Having already had a three-week birding holiday in Borneo and one week in Scotland, by midsummer 2001 we only had five day's leave left. Where could we find somewhere that would promise a good range of birds and yet would only use five days off work? The solution we came up with was to visit South Africa in the last week of August - by getting a Thursday evening flight from London, with a return flight on the evening of the Saturday week and using August Bank Holiday, we had nine full days of birding in this endemic-rich country and yet only five of these days were taken as leave.
And what an action-packed nine days it proved to be! Our rather ambitious but carefully planned itinerary involved one day's guided birding around Cape Town, a pelagic trip from Simon's Town, then dawn-to-dusk birding from Cape Town up via Namaqualand as far as the Namibian border, then south through Bushmanland to Swellendam and east as far as Grootvadersbosch and De Hoop Nature Reserves.
South Africa is a simply stunning destination for birders. We've both travelled fairly widely in search of birds (except for South America) but South Africa is just about the most beautiful place we've ever visited.
Cape Town is of course famously scenic with its backdrop of Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean. The coast in either direction from Cape Town has beautiful long sandy beaches and rocky cliffs with huge Atlantic breakers and at several places on the south coast at this time of year there are many Southern Right Whales close inshore - we saw up to eight together.
Table Mountain from Dolphin Beach, nr. Milnerton, 27th August 2001.
In Namaqualand (up the west coast about 200 miles) there are rolling stony plains which at this time of year are covered in a dense carpet of flowers - huge daisies in pale yellow, orange and blue as far as the eye can see in all directions. Namaqualand has a number of special birds including flocks of Blue Cranes, displaying Black Bustards (Southern Black Korhaans), and several desirable lark species.
Further northeast in Bushmanland and especially north of Pofadder towards the Namibian border there are wide grassy plains interspersed by mountain peaks that go on and on into the distance right over the horizon - a vast wilderness with nothing spoilt or even touched by the hand of man. We travelled dirt roads up as far as the Namibian border, to the small outpost of Onseepkans.
It's difficult to convey just how impressed we were with our nine days of wonderful birding in South Africa, but some idea of the excitement to be had can be gauged from the fact that we saw 252 bird species and 21 mammals, the majority of which were lifers for both of us.
Namaqualand flora, near Vanrhynsdorp, 28th August 2001.
Planning the trip
We wouldn't have attempted this trip without the guidebook by Callan Cohen & Claire Spottiswoode Essential Birding - Western South Africa (Cape Town: Struik), which is widely available through larger bookshops and bird book dealers in the U.K for £9.99. This is very up-to-date and includes detailed tips on finding all of the endemics in the region.
We contacted Callan Cohen by e-mail (callan@birding-africa.com) for information on pelagic trips. He was out of the country in the period leading up to our holiday, and so we were mainly assisted by one of Callan's Birding Africa associates, Peter Ryan (pryan@mail.egs.uct.ac.za). Peter gave us a great deal of help with our itinerary, for example in advising us that we didn't have time to make the long detour to Port Nolloth for Barlow's Lark. We soon decided that one or two days of guided birding would help us find the more difficult endemics and Birding Africa arranged that Peter should also guide us for our second day in the country. Once we had met him in person, Peter also helped refine our itinerary and advised us that we needed to make advance B&B bookings for some of the more remote localities, which he generously arranged for us at his expense. We cannot praise the Birding Africa team highly enough for their knowledge of South Africa's birds and the generous help they offer to visiting birders (see www.birding-africa.com for more information).
For bird identification we used Illustrated Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa by Ian Sinclair (New Holland, 1993). For mammals we used The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals by J. Kingdon (Academic Press, 1997). We bought a road atlas in the UK, the Globetrotter Road Atlas of South Africa; however this proved to barely adequate for the more remote areas and we suggest you try and buy something more detailed when in the country.
Buffels River, NE of Kamieskroom, Namaqualand, 28th August 2001.
