Tour Leader: Daniel Danckwerts
Tour price (Per person): EUR7,215 * GBP6,041 * USD7,895 * AUD11,703
Single Supplement: EUR909 * GBP761 * USD995 * AUD1,475
Tour Leader: Reece Dodd
Pricing notes : *Prices are estimated and dates may change*
Tour price (Per person): EUR7,493 * GBP6,274 * USD8,200 * AUD12,155
This exciting tour concentrates on the highlights of one of Africa’s most remarkable countries, offering vast areas of pristine wilderness and a great diversity of habitat. The tour visits several incredible sites within the country, and we will dabble in all the most important of habitats including the rich miombo woodlands, mushitus (riverine forest) and dambos (seasonally inundated wetlands). Key sites include the fabulous Victoria Falls – rightly considered one of the seven Natural Wonders of the World.
From there, we head to the Choma region where we can expect to enjoy a wonderful selection of birds such as the endemic Chaplin’s Barbet together with Racket-tailed Roller, Red-capped Crombec and Fülleborn's Longclaw. Next, we drive to the Zambezi Valley, specifically the thickets along the Mutulanganga and Mbendele Rivers, where the highlights might include Barred Long-tailed and African Emerald Cuckoos, African Pitta, River Warbler, and the endearing Livingstone’s Flycatcher.
We then start making our way northwards, having an excellent crack at Black-necked Eremomela and Chestnut-backed Sparrow-weaver. Finally, we will visit two sites in the north: the vast Mutinondo Wilderness and Kasanka National Park. Here we hope to find the rare Bar-winged Weaver, Anchieta’s Barbet, Anchieta’s Sunbird, Bocage’s Akalat, Böhm's Flycatcher, Blue Quail, Chestnut-headed Fullftail and Souza’s Shrike. Who knows – we may even see a Shoebill or, should our timing be right, witness the breath-taking sight of approximately 10 million African Straw-colored Fruit Bats leaving their roost in the world’s biggest mammal migration! We are excited to share this incredible adventure, though one of Africa’s upcoming destinations, with you!
African Pitta; Souza’s Shrike; Shoebill; Chaplin’s, Miombo Pied & Anchieta's Barbets; Racket-tailed Roller; Red-capped Crombec; Fülleborn's Longclaw; Barred Long-tailed, Thick-billed & African Emerald Cuckoos; River Warbler; Livingstone’s & Böhm's Flycatchers; Black-necked Eremomela; Chestnut-backed Sparrow-weaver; Bar-winged Weaver; Chestnut-headed Flufftail; Anchieta’s & Western Violet-backed Sunbirds; Bocage’s Akalat; Blue Quail; Schalow’s & Ross’s Turacos; African Spotted Creeper; Fawn-breasted Waxbill; Rock Pratincole; African Finfoot; Half-collared Kingfisher; Collared Palm Thrush; Shelley’s Sunbird; Sooty Chat; Pennant-winged Nightjar; African Broadbill; Pel’s Fishing Owl; Orange-winged Pytilia.
Sitatunga; African Straw-colored Fruit Bat
Miombo woodlands, mushitus (riverine forest), dambos, marshes, dense thickets, wetlands, mopane forest, grasslands, swamps, mavunda forest, Brachystegia woodland
Sub-tropical, hot and humid with rain showers
8 with 1 Rockjumper leader
Moderate. Some very long travel days combined with several low-density target species. Not suitable for dedicated photographers; inexperienced birders; or anyone with mobility or health challenges.
Comfortable, some safari tented camps.
Moderate to demanding. Some species density is low, particularly in miombo woodland, forest birding present typical challenges.
10 million African Straw-coloured Fruit Bats,
Worthwhile to good but limited by time constraints. No dedicated hides or feeders.
This private tour, organised by Rockjumper, allowed us to visit some fantastic areas in the country. Our main focus was on birds, with Pel's Fishing Owl and Shoebill high on our "would like to see" lists. We saw both of them really well, along with another 56 lifers. The Shoebill sighting will remain in our memories for many years, as we waded through the marsh to see both adults close to the nest, plus a well-grown youngster! The overall Bird List totalled some 320 species, along with 47 species of mammal. Highlights of the mammal sightings included an hour spent with a hunting Leopard, a couple of Lionesses with five cubs, a Cheetah with six cubs and sightings of four different Serval. The pace of the tour was excellent and staying for three nights in a small number of sites gave us the opportunity to really explore the different habitats. The accommodation throughout was fantastic. David Hoddinott was a fantastic leader and was aptly supported by the local guides.
Daniel Danckwerts is a fine young guide, excellent and devoted birder, and can get people onto the specials - he is very personable, always optimistic and constantly professional, working to get the most possible out of the trip.
Greg de Klerk could not have done more, he was very good particularly when I lost my luggage and I just couldn’t make a lot of decisions that needed to be made particularly in the limited time available for shopping and he helped me through that.
Glen was very organised and knowledgeable. He gave clear directions as to what we would be doing the following day. He has a very calm and friendly manner. He has extremely good hearing and the ability to both hear the birds and point them out. He was very helpful to assist me when I did not see where the bird was. I would certainly like to travel with him again.
Daniel Danckwerts was a delight; we very much enjoyed being with him. His bird skills are excellent and he does a good job getting people "on the bird." He was consistently pleasant, polite and upbeat. A highlight of the trip was the visit to his family's farm and meeting his family.