Enigmatic Wildlife Small Group Tour - South Africa

Augrabies is where the Orange River cuts through granite to form a spectacular waterfall. Some of the original Khoi and San communities remain within the park, which is dominated by the giant aloe trees (kokerbooms).

The park has a diverse set of mammals and birds, including eland, giraffe, klipspringer, ground squirrel, African wild cat, and, if you're extremely lucky, caracal.

On the bird front, you can seek the localised Orange River white-eye, pririt batis, dusky sunbird, and double-banded sandgrouse. There's also the massive nests of sociable weavers, pale-winged starling, red-eyed bulbul and the minute pygmy falcons.

Plus, this zone is one of the best for seeking reptiles and amphibians and such as the very localised Augrabies flat lizard and Augrabies gecko, bulbous giant ground, Namaqua mountain, rough and quartz geckos, common ground agama, Karoo sand snake, guttural and western olive toads, common river frog and perhaps even a marbled rubber frog or giant bull frog!

Overnight in Augrabies Falls Chalets, with all meals included.

After another morning at Augrabies Falls National Park, your time at this stark but beautiful park draws to a close. You'll venture farther west to the spaghetti western-like town of Pofadder.

This small, one-horse settlement is a perfect base for your exploration of the Northern Cape’s famed ‘Bushmanland’ area. Surrounded by open rangeland and farmland, you'll hope to find birds like Burchell’s courser, Stark's lark and black-eared sparrow-lark. Turn your attention to the ground to hopefully see Bibron’s and Turner’s geckos and, with luck, horned sdder or Beetz’s tiger snake.

Overnight at the simple Pofadder Hotel, with all meals included.

Depart pre-dawn so you can be at the fossil dune valley of the Koa River as the sun comes up. The red sand dunes here are home to the very localised red lark. They're fairly easy to find at dawn, singing at this time of year. Namaqua sandgrouse, Cape penduline tit, and Karoo korhaan may be among the other prizes. Also keep your eyes peeled for the rare tented tortoise.

Then it’s a long drive to Port Nolloth, during which you'll pass through northern Namaqualand, seeing some of the epic flowering displays of this phenomenal region. If you see any displays, stop for photos and seek some of the rarer ephemeral plants.

Complete the day on the coast, with the cool upwelling waters of the Benguela Current creating a sea-mist most nights, driving an ecosystem like few others on the planet.

Your next two nights are spent at Richtersveld Experience Lodge, with all meals included.

With a full day to enjoy this part of northern Namaqualand, and the very arid, Namib-like environment along the coast to the north, you can expect a bumper day of enigmas.

Perhaps the most sought-after will be the desert rain frog, one of the cutest animals on Earth. They're tough to locate, and you'd be exceptionally lucky to see them. Your leaders/guides will be doing their best!

You'll also seek many geckos (Namaqua banded, Namaqua dwarf, Western Cape, spotted barking and Austen’s), giant desert lizard, bug-eyed house snake and, if you're lucky, Namaqua dwarf chameleon, Namaqua dwarf adder and Namaqua rain frog, among others.

Then, head north of Port Nolloth in an attempt to locate the extremely local Barlow’s and Cape long-billed larks, as well as the very pale version of tractrac chat, and perhaps some Damara terns. Offshore, you ought to see Cape gannet, African black oystercatcher and crowned, Cape and bank cormorants – all local seabirds restricted to the cold, rich waters of the Benguela Current of South Africa and Namibia.

A nocturnal excursion may reveal some seldom-seen mammals, and brown hyena is a possibility here on the Diamond Coast.

After another morning on the Namaqualand coast, head inland to the rocky granitic hinterland of Springbok. The second town on your stay, it's named after the iconic South African animal, and is surely one of the ‘wildest’ parts of the country.

A visit to Goegap Nature Reserve will hopefully reveal the local Cape mountain zebra. A little snooping around the rocky crags may reveal Smith’s red rock rabbit and round-eared sengi (elephant shrew) among a host of interesting small mammals.

After dark, among the black-backed jackals, you may get lucky and find a Cape fox. Rarer birds include Black-headed Canary, Cinnamon-breasted Warbler and Karoo Eremomela, while after dark, you have a good shot at the scarce Cape eagle-owl.

Among the herps, you'll hope to find striped pygmy gecko, many lizards (like Knox’s desert, western sandveld, and Namaqua sand), skinks (such as western three-striped, variegated and western rock), many-horned adder, brown house snake and a smorgasbord of less common critters that you'd be fortunate to encounter.

The next two nights are in Springbok Inn, with all meals included.

Today is spent in the rockscapes of Springbok. You'll be heading to wherever there’s a good floral display nearby, and otherwise focus on the many tricky species that find a home in these crags.

