Group Size

6 with 1 Rockjumper leader

Tour Pace & Walking

our Relaxed series of tours are designed to focus on having an enjoyable holiday with a bird and wildlife focus. Where possible; we have reduced or removed long drives, single night stays and poor/rustic accommodation. We have also sought to reduce or remove difficult hikes, narrow/muddy trails and otherwise oppressive environmental conditions. Early starts and night birding are mostly optional, and we will not spend much time searching for difficult and/or skulking species. These tours are not suitable for hardcore birders and listers, or dedicated photographers.

Accommodation

good to very comfortable

Ease of Birding

easy to moderate

Other Attractions

Sani Pass, Drakensberg Mountains, Lesotho, Table Mountain.

Photographic Opportunities

good to very good

What our clients say about us

Julian Parsons
CH, South Africa

I would like to especially thank Julian Parsons for his outstanding guiding. Julian has just the right touch of skill and personality to make a tour like this fire on all cylinders. His ability is unique, a top-notch combination of outgoing and enthusiastic personality traits, deft handling of logistical details, fundamental knowledge of the landscapes and biota, and keeping the fire going for finding more birds. I do not give such praise lightly. I have myself have been an ecotour leader, so I well know how difficult it can be to keep satisfied the very demanding expectations of diverse participants. Julian possesses a novel blend of open-mindedness, too, which can be a scarce trait in birding guides. If Julian were the guide on an itinerary that I wished to sign up for, his presence could be a deciding criteria for my participation with a RockJumper tour. In addition to the guide, the itinerary, food, and accommodations all exceeded my personal expectations. Lodging at Hout Bay and Calvinia stand out, but frankly all of it was excellent.

Heinz Ortmann
JM, South Africa 2016 (Private)

We were very happy to have Heinz Ortmann as our guide. He operated the tour very skilfully in every way and with flexibility when needed to try to get all possible targets. We were also very positively surprised that he had such a great knowledge about mammals, butterflies, reptiles and amphibians beside the birds. Since we also are very interested in all these groups, this was a most welcome bonus. A great tour that we will remember for a long time. We would be very happy doing another private trip with Heinz as our guide.

Julian Parsons
MH & AH, South Africa 2022

Our group of six was very lucky to have Julian Parsons and Musa as our tour guide and driver! Excellent knowledge of birds, biomes, and local culture and politics. Also both had a great sense of humor and they were adaptable to our group's moods: the perfect match for our group! We would recommend both of them for any future tours! Bottom line, a very memorable trip with lots of great memories. Thanks to all.

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
CS - South Africa 2019

As a guide myself for more than 10 years (starting back in the early 90s), I believe I can give a sincere and realistic review of Greg de Klerk's performance during our nearly 2 weeks in Eastern South Africa. With this in mind, I can say that Greg did an excellent of maintaining and overseeing all aspects of our trip from start to finish. I particularly felt that his capacity for maintaining the various and sometimes complex logistics was impressive and well above average. Whether it was making sure that everyone's accommodations were comfortable, or helping us find a restroom during one challenging afternoon, when the restaurant we were eating in randomly closed their bathrooms down, Greg was always "on top of his game." This is not to mention his excellent abilities in the field as well. As a professional wildlife biologist, I was very impressed with Greg's abilities "beyond " just identifying species, so to speak. ln other words, Greg gave impressive, in-depth natural history descriptions of nearly every species of wildlife we recorded.

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