Dream Birding in the Green Kalahari

Many birders aren’t aware of what awaits in the Korannaberg hills that run through a jewel of the Northern Cape’s Green Kalahari called Tswalu Kalahari Reserve. At 114 000 hectares, it’s South Africa’s largest private reserve, and one where our birding group expects to find many arid-adapted bird species in its grasslands, duneveld and the lilac-hued hills.

In a year of good rainfall, Tswalu is a sanctuary where more than 200 bird species can be found. In drier times, the species count can still reach 100. We’re also looking forward to seeing the fascinating geological formations of this area, and the 400 000-year-old petroglyphs made with hammerstones.

We approach the reserve along the R31 from Kuruman, and the iron and manganese mining operations and dumps loom large until we turn off towards