South Africa's Rare Mammals

For first time travellers to Africa there can be few experiences more exhilarating than seeing your first Lion, Rhino, Giraffe or Elephant, and there is no doubt that these are the classic images that are conjured up in most people’s minds when they think of this wonderfully diverse continent. Whilst all of these animals are exciting to find and a privilege to watch, southern Africa is home to another selection of much shyer mammals that do not show themselves quite so readily, but are equally – if not more – thrilling to observe. Many of these species are nocturnal and use the star-studded African night for cover. As such they are rarely seen and demand both the patience and dedication of the observer, coupled with a degree of good fortune, to find!

 Thoughts of such species as Aardvark, Aardwolf, Bat-eared Fox, Black-footed Cat and Brown Hyena may get the pulses of many a wildlife enthusiast racing, but they are tantalisingly out of reach on a ‘classic’ African safari where the ‘big five’ take precedence and night drives are rationed. On this unique tour to South Africa’s deserts and bushveld, however, we plan on offering multiple nocturnal excursions and will visit four of the region’s very best areas for our target mammal species: Karoo Gariep Nature Reserve, the Kimberley, Augrabies National Park and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. During the day we will explore these beautiful areas in search of such inhabitants as the famous black-maned Lions of the Kalahari, plus Cheetah, Gemsbok, Ludwig’s Bustard, and Cinnamon-breasted Warbler. Then, when the sun sets, and with spotlight in hand, we will head out in search of our rare nocturnal quarry, outlined above.

 Our holiday begins with an overnight flight to Johannesburg from where we make the short hop to Upington for our first three nights on the edge of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park which spans 3.3 million hectares of the Kalahari Desert in South Africa and neighbouring Botswana. Here we will go in search of a fascinating variety of desert wildlife backed by majestic red sand dunes and lit by some of the most evocative sunsets in all of Africa. This is the home of the black-maned Lions of the Kalahari, along with Cheetah, Eland, Springbok, Gemsbok and the endearing Suricate or Meerkat. Birds include Namaqua Sandgrouse, Karoo Korhaan, Greater Kestrel and the attractive Violet-eared Waxbill. Afternoon game drives merge into night drives and the opportunity to turn our attention back to the main focus of our tour. Bat-eared Foxes and Lions are once again likely, but we hope for something rarer such as the shaggy Brown Hyena, Honey Badger, Aardwolf, Hairy-footed Gerbil, Woosnam’s Desert Rat, or for the very fortunate few perhaps the ultimate prize, a Pangolin!

 A 2-night stay in Augrabies National Park follows at a rest camp spectacularly positioned next to Augrabies Falls, the most famous feature of the reserve which plunges into the deep canyon carved by the Orange River. Southern Giraffe and Springbok live in the surrounding bushveld along with Pygmy Falcon and the very local Cinnamon-breasted Warbler. Nocturnal inhabitants include African Wildcat, Cape Fox and the second of Africa’s ‘Aards’, the Aardwolf (Afrikaans for ‘earth wolf’), a fascinating relative of the Hyena that feeds exclusively on termites, consuming up to 300,000 individuals in a single night!

 Moving on we spend two nights near Kimberley, the capital of the Northern Cape Province, which jumped to fame almost overnight in 1871 after the discovery of diamonds. Here we will look for the rare Black-footed Cat and the bizarre Springhare after dark, whilst during the day we may see Roan Antelope, Tsessebe, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater and the attractive Rufous-eared Warbler. We end our holiday with three nights in the Karoo Gariep Nature Reserve, which lies around three hours to the south of Kimberley. This varied reserve is home to an exciting suite of rarely-seen mammals including Aardvark, Aardwolf and Zorilla, which we will search for on a series of nocturnal spotlighting drives. 

Naturally, we will be searching for some of Africa’s rarest and most elusive mammals on this holiday and so cannot give any guarantees of success! We will do our utmost, however, to maximise the chances of finding these elusive species and we have designed the itinerary around this goal. We hope that patience and perseverance will be rewarded, but whether or not our quarry decide to reveal themselves, we are still assured of an exciting variety of nocturnal and diurnal African wildlife enhanced by some of the most spectacular scenery in southern Africa.