This guided rare mammal 8-day safari tour package with Sustain Safaris will lead you to select destinations within South Africa that harbour numerous rare and endemic mammals. The tour visits 4 unique reserves renowned for great mammal sightings of certain hard to see target species.

On this specialized safari you can expect to see a large number of the shy and cryptic species that some people only dream of. The tour has strategically selected certain key destinations that provide some of the very best chances for discovering these treasures in the time available. In addition, probabilities are very good for seeing a few of the Big 5 and a multitude of other diverse wildlife and birdlife.

The route caters to a large mammal list in excess of 40 species, with a tremendous hit rate on many of the rare species. If birding is also your interest, the bird list totals over 300 species in the region and we should spot over 150 of these, including raptors, owls, cranes, bustards, larks, and endemics.

Valid dates:

All year round. Price to change annually.

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Towns: Cape Town – Langebaan – Sutherland – Kimberley – Hanover – Beaufort West – Swellendam – Cape Town

This guided rare mammal safari tour package with Sustain Safaris will lead you to some extraordinary destinations within South Africa, including 10 unique reserves renowned for endemic, rare, cryptic, enigmatic, and shy mammal sightings. The tour will focus on optimizing your chances of encounters with these highly sought-after animals, as well as many other species of game, rare and endemic birds and all other manner of biodiversity. In total we can expect to encounter in excess of 40 mammal species, and over 270 bird species.

The strongest richness areas for mammal endemism in South Africa are the Karoo interior, Cape Fold Belt / Cape Floristic Region, Namaqualand / Succulent Karoo, and parts of the Highveld–Drakensberg / eastern escarpment. Hence, we have designed this tour specifically with endemic mammal species richness in mind. This high richness is driven mainly by small mammals: golden moles, sengis, mole-rats, vlei rats, bats, shrews, and arid-zone rodents.

There are 81 remaining mammal taxa of regional endemics in South Africa, with a total of 58 taxa occurring in the Western Cape and Northern Cape provinces. On this expertly curated tour we explore the primary hotspot areas for these species, in the hopes of discovering and enjoying as many as possible.

Mammal Species Targets:

Primary Endemic Mammal Species Targets:

Cape Rock Sengi (Elephant Shrew), Eastern Rock Sengi (Elephant Shrew), Brants’s Whistling Rat, Karoo Vlei/Bush Rat, Riverine Rabbit, Black-footed Cat, Brown Hyena, Meerkat (Suricate), Yellow Mongoose, Cape Grey Mongoose, Cape (South African Large-spotted) Genet, Springbok, Black Wildebeest, Bontebok, Cape Grysbok, Mountain Zebra (Cape subspecies), Heaviside’s Dolphin, Bat species

Other Rare Mammal Species Targets:

Cape Caracal, Cape Clawless Otter, Aardvark, Southern Aardwolf, Honey Badger, African Striped Weasel, Striped Polecat (Zorilla), Southern African Hedgehog, Cape Fox, Bat-eared Fox, Black Rhinoceros, White Rhinoceros, Cape Porcupine, African Wild Cat, Large Grey Mongoose, Water Mongoose, Roan Antelope, Sable Antelope, Large-eared Mouse.

Other more common mammals we should discover:

Afro-Australian (Cape/Brown) Fur Seal, Black-backed Jackal, Burchell’s (Plains) Zebra, Red Hartebeest, Greater Kudu, Common Tsessebe, Springbok, Common Bushbuck, Steenbok, Common Duiker, Impala, Chacma Baboon, Common Warthog, Springhare, Vervet Monkey, South African Ground Squirrel, Rock Hyrax, and various bat, mice, gerbil and rat species.

Furthermore, a bird list exceeding 270 species (including many raptors, owls and endemics) can be expected for the trip, as well as many tremendous butterfly, reptile, and amphibian and insect species. Our tour will showcase the very best mammals, a diverse array of bird species and other biodiversity, and will also provide great photographic opportunities.