At the time of our visit the exchange rate was 11.39R to the £. Since then the Rand has crashed to around 18R to the £, making a holiday in South Africa extremely affordable. We took 6000R (approx. £530) and £100 cash, which we found to be more than adequate.
We flew with British Airways from London Heathrow to Cape Town, flight BA059 departing at 19.25 23/08/01 and arriving 08.00 the next day. Our return flight was on BA058, departing at 19.25 01/09/01 and arriving back in London the next day at 06.25. The flights cost £538 + £46.40 taxes per person. Cheaper flights were available, but these involved connections in Amsterdam and Johannesburg and we preferred to fly direct.
Car hire was with Avis South Africa and a B group car cost us £162 for 9 days. The first car was a brand-new Ford Ikon, but we preferred the replacement Toyota Corolla and would recommend choosing this model. Air conditioning was provided with both cars but at this time of year it wasn't needed. Petrol is cheap (3.75R per litre - about £0.33p per litre); we spent approx. 800R for the whole trip. In view of the huge distances involved, a co-driver is essential. Note that not many petrol stations take credit cards, so you must change up enough cash in advance.
The flights and car hire were booked with Trailfinders (www.trailfinders.com) from their Bristol office, as they seem to offer very reasonably priced deals.
We hired a cell phone from Avis when we collected the hire car. It cost 5.75R per day + calls at 2R per minute. Our total bill was 140R; good value as we were able to phone Peter Ryan for advice as well as phoning ahead to book accommodation. (At Clanwilliam and Brandvlei the hotels locked up at 10 p.m. and we had to phone to say we might be late). One drawback, however, was that we were out of cell phone range at Gamoep when we needed reassurance that we were on the right road for Diepvlei.
Accommodation
We had planned to find B&Bs "on spec", according to where we happened to be that evening. In the event Peter Ryan helped to finalise our itinerary and voluntarily arranged accommodation for us in the more remote areas. There are several good reasons for booking ahead wherever possible: (1) in Namaqualand at this time of year there are many retired people touring around looking at the wild flowers; (2) the B&B at Diepvlei is very remote but often fully booked, so advance booking is essential if you intend to stay there; (3) we sensed that some B&B proprietors were understandably reluctant to open their front door to strangers after dark, so it is usually best to find a B&B before dusk. However in general we had no difficulty in finding accommodation, which was invariably clean and comfortable.
Diepvlei Guest House, off the dirt road between Gamoep and the Koa Dunes, en route to Pofadder. It is essential to book ahead, as it would be disastrous to turn up in such a remote region and find it was fully booked. Tel/fax: 027 712 1578 E-mail: diepvlei@netactive.co.za Web site: www.diepvlei.co.za. 220R pppn. DB&B. 100R per vehicle night drive.
Entrance to Diepvlei Guest House (guest house itself is the dot on the horizon!), 29th August 2001.
Note that for calls made from outside South Africa start with the country code +27 then delete the first 0 and dial the rest of the number.
Food
There are numerous good, inexpensive restaurants around Cape Town. We would highly recommend the Boardsail Inn, Windermere Road, Muizenberg, tel: 021 788 4697 (closed Mondays). It was difficult to find anywhere to eat in the more remote areas in Namaqualand and Bushmanland, especially as we invariably arrived late in the evening after the hotel restaurants had closed. We always made sure we had plenty of snacks, fruit and water with us.
Weather and clothing
Generally surprisingly cold and often windy, although sunny and warm along the northwest coast. Around Cape Town and in Bushmanland we wore jumpers and fleeces most of the time, although we were advised that the weather was unusually wet and windy for the time of year. Lightweight walking boots were required at Eierkop (because of recent rain) and at Grootvadersbosch, but trainers sufficed at most places. We had some rain on most days, and were told that this was a return to a normal amount of rainfall after several years of drought, but it remains to be seen whether the historical pattern of rainfall will become re-established. Looking on the bright side, the Namaqualand flowers were exceptionally spectacular as a result of recent rains:
For the pelagic, we had been forewarned about the conditions and so donned our full "north Norfolk in midwinter" gear consisting of woollen jumper, fleece, waterproof overjacket with hood, woolly hat and gloves. Even so we still got soaked to the skin!
