I just returned home yesterday from a nearly month-long trip to South Africa, my first visit to the African continent. I went alone, which earned many incredulous reactions while abroad, lone female travelers being rather a rarity apparently.
A detailed, daily report will follow but here is my basic itinerary: I flew to Johannesburg via Chicago and London, arriving on July 16th. I picked up my rental car and drove straight to Wakkerstroom, where I spent the first 4 days and nights. Next up was about 10 days in Kruger National Park, and a quick stop for some Afromontane forest birding on my way back to Johannesburg. Then I flew to Cape Town, where I spent the last week birding the coast, fynbos and the karoo, and joining one of the word-reknowned pelagic trips.
The trip there
The journey from NW Arkansas to South Africa took a full two days or so. I had been on long overnight flights before, but never two in a row, and on the way there I had a 14-hour layover in London that added to the length of the trip. However it also gave me a chance to get my first taste of UK birds, so the excitement and birding really began in London:
The flight to London was long and uneventful. I don't sleep well (or at all, usually) on planes, but the anticipation of the likes of my first Robins had me alert and anxious to leave the airport after getting through customs the morning of the 15th. After a quick coffee, during which I reviewed some of the field marks for the expected species in the Collins guide I had purchased, I stored my excess carry-on luggage, hired a taxi and set of for the park at Virginia Waters. Black-headed Gull and Woodpigeon were my first species, seen right from the taxi on the way there!
There were plenty of birds right in the parking area that kept me busy for a while, with a stunning Goldfinch singing from the top of a small tree, some gorgeous little Blue Tits, and a mixed-species flock containing Coal Tit, Goldcrest, Creeper and Long-tailed Tit. I finally made my way into the park proper and scanned the lake. Black-headed Gulls and Coots were plentiful, and there was a Great Crested Grebe right close to the shore, awesome! I began walking along the trails by the lake, and soon had my first Robin, a speckled juvenile- smaller than I had imagined, and very cute! Then another mixed-species flock, more Coal Tits along with Great Tits and Nuthatches.
I wandered around the park for nearly 6 hours, some of my other findings included Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Song and Mistle Thrushes, Spotted Flycatcher and Grey Wagtail. The warblers were curiously scarce, perhaps the peak singing period was over for the season? I thought Blackcap at least would be a certainty, but the only warblers I saw were Garden and Reed Warblers. No Dunnock either, which would have provided a new family tick, but I have to say that I pleased with the 38 species that I did find. All too soon it was time to head back to the airport (especially as I wanted to avoid rush-hour traffic).
From there it was a 10.5-hour overnight flight to Johannesburg. By now I was quite tired, but even the combination of beer, dramamine and melatonin failed to put me to sleep! For a while I managed to enter a state that was less than totally conscious but not totally asleep. So I was quite exhausted when, at long last, we landed in Johannesburg the following morning. It was thus with some trepidation that I climbed into my rental car for my first shot at driving on the left side of the road. I found that there is much more than just remembering what side of the road to drive on- I kept looking the wrong way for the rearview mirror, reached with the wrong hand for the gear shift, misjudged where the tires were. But I forced my weary brain to concentrate and made it out of Johannesburg without incident. The drive didn't necessarily get easier from there though: as I left the N3 to head south-east to Wakkerstroom, I encountered some severely rutted (even though paved) roads, and found that the highways often jogged though town but lacked clear signs to indicate so. I spent a frustrating 20 or 30 minutes trying to find the correct way out of one town, during which I was rear-ended for stopping to let a pedestrian finish crossing the road (fortunately I was hit gently enough that it didn't leave a mark). And, when such frustrations weren't present, I had to fight off overwhelming sleepiness. But eventually I made it to Wakkerstroom in one piece. But I couldn't quite rest yet- I tried to check into the farm lodge at which I had reserved a room, but nobody was there except a housekeeper who spoke only enough English to tell indicate that she wasn't expecting anyone and that I should leave. Just great. So I stopped at the first hotel in town, the Wakkerstroom Country Inn, where I managed to get a room. They gave me a most welcomed glass of brandy during check-in, and I got a delicious dinner and glass of mulled wine at their restaurant before collapsing into bed for a good 13-hour night's sleep.