Archived destinations

The air holidays shown are ATOL Protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL 3253. ATOL Protection extends primarily to customers who book and pay in the United Kingdom. Click on the ATOL logo if you want to know more.

South Africa's South Western Cape

Cape Town area

Coastal species should include Cape gannet, kelp gull, swift tern, Cape, white-breasted and crowned cormorants, African black oystercatcher and white-fronted plover. Troops of chacma baboons are often encountered on roadsides and bontebok, Cape mountain zebra, eland and red hartebeest can be found at the Cape of Good Hope.

At Boulders we will visit the African penguin colony for an eyeball-to-eyeball encounter with this threatened species.

African penguins (Geoff Crane)

Coastal fynbos scrub holds malachite and orange-breasted sunbirds, fiscal flycatcher and Cape siskin. Other frequent birds might include Cape robin-chat, Karoo prinia, grey-backed cisticola and southern boubou.

Kirstenbosch botanical gardens is one of the best-known gardens in the world. Situated on the slops of the spectacular Table Mountain, it specialises in the indigenous flora of South Africa. Sunbirds abound and Cape sugarbirds can be seen. Cape francolin and helmeted guineafowl are often found among the colourful flowerbeds.

The plateau on Table Mountain affords amazing views when the 'table cloth' of cloud is not down. Rock hyraxes, small mammals related to elephants, can be seen here, while rock agamas, Cape crag lizards and Cape girdled lizards sun themselves on the rocks.

The West Coast National Park to the north of Cape Town is noted for its large coastal lagoon, holding many thousands of wading birds including large numbers of little stints, curlew and marsh sandpipers, Kittlitz's, white-fronted and chestnut-banded plovers. Greater flamingos may be mixed with South African shelducks. Birds of prey can include African marsh harrier, African fish eagle, black-shouldered kite and the handsome black harrier, a speciality of the park. Strandfontein sewage works, Rietvlei and Rondevlei nature reserves offer excellent opportunities to get to grips with waterbirds, including black-necked grebes, various ducks, purple gallinules and pied kingfishers. Reedbed and pools at Rondevlei have African sedge warblers, several heron and egret species, sacred ibis, African darter, reed cormorant and malachite kingfisher.

Set in the heart of the Cape Winelands, Paarl Mountain Reserve and Paarl Bird Sanctuary offers a mixture of wetland and mountain birdwatching. Higher ground and scrub hold interesting species such as ground woodpecker, jackal buzzard and protea canary. Wetlands hold little bittern, African spoonbill, black-crowned night heron, water dikkop, black crake and white-backed duck, along with red bishops and white-throated swallows.