Southern Africa Birding Safari: From Zimbabwe to Zambia & Beyond

I loved every minute of this trip! To me, what made it so special was having the opportunity to meet new people, fellow travelers as well as all of our African hosts. Our guide, Sam, was so knowledgeable about Zimbabwe (a beautiful country), as well as local wildlife, birds, and local history. His well-paced lectures were interesting and informative. Organized to the minute, Sam kept us moving seamlessly and at a comfortable pace. Now back home, I can still hear his voice, calling out the names of birds we saw. I can now recognize all the birds we saw in my guidebooks.

This was an excellent trip with a phenomenal guide. I saw & learned so much!

What a wonderful experience! Sam Mushandu, our program leader, is highly capable - organized, knowledgeable, personable - all the qualities of a great leader. We learned so much about the birds, other wildlife, the people, and the countries we visited. It was one of our top trips ever.

Excellent program! Excellent guide (Sam Mushandu), hundreds of birds including 207 Life Birds, excellent accommodations and food, lots of educational information that filled in the gaps. An immersive experience: the birds and animals, the climate and landscape, the people and way of life, the challenges. I learned so much by being in Africa. I didn't want it to end.

This was a delightful trip! Our leader, Sam, could not have been better - knowledgeable (about not only birds and wildlife but also the history of the region), experienced, enthusiastic, organized, and with a wonderful sense of humor. He made sure we were all well-informed, happy, and safe. The program activities provided little free time, but you could always opt out for a morning or afternoon. Most of the birding was done in safari vehicles or by boat, so while there was little walking, it took some strength and balance to get into and out of those vehicles (but you will have plenty of help if you need it). We saw well over 200 species of birds, as well as elephants, lions, hippos, wildebeest, buffalo, zebras, giraffes, and other species. Highly recommended!

This was an outstanding trip in every way. We signed up mainly for birding, which was great (well over 200 species we'd never seen before), but also enjoyed seeing so much wildlife and learning so much about the history and culture of the five countries. The map shows fairly limited geography (mostly around the Victoria Falls area) but such great diversity of habitats, so we saw and learned much more than if we'd traveled longer distances.

The program provided a wonderful combination of observing 200 plus species of new birds as well as amazing views of large groups of mammals in their native habitats via safari vehicles and pontoon boats.

Excellent trip with a lot of variety. Not too strenuous.

12-7-2023 My trip to South Africa Birding Safari was excellent. Mr. Honest, was a first class Tour Guide. He is professional, knowledgeable, respectful, friendly, intelligent, completely dedicated to being a tour guide. An outstanding guide and person. He oversaw all the details during our trip. I also praise the drivers who were in our tour. They knew the way. Were very helpful at all times. The trip itself was amazing. We saw, and the tour guide Mr Honest, could name all kind of birds. His knowledge was outstanding. Our bird walks were inclusive to pointing out insects, etc. Every day we travelled in Safari cars, boats, which enable the group to notice all kind of birds, whether in their nests, or flying, or on the trees. And mamals such as lions, elephants, buffalos, giraffes, zebras, warhogs, hipos, crocodiles, dogs, baboons, monkeys, and so many other small animals. The Zambezi river is a beautiful river, whichever time you see it, early morning or late afternoon. The different countries and towns and people are a marvel. Friendly. It was great to visit the Livingstone Museum, The Victoria Falls. Each hotel offered wonderful accommodations, great foods, the staff (managers, food preparers, housekeepers, etc.) were professional and friendly. I was extremely pleased with the whole tour. Thank you to the individual professionals who gave special presentations on different subject. It helped to understand all the aspects of the subject matter. Very interesting classes. The trip was absolutely amazing, fun and beautiful. Enjoyed the whole tour. Many thanks to all who made it possible. Will not be forgotten.

An experience of a lifetime. Many opportunities to observe wildlife at close range, great small boat trips on rivers, excellent leadership. Be prepared for difficulty in seeing land birds, but water birds were easily seen. Saw more than 200 species, many of them new to me. Experiencing Africa away from the large cities was an excellent opportunity. Be prepared for very hot days, but the nights cooled down.

We went on the Southern Africa Birding Safari: South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe & Botswana trip. Our bird guide was top notch and helped us to discover almost 300 birds. The accommodations were even better than described. The information presented helped us come away with an entirely different view of the southern African continent - truly a gem!

A fabulous trip with a superlative guide! I couldn't have asked for a better experience, only for a longer one. It was all wonderful! SO MANY BIRDS!!

This program is suitable for a wide range of participant's previous knowledge of birding from the experienced birder to those with an interest in birds but no previous birding. Large African mammal sightings are an unintended addition to the program. Accommodations are very comfortable despite sometimes remote locations.

Great Trip. Not too pushed with multiple night stays at different locations and with surprisingly comfortable lodgings. Enjoyable, largely relaxed birding along with some interesting historical and cultural presentations.

Great trip for birders. the guide is well informed and a great problem solver.

This was an amazing trip! Although billed as a birding safari, I learned so much from our incredible guide, from the local communities we visited, from the beautiful national parks, and from the people who served us along the way. While the trip is rigorous, every moment opens new horizons. Go!! Your heart will be enriched.