Some rare but mouth-watering possible sightings include speckled padloper (a tiny tortoise), Namaqua pygmy gecko, Namaqua flat and dwarf plated lizards, (snake species such as Schinz’s beaked blind, Namib sand and spotted rock), coral shield cobra, paradise toad, Poynton’s river and Namaqua stream frogs.

After a morning in Springbok, head to southern Namaqualand. There is, of course, a turnover of species, and although there aren't many new birds and mammals, you can expect a whole slew of new herps and plants.

See if there are any spectacular flowering displays en route (or just off it), with the day planned accordingly, and make sure you take in whatever spectacular annuals or bulbs that are showing.

Arriving at your destination, you'll be struck by the awesome desolate nature of the open Knersvlakte ‘gnashing plains’, so named in Afrikaans for the sound the Boers’ wagon wheels used to make as they trekked across these hostile environments. Far from desolate, this is one of the hotspots of small-succulent diversity on Earth, and you can hope to encounter several species of lithops, mesembs and other mini-succulents.

The plains are home to Karoo, spike-heeled and thick-billed larks, as well as rufous-eared warbler and Karoo korhaan. A massive escarpment at the edge of the plains takes you firmly onto the South African escarpment – a whole new world. It's up here that you'll spend the next two nights at Letsatsi Lodge in Vanrhynsdorp.

With a full day to explore both the highlands and Knersvlakte, you're truly in for a treat.

Again, you'll be able to tap into local knowledge as to where the best flowering areas are, and you'll undoubtedly be treated to some of Namaqualand’s rarest plants. Among those, you'll be seeking out a new swathe of vertebrate enigmas, including Weber’s thick-toed gecko, southern spiny agama, common sand and armadillo girdled lizards, cross-marked grass and Karoo sand snakes, and rhombic skaapsteker.

With a little luck, you could encounter the Cape cobra and, in the wetlands, Cape river and clicking stream frogs. Mammals include the odd rock hyrax, agile klipspringer and perhaps the localised, deer-like grey rhebok. Plus, you'll likely find birds such as the Namaqua warbler, pririt batis and southern grey tit lurking in the riverine vegetation.

Today, leave Namaqualand and the Karoo to get a first glimpse of an entirely new ecosystem: the fynbos – the unique heathlands of the southern tip of Africa that simultaneously make up its oldest and most diverse floral kingdom.

As is to be expected, the biodiversity doesn't end with the plants. Your day in the Groot Winterhoek might land the likes of Cedarberg pygmy and southern rough geckos and lizards (like southern rock, Oelofsen’s girdled, Cape cliff and Cape crag). Considerable luck is needed to encounter some of the stunners of this area, such as berg or red adders and the Cape ghost frog or Tradouw's mountain toadlet.

On the bird front, the rarest of the fynbos endemics, the protea canary, is reasonably common here. You can also expect Cape sugarbirds and orange-breasted sunbirds. By this afternoon, you'll be seeing the scenic cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean as you approach Langebaan Lagoon within the West Coast National Park – a haven to tens of thousands of migratory shorebirds, in addition to the localised black harrier, which hopefully you'll encounter.

Stay overnight at Langebaan Country Estate, with all meals included.

This area may yield Namaqua rain frog or another of the set of herps that occupy the West Coast Zone. Grey-winged francolin, or maybe even a rare caracal, would make the early morning rise worthwhile.

Later, head into Cape Town, the capital city that surrounds a giant mountain and is encircled by spectacular seascapes at its core. Begin your exploration of another zone of biodiversity wonderment.

Stay for two nights at Harfield Cottages, with all meals included.

Over the course of today, you'll be hoping to find geckos (species like marbled leaf-toed, ocellated thick-toed and Cape dwarf), southern rock agama, Cape girdled lizard, red-sided skink, common slug eater, mole snake and maybe a puff adder.

On the frog front, the critically endangered Rose’s mountain toadlet, raucous and western leopard toads are all possible, as is the spectacular arum lily frog.

Attention will also be given to the endangered seabirds of the Benguela Current. There will also be a stop at the famous Boulder’s Bay for the spectacular African penguins.

Although there aren't that many mammals about, you might find the endemic pied bontebok (that almost slipped to extinction last century) and just offshore, there'll be southern right whales and their calves: your guides will do their best to locate some.

After an absolute bumper fortnight featuring enigmas with hair, feathers, scales and flowers, a memorable time in one of the most biodiverse areas on Earth, with some of the best people to show you these creatures, draws to a close.

Those in the group who need to head home will be dropped off at Cape Town International Airport for your international flights. (Participants flying back to London or other UK airports can take the BA flight departing at 7:15 pm.)

Arrive back home in the UK the next day (if you're flying back to London or selected other UK airports).

EXTENSIONS:

If you'd like an individual extension to anywhere else in Southern Africa, please let us know (The 2025 tour had a fantastic pre-tour extension to Namibia, where, among the sightings, were Temminck's ground pangolin and brown hyena).