Join us on a comfortable birding and wildlife safari in South Africa and at the Victoria Falls.
This fabulous “introduction to Africa” trip will allow you to get your first taste of Africa (or, if you’ve been before, you’ll surely see some birds and mammals you might have missed the first time around). We begin by experiencing one of the world’s most beautiful cities, Cape Town, and the surrounding Cape Fold Mountains and spectacular Cape coastline with its unique, rich plantlife and accompanying endemic birds such as sugarbirds, sunbirds and Cape Rockjumper.

We also look for African Penguin, Blue Crane, Cape Mountain Zebra and other charismatic species. We will then fly to the opposite corner of South Africa and spend a few days in Karongwe, a “big five” reserve, meaning here you can see Lion, Leopard, White Rhinoceros, African Elephant, and Cape Buffalo. And with almost 300 species, this beautiful private reserve is a great birding destination. From Karongwe, we drive to South Africa’s greatest game
park, Kruger National Park. Kruger is not only one of Southern Africa’s richest places for mammals, but also boasts a bird list of over 500 species.

This massive park covers a vast area and is teaming with Africa’s big (and small). The great thing for birders, though, is that it’s full of easy-to-see, spectacular-looking birds, such as several species each of roller, bee-eater, kingfisher, hornbill, vulture, owl, and stork. The park is teaming with birds of prey, including the spectacular, colorful Bateleur. There’s also a good chance of finding Secretarybird, Kori Bustard (the world’s heaviest flying bird), Southern Ground Hornbill (along many other hornbill species). We end this amazing trip with a flight from the Kruger Park to Victoria Falls, bordering Zambia and Zimbabwe. What locals call “The Smoke that Thunders” is the planet’s largest waterfall (it’s twice the height of Niagara and more than twice its width), where the mighty Zambezi plummets into a deep gorge. The area around the falls is extremely rich with birdlife and is in the heart of wild Africa where megafauna still freely roam.

Please refer to the itinerary below. For questions or to sign up, contact Eric Schroeder at travelprogram@goldengateaudbon.org. Please do not contact the trip vendor first.

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Trinidad and Tobago are situated just seven miles north of Venezuela, giving them a rich biodiversity comprised of a blend of both Amazonian and West Indies wildlife. Despite their small size, the islands boast a bird list of more than 500 species.

Our tour starts on Tobago, which has a distinctly Caribbean flavor, featuring lush, forested heights sloping gently into beautiful tropical beaches, surrounded by diverse coral reefs. Here we’ll seek species not found on Trinidad, which include the localized White-tailed Sabrewing. Despite its name, the endemic Trinidad Motmot is much more abundant on Tobago, as is Rufous-tailed Jacamar. We’ll take a glass-bottom boat trip to Little Tobago Island to see some of the spectacular seabirds that nest on the island, such as beautiful Red-billed Tropicbirds. We then bird our way across Tobago, exploring its wetlands and forests for specials such as Blue-backed Manakin and Venezuelan Flycatcher.

After four nights on Tobago we transfer to Trinidad, famous for its vibrant mix of cultures, excellent tropical weather, and great hospitality. During our time on Trinidad, we stay at the Asa Wright Nature Centre, a world-leading conservation-focused ecolodge. Asa Wright is well known among birdwatchers—its extensive grounds wind through pristine rainforest which boast Bearded Bellbird and the most accessible Oilbird roost in the world. Relaxed birdwatching from the veranda allows close viewing of charismatic and colorful species, such as Blue Dacnis and Tufted Coquette. 

We’ll explore Trinidad’s wetlands, savannah, forests, and coastline, using Asa Wright as our comfortable base, while we seek specials such as Black Hawk-Eagle, Masked Cardinal, Lilac-tailed Parrotlet, and Red-bellied Macaw. During a scenic boat cruise, we’ll witness the breath-taking spectacle of thousands of Scarlet Ibis as they return to roost. After five nights at Asa Wright, we will end the tour with two nights in the northeast, where we target Trinidad’s one true endemic, the Trinidad Piping Guan, a once common species now red-listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Critically Endangered.

This is a relatively easy tour, in which we hope to become accustomed to many neotropical bird families at leisure, with great photographic opportunities for many colorful species. We’ll have time to enjoy the wonderful birds of the islands, while taking advantage of the relaxing Caribbean culture.

Contact: Please refer to the itinerary below. For questions or to sign up, contact Eric Schroeder at travelprogram@goldengateaudbon.org. …