My wife and I took this trip in late November/ early December. The rains had fortunately begun a couple of weeks earlier. It did not rain excessively during the trip, just a few showers. Ponchos were provided in the big covered open jeeps used to drive the dirt roads through the national parks etc. Pleasantly surprised by the lack of mosquitos. The accommodations were quite nice, though WiFi was slow to none at the bush camps. But then you will be pretty busy so not a lot of time to browse. FYI If you begin at the Eastgate Hotel in Johannesburg, there was a surprising amount of birds in the immediate vicinity of the hotel that I did not see anywhere else during the trip. The focus was birds and there was a whole new world of them The lead guide Sam Mushandu was very good. He ran a tight ship and was very knowledgeable about the ecosystem in general, as well as the birds. Here is a url you can post in your browser window for a Flickr album of some of the birds we saw: https://www.flickr.com/photos/123247913@N05/albums/72157712233999661 The open vehicles provide great views, though if you are a photographer you need to speak up to get closer shots. You cannot get down from the vehicles during the drives and must make do from inside. Thus, there was not a lot of physical activity other that climbing up into and down from the Safari vehicles.. The animals were everywhere and at times quite close. In our case, a lioness walked alongside the safari vehicle as close as six feet away and then crossed over in front of us. Here is a url for a google+ album of some of the animals we saw: https://photos.app.goo.gl/28TV1mmwCwApQQwp8. The outside activities were more engaging that I expected. The actual trip area outside South Africa is quite compact, so there was not a lot of long road trips to get to the venues.

Just back home from an exciting tour of Southern Africa. The main focus of the trip was Birding, but we saw SO much more! Sam Mushandu was one of the best guides we have ever had on ANY tour! He controlled the group well and added so many more interesting facets. There were just a few non-birders in our group and most of them were happy to look at the birds, too. But when one complained that the birding was too intense, Sam gently corrected them by reminding them that the title of the program was "Birding in South Africa," and that birding would be our main focus. That said, our group worked well together. We saw so many animals, as well as SO MANY Birds!! I highly recommend this tour for any bird watcher!

I found this an amazing trip. It had it all: wildlife; bush tours and cruises with knowledgeable, warm, and helpful guides; wonderful camps; waterfalls; history; local culture; a compatible group of people. Oh, and I added a few birds (lots) to my list.

The best birding trip, well paced, Sam and the other guides very personable, experienced and knowledgeable, a joy for photographers, and accommodations and food well above my expectations. We also saw many animals that satisfied the non-birding partners. The educational programs were interesting and worthwhile.

The program itinerary was just as described in the promotional materials as well as the itinerary we received prior to departure. We saw parts of 4 countries, met many wonderful people at each lodge and saw hundreds of birds....many, many new to us. The visit to Lesedi School was very valuable to us. We are sponsoring 3 children from the same family so they can continue attendance at a high quality rural school,

This is a highly recommended program with memorable accommodations in National Parks and excellent guides resulting in the seeing of large numbers of birds and animals.

Life long dream of visiting Africa and seeing it's people and wildlife fulfilled in a busy two week period! Lots of boat and safari vehicle trips allowed us to see wildlife in safety and comfort.

We just returned from this trip. We highly recommend it, even if you are not an avid birder, which most in our group weren’t. Sam is a fantastic guide, not only as a bird expert, but also for all other wildlife and the history and cultures of the various countries you are traveling in. Plus he has a great personality. We saw approximately 240 species of birds, stayed in fantastic lodges (which provided free laundry!), saw Victoria Falls with good water flow, great sunsets, watched lions, painted dogs, and a Nile crocodile in action, and traveled with a fine group of people. What more could you want? Food was good too.

This program lived up to all of my expectations and more. It was my first predominantly birding program and I will go for more. The birders on this program were prompt, excited, sharing, and all joined in. Once again we had an outstanding guide, who will probably go down as the best guide ever, Sam Mushandu. Sam was our leader, our champion, our educator, our encourager, and overwhelmingly positive in his manner.s and attitude. What a wonderful sense of humor. Thank you, Sam. Thank you all of our fellow travelers, whom I am hopeful to go on another trip. And thank you Road Scholar for another excellent tour.

This was a trip of a lifetime! Great food, excellent housing, extremely competent guides! The birds and mammals were abundant and diverse. The wildlife drives and boat trips made it easy to see and enjoy a lot of what southern Africa has to offer. The people at every stop were friendly and helpful. But the person that made everything work was Sam Mushandu. His leadership, knowledge, passion, and good humor made for a wonderful experience. My wife, Libby, and I will always have great memories of Africa, and it's people and wildlife due largely to Sam and the other people involved with this program! We strongly recommend this program as a can't miss Road Scholar event!

What an excellent experience! Our group consisted of people new to birding, some very experienced birders, and everyone in between. Every day was action-packed, and everyone in our group got along well. Sam, our tour guide, was the absolute best! His enthusiasm, extensive knowledge, and great sense of humor made us look forward to each day’s adventures. To see so many new birds, to experience so much wildlife in their natural habitats, and to interact with local people—this trip exceeded my expectations.

This was the trip of a lifetime! Very well organized, excellent guide, worth the price.