Welcome to Birdquest
ANGOLA
Birdquest's Angola birding tour features one of those 'off-the-beaten-track' destinations that is gradually becoming better known. Our comprehensive itinerary has the potential to turn up every one of the Angolan endemics. Road and accommodation conditions in this (for visitors) expensive, oil-rich country have greatly improved in recent years (indeed one can say that many of the roads have been transformed), making travel here much easier than in the past.
Thursday 6th September -
Saturday 22nd September 2012
(17 days)
Leader:
Nik Borrow
Group Size Limit: 9
Tour Category: Easy to Moderate (plus one optional fairly Demanding hike)
The stunning White-headed Robin-Chat is one of the star attractions of our Angola itinerary (Nik Borrow)
Less than a decade ago, one of the African countries that seemed set to continue to be a veritable ‘no go’ area for travellers was Angola. Torn apart by civil war since its independence from Portugal in 1975, a peace accord was finally reached in 1992, although fighting continued up until 2002 when a final cease-fire was announced after the death of the insurgent leader Jonas Savimbi.
For birders, the current stability of the country means that a wealth of mouth-watering specialities is now once more within reach. Our visit is timed at the end of the dry season, just before the hotter and wetter months begin. Angola has some of the least known and most interesting endemic birds in Africa, but the infrastructure of the country is still recovering from the long civil war and at the same time Angola is an extraordinarily expensive country, thanks to its new oil wealth. Good accommodations are limited, and we will have to camp at times. This length of itinerary is the tour duration our experience tells us is necessary both to find, rather than miss, the key specialities of the country and to keep the relative amount of time spent travelling within reasonable bounds (as Angolan roads are still very variable in quality, although rapidly improving thanks to all that oil money).
After flying in to the capital, Luanda, we shall head northeast for a circuit of the northern scarp forests in search of the endemic Braun’s Bush-Shrike and the highly localized endemic White-headed Robin-Chat in particular, as well as the endemic Red-crested Turaco, Bubbling Cisticola and Hartert’s Camaroptera, and the near-endemic Red-backed Mousebird.
We shall then head southeastwards to the Gabela area. In and around the farmbush and remaining intact patches of semi-deciduous forests on the scarps, the endemic Gabela Bush-Shrike and the near-endemic Monteiro’s Bush-Shrike should be easy to find. More diligent searching, however, will be needed to find the endemic Gabela Akalat and Pulitzer’s Longbill.
Afterwards we shall explore the ever-shrinking forest patches on the heights of Mt Moco, an isolated montane refuge for a number of species, hoping to find the almost unknown Swierstra’s Francolin as well as the unassuming Angola Slaty Flycatcher and the localized Bocage’s Sunbird.
Heading even further south, we will reach the Lubango area and the spectacularly beautiful escarpment at Tundavala, where we should find the endemic Angola Cave Chat to be common. We will also be looking here for Ludwig’s Double-collared Sunbird and the elusive Cinderella Waxbill. A day’s drive into the deserts towards the town of Namibe will give us a completely different set of birds and here we should see Benguela Long-billed and Stark’s Larks as well as many other species more typical of neighbouring Namibia.
Finally we shall visit Quiçama (or Kissama) National Park, which contains extensive mangrove forest, flood plains, raffia palm-covered islands and lowland riverine forest, as well as dry baobab-euphorbia woodland. Here we shall hope to find the endemic Grey-striped Francolin, White-fronted Wattle-eye and Gabela Helmet Shrike, and other specialties such as Pale Olive Greenbul, Rufous-tailed Palm Thrush, Angola Batis and Golden-backed Bishop.
Birdquest has operated tours to Angola since 2005.
(Note: The above is a summary of the tour. For more information please download the detailed, day-by-day itinerary. The button is at the top right of the page.)
Accommodation & Road Transport: The hotels/lodges are mostly of normal Birdquest standard. For eight nights of this adventurous journey we shall be staying in hotels/safari lodges, but for the other eight nights we will have to stay in simple tented camps arranged by our local agents. Tents are available for twin or single occupancy and there will also be a toilet tent, a shower tent and a dining area. Roads range from excellent to bad. We will be travelling in 4x4 vehicles.
Walking: The walking effort is mostly easy to moderate, but there will be at least one longer, harder walk at Mount Moco.
Climate: Most days will be warm or hot. There is likely to be some rain and this could be heavy at times.
Bird Photography: Opportunities are worthwhile.
Tour Price: $7160 Luanda/Luanda. Price includes all transportation (including Lubango-Luanda flight), all accommodations, all meals, bottled water, some drinks, all excursions, all entrance fees, all tips for local drivers/guides and for accommodations/restaurants, leader services.
Single Room/Tent Supplement: $648.
Deposit: 10% of the tour price (excluding any single supplement).
Air Travel To & From The Tour: Our in-house IATA ticket agency can arrange your air travel in connection with the tour from a departure point anywhere in the world, or you may arrange your own air travel if you prefer. We can tailor-make your itinerary to your personal requirements, so if you would like to travel in advance of the tour (and spend a night in an hotel so you will feel fresh when the tour starts), or return later than the end of the tour, or make a side trip to some other destination, or travel business class rather than economy, we will be happy to assist. Please contact us about your air travel requirements.
Rufous-tailed Palm Thrush is an Angolan near-endemic (Nik Borrow)
Miombo Scrub-Robin is another restricted-range species (Nik Borrow)
Fülleborn's Longclaw is as strikingly-plumaged as a meadowlark in the Americas and, together with the other longclaws, thought to represent a case of convergent evolution (Nik Borrow)
The little-known Angola Cave Chat is one of the country's more unusual endemics (Nik Borrow)
Benguela Long-billed Lark inhabits the arid coastal zone of Angola, washed by the cold waters of the Benguela Current and in effect a continuation of Namibia's Skeleton Coast.
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