South Africa
4th - 9th July 2026
Saturday 4th – Sunday 5th July: We boarded the evening flight from Manchester to Frankfurt and after a short layover flew overnight to Johannesburg arriving early on the Sunday morning. The final leg of the trip was a short flight from Johannesburg to Skukuza Airport where we were meet by our hosts who drove us the short distance to the Rest Camp in the Kruger National Park.
We took a stroll around the Camp as the sun was starting to set finding a few birds in the form of African Goshawk, Hadeda Ibis, White-bellied Sunbird, Dark-capped Bulbul and even an Eastern Dotted Border butterfly.
Monday 6th July: The next morning we joined the 5 a.m. camp drive around Kruger NP to look for both animals as well as birds. In the dark we spotted a Flap-necked Chameleon as well as some Hippopotamus wallowing in a river. Once the sun rose we were able to start noting some birds including a locally scarce Saddle-billed Stork, Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill and Helmeted Guineafowl. Later in the afternoon back at Skukuza Rest Camp we were able to find Black-collared Barbet,
Hippopotamus Saddle-backed Stork Helmeted Guineafowl
Tuesday 7th July: Birding around the Rest Camp as the sun rose the next morning proved to be very worthwhile with many new species including White-fronted Bee-eater, Bearded Woodpecker, Blue Waxbill, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Chinspot Batis, Black-headed Oriole, Yellow-fronted Canary and White-browed Robin-chat. A group of Wire-tailed Swallows sat on one of the building roofs and overhead were seen African Palm Swift and White-backed Vulture. Other birds in the trees and bushes included African Dusky Flycatcher, Greater Blue-eared Starling, African Pied Wagtail, Brown-backed Honeybird, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Marico Sunbird and Laughing Dove.
White-fronted Bee-eater African Dusky Flycatcher White-browed Robin-chat Bearded Woodpecker Scarlet-chested Sunbird Blue Waxbill
As the air temperature warmed up the butterflies appeared including Dancing Amber, Zebra Blue, African Caper, Plain Tiger, Great Orange Tip and Common Leopard.
Zebra Blue African Caper Dancing Amber
In the late afternoon we went on another Camp Drive this time focusing more on game animals and found African Elephant as well as several Lions including a group feeding on a recently killed Water Buffalo.
Lioness Lion feeding Lioness
Wednesday 8th July: Another early morning walk around the Camp produced some new species of bird including Black-backed Puffback, a flock of Speckled Mousebird, Red-billed Firefinch, Bearded Scrub-robin and Bronze Mannikin.
Bearded Scrub Robin Red-billed Firefinch Speckled Mousebird
In the afternoon we went on a drive around the Kruger NP, this time with a focus on finding different birds. The list was ultimately very impressive and included Lilac-breasted Roller, Red-billed Oxpecker, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Giant Kingfisher, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, Crested Francolin, Magpie Shrike, Fork-tailed Drongo, Southern Red-billed Hornbill, African Grey Hornbill, Lizard Buzzard, Crowned Lapwing, Red-billed Buffalo Weaver, Burchell’s Starling, Cape Turtle Dove and a Grey Go-away-bird.
Yellow-billed Oxpecked Red-billed Oxpecked Cape Turtle Dove Lizard Buzzard African Grey Hornbill Brown-hooded Kingfisher
Thursday 9th July: The next day we flew from Skukuza to Johannesburg where we stayed at one of the airport hotels. In the grounds of the hotel we managed to find Cape Sparrow, Red-eyed Dove, Karoo Thrush, Egyptian Goose, Common Myna, Dark-capped Bulbul, Cape White-eye and Hadada Ibis.
Karoo Thrush Hadaba Ibis Red-eyed Dove
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