Valid dates: 01 January to 31 December every year. Price to change annually.

Start and end destinations: This safari both commences and ends at Cape Town International Airport in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa.

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This guided Sustain Safaris package will lead you to two extraordinary and iconic destinations within the nature-rich nation of Mozambique, which boasts a massive coastline extending approximately 2,500 kilometres from south to north along the warm sub-tropical waters of the Indian Ocean.

Our journey includes 2 unique reserves renowned for amazing terrestrial, marine and aquatic mammal and bird sightings. These include awesome Maputo National Park, Gorongosa National Park, and Bazaruto Archipelago National Park. The tour will focus on optimizing your chances of encounters with these highly sought-after animals, as well as many other species of game, rare and endemic birds and all other manner of biodiversity.

On this wildlife safari you can expect to see a good number of the Africa’s iconic land-based and sea-based species that some people only dream of. The tour has strategically selected certain key destinations within Mozambique that provide some of the very best chances for discovering these treasures in the time available. In addition, probabilities are good for discovering the Big 5 and a multitude of other diverse wildlife and birdlife.

Each destination we visit en-route offers unique habitats, extraordinary scenery, and breath-taking beauty, providing you with fantastic photographic opportunities. Habitats we explore include coastal forest, seashore, lagoons, woodlands, savanna, grassland, thornveld, subtropical forest, and sandy islands, which host numerous regional endemics, threatened and endangered mammal and bird species, as well as great floral diversity. The route caters to a large mammal list in excess of 50 species, with a good hit rate on many of the rare species. The bird list is also very impressive, totalling over 450 species in the region we tour through, and we can expect to find over 250 of these species (including many raptors, owls and endemics).

Start and end destinations: This safari commences at Beira International Airport in Beira, Mozambique, and the tour ends at Vilankulo Airport in Vilanculos, Mozambique.

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This guided Sustain Safaris package will lead you to some extraordinary destinations within the nature-rich nation of Mozambique, which boasts a massive coastline extending approximately 2,500 kilometres from south to north along the warm sub-tropical waters of the Indian Ocean.

Our journey includes 3 unique reserves renowned for amazing terrestrial, marine and aquatic mammal and bird sightings. These include the amazing Maputo National Park, Gorongosa National Park, and Bazaruto Archipelago National Park. The tour will focus on optimizing your chances of encounters with these highly sought-after animals, as well as many other species of game, rare and endemic birds and all other manner of biodiversity.

On this wildlife safari you can expect to see a good number of the Africa’s iconic land-based and sea-based species that some people only dream of. The tour has strategically selected certain key destinations within Mozambique that provide some of the very best chances for discovering these treasures in the time available. In addition, probabilities are good for discovering the Big 5 and a multitude of other diverse wildlife and birdlife.

Each destination we visit en-route offers unique habitats, extraordinary scenery, and breath-taking beauty, providing you with fantastic photographic opportunities. Habitats we explore include coastal forest, seashore, lagoons, woodlands, savanna, grassland, thornveld, subtropical forest, and sandy islands, which host numerous regional endemics, threatened and endangered mammal and bird species, as well as great floral diversity. The route caters to a large mammal list in excess of 60 species, with a good hit rate on many of the rare species. The bird list is also very impressive, totalling over 500 species in the region we tour through, and we can expect to find over 250 of these species (including many raptors, owls and endemics).

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This 15-day guided wildlife safari tour package with Sustain Safaris will lead you the marvelous birding world that is Zambia, where the transition between southern African and east African species is extraordinary, as many regional species reach their respective southern and northern range limits.

Being the month of May, some of the palaearctic migrants would have passed through, but the intra-African migrants and residents will be on full display, enjoying the last bounty before winter. It will be drying out, so the wetlands and lakes should be showing great wading flats and the mammals will become more water dependent. Zambia is a large and lengthy country, and so given the available time, travel destinations where habitats and species types vary, will require lengthy journeys to reach. However, we will fortunately spend 2 nights at most destinations, allowing us time to discover most of the birding treasures they have in store for us.