Itinerary
We first visited Strandfontein Sewage Farm - every birding trip should include at least one sewage farm after all - and there we saw numerous new waterbirds including Cape and Bank Cormorants, Cape Shoveler, Red-billed and Cape Teals, Maccoa Duck and African Black Oystercatcher. On the second day we'd booked the services of an expert ornithologist-guide, Dr Peter Ryan, who took us to see some hard-to-find endemics including Knysna and Victorin's Warblers, Cape Rock-jumper and Protea Canary. On day three we managed to join a pelagic trip, also led by Peter Ryan, which had in fact been booked by a Naturetrek group from the U.K. (we only joined under the pretext of being crew members!). We saw lots of Jackass Penguins, numerous Black-browed and Shy Albatrosses, one Wandering Albatross, both Giant Petrels, Cape Gannets, Subantarctic Skuas, a few Antarctic Prions, thousands of White-chinned and Pintado Petrels, one Manx Shearwater, and several Wilson's Storm-petrels. We'll never forget the sight of c4000 Cape Petrels all rising and falling in unison as they "hitched a ride" alongside a passing fast-moving cargo vessel. This is not a trip for those who get seasick easily, though, as in the rough seas south of the Cape of Good Hope the boat rolls alarmingly to about 45 degrees on either side, which meant we spent most of the time hanging on for dear life and in the big swell we all got drenched in seawater spray.
After Cape Town we headed up the west coast. Heading inland into Bushmanland the remoteness and huge distances between places was a bit unnerving to start with but we soon got used to it. One night we stayed at the very remote farm guesthouse of Diepvlei (the farm is 12000 ha with only 1700 sheep) where the nearest small town was over 100 km away on dirt roads. In this area we saw several Ludwig's Bustards, Karoo Korhaans and Namaqua Sandgrouse, and on a night drive saw Aardvark, Spring-hare and Bat-eared Fox. On the return journey south we drove the entire length of the longest dirt road in South Africa uninterrupted by a town, beween Calvinia and Ceres is 250 km! In the south we saw several Cape Vultures (probably the world's rarest vulture), some huge Stanley's Bustards, a Secretary-bird and a good variety of mammals including the handsome Bontebok, Cape Grysbok, Eland, Hartebeest and Cape Mountain Zebra.
All National Parks and Nature Reserves have entrance fees; allow a maximum of 20R per person per visit.
DAY 1 Fri. 24th August 2001. Arrived c08.00 in Cape Town after a restful overnight flight from London Heathrow. Picked up a brand-new Ford Ikon hire car from Avis. Headed straight for Strandfontein S.F., then via Muizenberg to Silvermine, then on to Kommetjie (pronounced "comma-key") and finally Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve for the late afternoon. After a short walk at Cape of Good Hope we returned to find that baboons had ripped off one of the wing mirrors and damaged the bracket so it couldn't be refitted. We were eventually charged by Avis for this damage so we strongly recommend that you park close to the visitor centre where guards shoo them away with sticks, rather than where the baboons hang out on the far side of the car park. Returned to Kommetjie to watch a wonderful sunset over the Atlantic breakers (but sadly no Antarctic Terns) then found a comfortable guesthouse B&B in Muizenberg.
