This Tanzania Mega Birding Tour is one of the ultimate African birding adventures and has been specifically designed to take in the entire range of sought-after forest endemics that Tanzania has to offer! Our tour kicks off with an exploration of the nearby Pemba Island, home to four species of endemics that include Pemba Scops Owl, Pemba White-eye, Pemba Sunbird and Pemba Green Pigeon. We make an exploratory trip into the Rubeho Mountains for Rubeho Warbler and Rubeho Akalat before moving to the lush forests of the impressive Eastern Arc Mountains, home to an amazing array of highly localised specials. Gems such as Winifred’s (Mrs Moreau’s) Warbler, Loveridge’s Sunbird, Usambara Akalat, Usambara Weaver, Spot-throat and Fischer’s Turaco are just a few of the wonderful species that we will be searching for. We will also take time to track down the elusive and recently discovered Udzungwa Forest Partridge – a species that shares close affinities with partridges from Asia – and another rare bird, the splendid Rufous-winged Sunbird.
Other fabulous endemics and regional specialities include Amani Sunbird, Kretschmer’s Longbill, Uluguru Bushshrike, Iringa Akalat, and Olive-flanked Ground Robin, together with a bunch of recently described species that include Kilombero and White-tailed Cisticolas and Kilombero Weaver.
Udzungwa Forest Partridge; Pemba Green Pigeon; Pemba Scops Owl; Tanzanian Red-billed Hornbill; Uluguru Bushshrike; Usambara Hyliota; Long-billed Forest Warbler; Winifred's & Rubeho Warblers; Uluguru & Montane Tiny Greenbuls; South Pare & Pemba White-eyes; Tanzanian Illadopsis; Ashy Starling; Usambara Thrush; Usambara, Rubeho & Iringa Akalats; Banded Green, Loveridge's, Hofmann's, Pemba, Rufous-winged & Moreau's Sunbirds; Kilombero Weaver; Usambara Weaver; Kipengere Seedeater; Spot-throat; Dapple-throat; Fischer’s Turaco; Green Tinkerbird; Uhehe Fiscal; Green-headed Oriole; Kilombero, Lynes’s & White-tailed Cisticolas.
Angola Pied & Iringa Red Colobus; Gambian Giant Pouched Rat; Honey Badger; Lion; Leopard; Cheetah; African Elephant; Black Rhinoceros; Kirk’s Dik-dik; African Buffalo; Eland
montane forests, savanna, grasslands, broad-leaved woodland, lakes, dams and rivers
cool in the highlands, warm in the lowlands
8 with 1 Rockjumper leader
Our Mega tours are very fast-paced birding adventures designed for the dedicated lister and serious birder. The focus of the tour is to see as many of the endemics and area specials as possible in our given time. In order to cover the necessary route to maximise the species list we tend to spend a single night at most sites and travel large distances. There is very little down time aside from that spent driving from one site to the next. These tours are not suitable for dedicated or avid photographers; inexperienced or new birders; as well as anyone with serious mobility or health challenges.
mostly comfortable lodges and hotels, though a few nights are spent camping in comfy domb-style tents
demanding, many rare or difficult target species.
475+
spectacular sunsets and landscapes, rarely visited forest
challenging in most areas, limited by time
David Hoddinott and indeed the drivers and Alison were all amazing - making this a life-changing experience. Everything went far better than expected throughout the tour in my opinion. I do not see how it could have been improved. Well done to all!
Andre was a GREAT bird guide. VERY good at searching out the birds and getting everyone on them. Highly recommended!
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.
The tour was amazing and probably one of the best we have been on. Paul and Moses were great guides and managed to get us on birds and good opportunities for photographing birds and animals. I appreciated Paul's patience and constant enthusiasm. Moses really understood the animals and what birds or mammals might do next - he got us in good position for great photos. Moses also had a great sense of humor and responded quickly when one of our tour members became sick. I really like that Rockjumper takes care of all the tipping and takes care of local staff and guides. This is a real benefit in the tours for me.
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.
08 Sep 2024 - 29 Sep 2024 (22 days)
USD11,195 - 4 Spaces Available
Tour Leader: David Hoddinott
Tour price (Per person): USD11,195 * GBP8,979 * EUR10,454 * AUD17,205
Single Supplement: USD910 * GBP730 * EUR850 * AUD1,399
Flight costs: USD440 * GBP353 * EUR411 * AUD676
Tour Leader: André Bernon
Tour price (Per person): USD11,795 * GBP9,461 * EUR11,014 * AUD18,127
Single Supplement: USD1,050 * GBP842 * EUR980 * AUD1,614
Flight costs: USD440 * GBP353 * EUR411 * AUD676
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