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.


*2024 Prices are estimated and dates may change*

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.

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.

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!

We both had a very enjoyable tour with Gareth Robbins. There were a couple of occasions where we needed medical attention and our needs were taken care of in a very timely manner. We were very impressed with the professional way in which Gareth lead the tour and with his care and consideration of the tour participants. His wildlife, cultural knowledge and experiences contributed to a really great tour.

We very much enjoyed our East Africa experience, finding it to be the adventure we dreamed it would be. With Greg de Klerk as our excellent and informative guide and the incredible wildlife, the tour exceeded our expectations. Greg took care of us all throughout the tour and was extremely patient and considerate to make certain that all were able to find the birds we were seeking. We had a group with different levels of birding experience and Greg worked so well with all. Thanks to all who made this wonderful experience happen for us.

Dates, Leaders and Pricing
2023 DEPARTURES
2024 DEPARTURES
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