Overview

Our tour explores the famous and quintessential birding and wildlife reserves of northern Tanzania, Tarangire, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. The tour will focus on Tanzanian endemics and regional specials whilst having ample time to marvel at some of the highest concentrations of wildlife to be found anywhere on our planet, and all this amidst spectacular scenery in one of Africa's wildest, most stable and least spoilt destinations. Some of the many regional specials and endemic birds that we will target on this tour are the beautiful Fischer’s and Yellow-collared Lovebirds, Ashy Starling, Grey-breasted Spurfowl and Rufous-tailed Weaver. With Mt. Kilimanjaro as a backdrop, we will search for the highly localized Beesley’s Lark, one the world’s rarest lark species with perhaps no more than 250 birds left. Our tour uses a good standard of accommodation and comfortable safari vehicles with pop-up roof hatches to optimize viewing. This incredible and immensely rewarding birding safari is augmented by some of the most outstanding mammal viewing the world has to offer.

Tour Facts Top Birds
Fischer’s & Yellow-collared Lovebirds; Ashy Starling; Grey-breasted Spurfowl; Rufous-tailed Weaver; Beesley’s Lark; Rosy-patched Bushshrike; Blue-naped Mousebird; Von der Decken’s Hornbill; White-bellied Go-away-bird; White-headed Buffalo Weaver; Grey-crested Helmetshrike; Karamoja Apalis; Secretarybird; Bateleur; Silverbird; Blue-capped Cordonbleu; Lappet-faced Vulture; Schalow’s Turaco; Tacazze, Golden-winged & Eastern Double-collared Sunbirds; Purple-crested Turaco; Silvery-cheeked Hornbill; Crowned & Martial Eagles; Abyssinian Scimitarbill; vast numbers of Greater and Lesser Flamingos; Red-throated Tit; Steel-blue Whydah; Kori & White-bellied Bustards; Tanzanian Red-billed Hornbill; Saddle-billed & Marabou Storks; Grey Crowned Crane.
Top Mammals
African Elephant; Black Rhinoceros; Lion; Leopard; African Buffalo (the 'Big Five'); Cheetah; Serval; Gerenuk; Giraffe; Spotted Hyena; Bat-eared Fox; Thomson’s & Grant’s Gazelles; Tssesseba; Hartebeest; Bohor Reedbuck; Eland; Hippopotamus; Kirk’s Dik-dik; Oribi; Defassa Waterbuck; Blue Wildebeest; Plains Zebra.
Habitats Covered
lowland & afromontane forests, Acacia savanna, rivers and wetlands, rocky gorges, grassland, Baobab-studded grasslands.
Expected Climate
warm to hot, dry conditions, but cool at higher elevations and rain can be expected
Max Group Size
6 with 1 Rockjumper leader
Tour Pace & Walking
undemanding, but some relatively long drives
Accommodation
comfortable lodges & tented safari camp
Ease of Birding
mostly easy birding & mammal watching
Other Attractions
Oldupai Prehistoric site, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti, Kilimanjaro, Maasai, African curios
Photographic Opportunities
very good to outstanding
Tour Route Map Route Map Client Testimonials

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.

From your looking at my list two years ago and your comments on where best to get the birds, I was able to work out which trips would be most productive.... You were always drawing my attention to what were new, or possible splits, and checking what I still needed! And then not only did you make space in your busy programme to fit in our [Tanzania] Mega before my deadline, but putting in all the hours to find those tricky ones and patiently re-trying over and over again when I dipped or didn’t get good views! I am most grateful & know I could not have done it without you!

Both the tour leader, Stuart Elsom, and the local driver were great. he knew exactly where to go for a certain set of species - all knowledge from his many trips to these areas of the tour.

I had traveled with Rockjumper to India in 2019 with Stuart Elsom, so was looking forward to experiencing another trip with this most excellent guide. He is so knowledgeable and professional while remaining always approachable and good humored. The accommodations were superb- I especially enjoyed the tent camps! This tour really has it all- fantastic birds, wonderful opportunities to see the African mammals up close, lovely accommodations and always good food. There were a few “ glitches” for me personally but Stuart kept everything running smoothly. Our driver, Geitan, was fantastic. It was obvious he drove with great care and concern for our safety. What an experience- not only the birds but the people and other things we experienced. Thank you, especially to Stuart, for a wonderful adventure!

Paul Varney was a superb guide. He worked hard throughout the tour, ensured everyone got what they wanted from the trip and had incredible patience always answering (even often repeated) questions and had excellent knowledge of the birds and game. What really impressed was he was always open and willing to say he didn’t know or wasn’t sure, knew when to let an ID go and would make effort to work out a tricky ID from images overnight and confirm later. We thoroughly enjoyed his company and he made it a great experience. Moses our driver was fantastic. He has great knowledge of the areas visited, is an excellent, careful and confident driver and has incredible eyes. He is also a genuinely caring and lovely man who helped make the time in the vehicle a lot of fun. Your ground agents are brilliant. I guess you know that, but they made everything work very smoothly and helped with organising transfers.

Dates, Leaders and Pricing
2023 DEPARTURES
2024 DEPARTURES
Tour Enquiry
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