Rare Mammals of South Africa 8-Day Tour

8-Day Tour

Kimberley – Hanover – Beaufort West – Swellendam – Cape Town

Sneak Peek of Tour

Tour Information

Distance:

Total driving distance (including around sites) = ~1,750 km.

Scheduled Dates:

02 − 09 May 2027
23 − 30 April 2028

Or alternate dates on request

Validity:

01 January – 31 December annually.

Duration:

8 days, 7 nights.

No. of Pax:

Maximum 6 guests per vehicle and per guide.

Tour Starts:

At Kimberley International Airport in Kimberley, Northern Cape.

Tour Ends:

At Cape Town International Airport in Cape Town, Western Cape.

Price:

2027: ZAR 66,520 per person sharing, and ZAR 3,810 single supplement

2028: ZAR 71,850 per person sharing, and ZAR 4,120 single supplement

Book and Pay

Reference: SS-RMSA-8

Cape caracal, black-footed cat, aardvark, African wild cat, honey badger, southern aardwolf, brown hyena, striped polecat, cape fox, bat-eared fox, suricate (meerkat), black rhinoceros, white rhinoceros, Southern African hedgehog, cape porcupine, cape clawless otter, elephant shrews (sengis), cape mountain zebra, bontebok, common tsessebe, mountain reedbuck, grey rhebok, cape grysbok, sable antelope, roan antelope, red rock hares, large grey mongoose, cape grey mongoose, water mongoose, Tete veld rat, bush karoo rat, large-eared mouse, etc.

Other mammals:

Cape buffalo, common eland, southern giraffe, blue wildebeest, Burchell’s zebra, gemsbok (Southern Africa oryx), red hartebeest, greater kudu, nyala, blesbok, springbok, impala, klipspringer, grey (common) duiker, steenbok, black-backed jackal, common warthog, yellow mongoose, cape genet, small-spotted genet, springhare, savanna hare, cape hare, scrub hare, rock hyrax, Southern African ground squirrel, four-striped grass field mouse.

Private wildlife and birding guide
Accommodation (may change subject to availability, in which case similar will be found)
All ground transport – maximum 6 participants and 1 guide per luxury touring vehicle
Specialist guided tours and activities:
- 5 x Guided open safari vehicle day and night drives – 2 x Marrick, 2 x Khoisan Karoo, 1 x Karoo NP.
- 2 x Sengi (Elephant Shrew) and Suricate (Meerkat) morning tour – 1 x Marrick, 1 x Khoisan Karoo.
All road tolls and parking fees
All meals – breakfast, lunch and dinner
Bottled water in vehicles
All entrance fees, conservation and community levies to parks and reserves
Trip guide
Personalized species checklist

Exclusive use of vehicles on activities (Shared with other guests if present. Exclusivity can be provided at an additional charge on request)
Airport departure taxes or visa fees
Travel and medical insurance (incl. personal equipment and repatriation)
All snacks and drinks (except bottled water)
Optional excursions
Specialist guide fees and activities not specified
Items of a personal nature
Laundry and telephone charges
Tips and gratuities
Anything else not mentioned in “Tour Includes“

Terms and Conditions apply.
Minimum of 3 participants per vehicle required to undertake the trip – should the number of guests change, the cost of the tour and the per person cost will change accordingly.
The species mentioned in the itinerary represent only some of those we may view on the tour, however, none of these can be guaranteed even though every effort will be made where possible to locate them. A full list of possible species appears on your checklist, although vagrants and rarities may also surprise us.
This itinerary is subject to change due to weather conditions at the time and other factors beyond our control.
All images taken on tour with Sustain Safaris.

Tour Insight

Kimberley – Hanover – Beaufort West – Swellendam – Cape Towne

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.

Tour Overview

Comfortable private lodges and national park resorts. Luxury accommodation can be arranged at your request (additional cost).

The southern and western region of the country presents a Mediterranean climate, which is warm and temperate, with more rainfall received in the winter than in the summer. The temperature here averages 16.5°C, while rainfall averages around 610 mm per year. The summers are warm, dry, and mostly clear; the winters are cool and partly cloudy; and it is windy most of the year. Over the course of the year, the average temperature typically varies from 8°C in July to 25°C in January, and is rarely below 4°C or above 29°C. Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit this region for warm-weather activities is from late November to late March. The driest month is January, with the most precipitation falling in July. The month with the highest relative humidity is August (78%), and the lowest relative humidity is December (68%).

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 semi-arid kalahari thornveld, woodland, savanna, grasslands, karoo, rocky mountains, fynbos, karoo, thicket, wetlands and riverine areas. These host numerous regional endemics, threatened and endangered bird and mammal species, as well as great floral diversity that include a variety of orchids and proteas.

Optional extensions:

Day tour West Coast National Park or Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve.

Tour variation:
This set-departure tour is also available as a private or custom tour on request. Kindly submit an enquiry with your preferred dates and group size.

Manyoni Private Game Reserve, Zululand (2 nights): Verdant bushveld region with pangolin monitoring and open vehicle Big 5 night and day game drives.

Spionkop Nature Reserve & Golden Gate Highlands National Park (2 nights): Lush grasslands and the scenic mountain landscapes of the Drakensberg and the Maloti/Maluti Mountains.

Marrick Safari, Northern Cape (2 nights): Harsh grasslands and savanna. Sengi tours and productive night game drives for rare nocturnal predators.

Mokala National Park, Northern Cape (Day drive): Grasslands and savanna.

Khoisan Karoo Conservancy, Northern Cape (2 nights): Stark Karoo landscapes. Open vehicle drives in search of the “Shy 5” mammals and other wildlife.

Karoo National Park, Western Cape (2 nights): Unique Big 5 national park in the Karoo with dramatic mountain ranges and valleys.

George, Western Cape: Descend an extraordinary mountain pass to the evergreen coastal town of George, our final destination before departure.

Medium-paced with optional mid-day breaks (advisable on hot days) and 3 to 5 hours of travel time between each destination with occasional stops.

If you’re a keen photographer (and so are we), there will be many opportunities to capture moments to make you the envy of your friends!