The Sani Pass is a must-do trip for any serious birder, because it provides the only easy access globally to the Drakensberg Rockjumper, Drakensberg Siskin and Mountain Pipit. En route one has the chance, dependent on the season to see difficult-to-find birds such as Barratt’s Warbler, Fan-tailed Grass (Broad-tailed) Warbler and Bush Blackcap, whilst other narrowly distributed endemics such as Gurney’s Sugarbird and Buff-streaked Chat are present. In the alpine zone, several western species such as Grey Tit, Sickle-winged Chat, Layard’s Warbler and Fairy Flycatcher may be found, whilst this is probably the best place to search for the highly endangered Bearded Vulture.
Within easy reach of Himeville/Underberg, there are other habitats such as the mist belt forest, grasslands and wetlands. The forests are home to the rare Cape Parrot and Orange Thrush, and other species such as Chorister Robin, Forest Canary and Yellow-throated Warbler. This general area is home to all three of the southern African crane species (Grey Crowned, Wattled and Blue), the very rare Blue Swallow and the enigmatic seldom-recorded Short-tailed Pipit and Black-rumped Buttonquail.
DEPARTURE TIME Departure approx. 06.00 AM.
RETURN TIME Approximately 4.00 PM – 6.00 PM
I received the following from one of the American guests on the trip guided by Mondli and Craig Widdows: I was impressed with our driver/local guide Mondli that day. He was extremely knowledgeable, astute, and energetic- and he was as excited as any of us (if not more so!) when we got crippling, eye level views of an African Rock Pipit. Would recommend him to anyone. - Dave
Brilliant! Fantastic day's birding! Mo was great! - Andrew
A friend and I, both of us very keen birders with lots of prior African experience, visited the Sani Pass with Moses from Roof of Africa tours in January 2025. We had a wonderful day out, with lots of great birds and beautiful scenery. The vehicle was very good, the breakfast and lunch provided excellent and, most importantly of all, Moses was a fantastic guide, being extremely knowledgeable and very enthusiastic about the area, its birds and life in general. We are extremely grateful to him for giving us a such a memorable day out and showing us so many great birds. We wholeheartedly recommend both Moses and Roof of Africa for tours to the Sani Pass. - Oscar
We enjoyed a day of birding up Sani Pass and quite deep into Lesotho with Mo. He was a great fun and knew his birds. We found pretty much all of our target species and the guiding was high quality. - Joseph
Our day together with Aldo was absolutely fantastic !! - Patric
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