We will visit several iconic birding areas along the way, with each offering numerous bird species which will be completely new to your eyes.

We enter this amazing country in Livingstone near the majestic Victoria Falls and mighty Zambezi River, in the far south-west, where we seek Black-cheeked Lovebird (endemic), Racket-tailed Roller, African Skimmer, Red-faced Crombec and Grey-headed Parrot.

Our next destination in the thriving Choma area, where we will search for the endemic Chaplin’s Barbet, and may also find Spotted Crake, Miombo Pied Barbet, Western Banded Snake Eagle, Rufous-bellied Tit and Miombo Scrub Robin.

Then we enter the Lower Zambezi valley, where we will have two days to search for Pennant-winged Nightjar, African Broadbill, Livingstone’s Flycatcher, and the secretive African Pitta (unlikely, out of season). The area around the Zambezi River could turn up Long-toed Lapwing, Swamp Boubou, Slaty Egret, and Brown Firefinch.

We then pass through Lusaka (the capital) for Chisamba, where we will seek out African Spotted Creeper, Southern Hyliota, Orange-winged Pytilia, and Souza’s Shrike.

Next, we will advance through to Mkushi, where White-breasted Cuckooshrike, Black-necked Eremomela, Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Weaver, Böhm’s Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Hyliota, and Southern Hyliota become likely.

Following this, we journey to the furthest north-east extent for the quite magnificent Mutinondo Wilderness for Bar-winged Weaver, Chestnut-headed Flufftail, Anchieta’s Barbet, Reichard’s Seedeater, Locust Finch, Bat Hawk, and Bocage’s Akalat.

We return to the Mkushi region, before proceeding north to Balanbeen in search of Pale-billed Hornbill, Arnot’s Chat, Black-necked Eremomela, Red-capped Crombec, and Green-backed Woodpecker, and lastly we progress in a north-easterly direction for the city of Ndola, where we end our big adventure.

Southern and Central Zambia offers a very good list of specials for world listers and a wide array of species and other wildlife for those with a more general interest. This trip has a strong focus on watching birds, but there are opportunities too for some mammal watching and bird (and other) photography.

By the end of our adventure, we would have explored 9 unique areas that are renowned for high levels of bird species richness, rare mammals, and diversity, and several that offer special all-round wildlife sightings. The tour has strategically selected key destinations that promise to provide the very best chances for discovering new avian treasures in the time available. In total, we can hope to discover in excess of 320 bird species, from a total possible list exceeding 600 species in the region we tour through. A species checklist will be handed out to you at the start of the tour and will be sent beforehand to you.

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This guided 19-day wildlife safari tour package with Sustain Safaris will lead you to some extraordinary and iconic destinations within central and northern Namibia, along the Caprivi Strip to Chobe National Park in Botswana, and along the mighty Zambezi River into Zimbabwe, ending at the spectacular Victoria Falls.

The journey includes 8 unique reserves renowned for amazing mammal, bird and all-round wildlife sightings, including some of the very best in Southern Africa. The tour will move through these regions at a moderate pace, but we have focused on optimizing your chances of encounters with large game, big predators and thriving herds, exceptional bird diversity, wild waterways, dramatic landscapes, extraordinary scenery, tremendous beauty and some fascinating cultures.

On this special safari you can expect to see many rare, cryptic, special, endemic and nocturnal mammals and birds, as well as other large and small carnivores that some people only dream of finding. The tour has strategically selected certain key destinations that provide some of the very best chances for discovering these treasures in the time available. In addition, probabilities are good for discovering the Big 5 and a multitude of other diverse wildlife and birdlife.