DAY 2 Sat. 25th August 2001. 07.00 met Peter Ryan at our guesthouse. Drove to Constantia Greenbelts where Peter knew a Knysna Warbler would be holding territory. No sooner had we got out of the car than Peter heard the bird singing and seconds later had located it low down in a bush right next to the road! It then started to rain heavily so Peter decided we should head for Paarl Mountain Reserve where the weather was likely to be better. This was indeed the case and we eventually saw the main target species, Protea Canary, by stopping at intervals along the road and playing a tape near trees and large bushes. We then headed down to Paarl S.F. for more waterbirds including African Sedge Warbler, then to Sir Lowry's Pass where we saw three Cape Rock-jumpers (including a nest being built). Peter told us that there had been a bad fire here in January 2001 and a lot of the fynbos vegetation had been destroyed; as a result we had to walk quite a long way in order to look for Victorin's Warbler, but we were eventually successful and had good views of one which responded to the tape. We then returned to Cape Town Airport to exchange the damaged car for a Toyota Corolla. Finally spent about an hour in Kirstenbosch Botanic Garden (Cape Batis, Sombre Greenbul and a very cute Cape Mole-Rat) before dropping Peter off at his house in Muizenberg.
DAY 3 Sun. 26th August 2001. The day of the pelagic, so we remembered to take a seasickness pill at breakfast. 06.25 start for 06.45 briefing on the quay at Simon's Town. We were introduced to the Naturetrek group which formed the bulk of the passenger list, including our friends Alan Tate and his wife. The Zest II set off at about 07.15 and headed south along the Cape Peninsula before hitting much rougher water south of the Cape of Good Hope. This is not a trip for anyone who easily gets seasick, as the boat rolls alarmingly in the heavy swell, up to 45°either side so that your legs slip from under you and it's virtually impossible to use binoculars while you're trying to hold on to the railing. We were delighted to see Wandering Albatross and a large flock of Cape Petrels, but disappointed to miss the Spectacled Petrel which was only seen head-on by the leader. After returning to land in the early afternoon we headed back to Cape of Good Hope Reserve for another crack at Cape Siskin, which we eventually located. Then a quick look at the Jackass Penguin colony in Boulders Beach as dusk fell. Drove across Cape Town to find a comfortable B&B at Syringa Lodge in Milnerton.
DAY 4 Mon. 27th August 2001. Just a few km north of Milnerton are the Dolphin Beach pools, a known stakeout for White-backed Duck. We met a group of South African birders who were just leaving and they had seen one in the middle of the northern pool. Several scans of the pool and we could find nothing except common waterbirds and a lump of mud. When we eventually put the the 'scope on the lump of mud it was clearly a sleeping White-backed Duck! We also found two Fulvous Whistling-ducks, which are unusual in western South Africa. Next stop was Silwerstroomstrand, then north to the Darling Farmlands, hitting dirt roads for the first time. After heavy rains, in places the road was very "slutchy" (good Cheshire word) and the car quickly got bogged in deep mud next to a trapped tanker. The tanker driver helped to push us back out, then there followed a few scary minutes in which Ann managed to slither the car along the crown of the road and just make it through. Next stop was the appropriately tiny Tinie Versfeld Flower Reserve for Cloud Cisticola, where two birds were duly performing. Then on to Yzerfontein Gypsum Mine for Chestnut-banded Plover, and the West Coast N.P., which was much bigger than we'd anticipated. We had luckily timed our visit exactly right for the tide and a good variety of waders were seen. Finally we birded the section of road between Vredenberg and Paternoster for Cape Long-billed and Thick-billed Larks, and Sickle-winged Chat. Very long evening drive to Clanwilliam via Piketburg on N7. We were misled by our Road Atlas of South Africa which showed the R27 continuing north to Lambert's Bay. Luckily we decided to seek advice at the petrol station in Velddrif where we were told that due to the heavy rains the road was virtually impassable and even without the rain a 4WD was always necesary! Overnight at the Clanwilliam Hotel.
DAY 5 Tues. 28th August 2001. Long drive from Clanwilliam north via Vanrhynsdorp to Kamieskroom. We stopped to bird at the Wiedouw River near Vanrhysndorp, then along about half of the road east from Vanrhynsdorp to Vanrhyns Pass, and also spent an hour at Soutfontein. At Kamieskroom we left the main road and then headed northeast on dirt roads for Gamoep. After leaving the mountains behind the scenery becomes unbelieveably open and wild, with vast distances between habitation. Several Ludwig's Bustards, Karoo Korhaans and Namaqua Sandgrouse were seen in the late afternon. We eventually reached our B&B at Diepvlei Guest House just as it was getting dark. The B&B proprietor, Vernon Mitchell, is willing to take guests on short night drives for 100R per drive. Despite gloomy forecasts by the other guests that we would see nothing, owing to the unseasonably cold and windy weather, we were well pleased to see an Aardvark, a Bat-eared Fox, 2 Spring-hares, 2 Cape Hares and 2 Water Dikkops.