Each destination we visit en-route offers unique habitats, extraordinary scenery, and breath-taking beauty, providing you with fantastic photographic opportunities. Habitats we explore include woodlands, savanna, wetlands, salt pans, river systems, grassland, mountains and cliffs, scrubland, and rocky slopes. These host numerous regional endemics, threatened and endangered mammal and bird species, as well as great floral diversity. The route caters to a large mammal list in excess of 75 species, with a very good hit rate on many of the rare species. The bird list is also very impressive, totaling over 650 species in the region we tour through, and we can expect to find about half of these species (including many raptors, owls and endemics).

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This tour explores diverse geographic areas and unique habitats across the Western Cape, home to numerous endemic and near-endemic species. Join us as we travel the Cape south coast through the Overberg region along the spectacular Garden Route to Wilderness. We explore the Kogelberg mountains and the area from Hermanus to Gansbaai, proceed through the Agulhas Plains to De Hoop, and discover the coastal forests and lakes around Wilderness. 

The journey continues through several spectacular mountain passes into the Small and Great Karoo hinterland as we search for semi-arid species in and around Karoo National Park and the barren and succulent Tankwa Karoo National Park. Next, we head further west through the Cederberg to the Atlantic Ocean and the fynbos habitats of West Coast National Park.  

Finally, we travel back to Cape Town and overlook False Bay from Simon’s Town, hoping to experience prolific pelagic birding numbers off Cape Point. Alternatively, we tour southwards on land to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope to go birding in the wetlands of Rietvlei and Strandfontein. 

We have a sightings goal of 270+ bird species in the summer and 230+ in winter, with many being resident endemics and specials. We also hope to see over 45 mammal species, with abundant reptiles, amphibians and butterflies to be found among the wildflowers. 

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This guided rare mammal 11-day safari tour package with Sustain Safaris will lead you to some extraordinary destinations within the magnificent country of South Africa, including 7 unique reserves renowned for amazing rare, elusive and shy mammal sightings, and many other diverse wildlife and bird species too.

On this specialized safari you can expect to see a large number of the shy and cryptic species that some people only dream of. The tour has strategically selected certain key destinations within South Africa that provide some of the very best chances for discovering these treasures in the time available. In addition, probabilities are very good for discovering the Big 5 and a multitude of other diverse wildlife and birdlife.

The route caters to a large mammal list in excess of 50 species, with a tremendous hit rate on many of the rare species. If birding is also your interest, the bird list totals over 600 species in the region and we should spot over 270 of these, including raptors, owls, cranes, bustards, and endemics.

Valid dates:

Between 1 April and 30 September every year. Price to change annually.

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Join us on a journey to extraordinary destinations in this magnificent country, including 8 reserves renowned for sightings of rare and elusive mammals. Our strategically selected route and key destinations provide you with the best chance of encountering these mammals in the time available, and potentially many other diverse wildlife and bird species. 
 
The route offers a mammal list exceeding 75 species, with a high success rate of spotting many rare species. The bird list is also impressive, totalling over 650 species in the region, and we may spot over 320 of them, including raptors, owls, and endemics. 

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On this guided 14-day wildlife and birding safari, we take you to extraordinary destinations in northern Namibia and along the Caprivi Strip to Chobe National Park in Botswana, and both the Zambezi National Park and the Victoria Falls National Park in Zimbabwe. We’ll visit several iconic areas, including Etosha, the Okavango River, the Chobe National Park and Victoria Falls in the Zambezi River Valley. 

The tour includes 7 unique reserves renowned for incredible mammal, bird and wildlife sightings, including some of the best in Southern Africa. We’ll be moving through these regions fairly quickly, while optimizing your chances of encountering the iconic Big 5, other large and small carnivores, big predators and thriving herds, exceptional bird diversity, wild waterways, extraordinary landscapes and interesting cultures. 

 You may also spot several shy and cryptic species rarely seen by most visitors. Our strategically selected key destinations provide the best chance of encountering them in the time available. 

The route offers a mammal list exceeding 70 species with a high hit rate for many rare species. The bird list is also impressive, totaling over 600 species in the region and we can expect to find about half of these species, including many raptors, owls and endemics. 

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