DAY 6 Wed. 29th August 2001. Continued northeast via the Red Lark stakeout on the Koa "Dunes" (these are really just small sandy hills), then on to Pofadder. This town is apparently not named after the Puffadder snake, but was the name of the bandit who founded the town (of course it may have been appropriate that he was named after the snake). Drove north from Pofadder to the Namibian border at Onseepkans, seeing Stark's Lark along the way. Onseepkans and the Orange River was disappointing in that we failed to locate the Rosy-faced Lovebird at its traditional nesting tree. We then retraced our route back to Pofadder where we had an evening meal. Debated whether to overnight in Pofadder or press on to Brandvlei. We decided to do the latter, though we were strongly advised to avoid driving long distances at night on the more direct dirt road so we went the long way round on tar roads instead, a distance of about 250 km. Arrived at the rather run-down Brandvlei Hotel just before the front door closes at 10 p.m.
DAY 7 Thurs. 30th August 2001. After breakfast we birded the fields northeast of Brandvlei looking for Sclater's Lark. However we saw very few larks and no Sclater's in a two-hour search, so we decided to cut our losses and head south to more bird-rich areas. The dirt road from Calvinia to Ceres is the longest uninhabited road in South Africa, at almost 250 km., so we ensured we had plenty of fuel. Unfortunately it started to rain heavily when we were about a third of the way along this road, making driving very dangerous and birding all but impossible. The rain eased off enough to allow us to bird around Eierkop, but in a blustery wind we found no sign of Karoo Eremomela. Eventually reached Swellendam and quickly found a comfortable B&B.
DAY 8 Fri. 31st August 2001. Attempted to enter Grootvadersbosch N.R., but as we approached the reserve we were told that there had been a multi-vehicle accident on wet dirt roads and there was no way through. So we decided to head back to Bontebok N.P. near Swellendam which we had in any case planned to visit in the afternoon. Later in the early afternoon we returned to Grootvadersbosch and found that the road was now clear. We had a relatively short time in which to locate the special birds, but were well pleased with good views of several Forest Canaries and Swee Waxbills. In the late afternoon we then drove towards De Hoop N.R., arriving at Buchu Bushcamp at about 7 p.m.
N.B. The hand-drawn pont where the road crosses the Breede River at Malgas only operates from dawn to dusk; we arrived at 18.10 to be told it had closed which meant going all the way back to Swellendam and approaching from the west; a long and tedious route retracing our steps. Luckily for us there were two rather inebriated Afrikaaners who had bribed the ferrymen to bring them over to our side. After a lot of cajoling and shouting across the river the men brought the pont across for us. It was quite an experience as they lashed metal chains, to which they were harnessed, around the hawser and "walked" the pont across. They had also had a share of the brandy being offered by our saviours and consequently kept stumbling and falling over. Once across we thrust 20R into their hands and made a dash for it!
DAY 9 Sat. 1st September 2001. We skipped breakfast in order to have more time in the field on this, our last day in South Africa. De Hoop N.R. gate opens at 07.00 so we were straight into the park. We'd been advised to work the small trees around the campsite for Knysna Woodpecker, but we saw none. Highlights included a Secretary-bird close to the road and 8 Southern Right Whales, including a calf, close offshore. At 11.00 we left the Park and headed northeast to Potberg, where 3 Cape Vultures were immediately seen soaring along the ridge. Then drove west to Cape Town, stopping frequently for larks. Arrived at Cape Town Airport at around 17.00, then caught the 19.25 flight back to the U.K.
