Day 1 – 19 February 2026 After Rein had spent a few days with us together with his family in 2024, something kept bothering him. During the rest of that trip, he had missed several true target species. That had to change. Before long, the idea for a new trip was born — this time completely focused on birds and cats. Not much later, work began enthusiastically on a new itinerary. Different areas were considered, chances for desired species were discussed, and slowly but surely

Day 1 15/11/2025 – From Johannesburg to the Drakensbergen Just after 5:00 a.m., I shake Jaap and Lex’s hands as they walk out of the airport. After a year of carefully planning every detail to find as many endemic, scarce, elusive and colourful birds as possible and capture them on camera, the fun can finally begin. There had been a few stressful hours before that, though. When I arrived at my accommodation yesterday, I received a message from Jaap telling me that KLM had can

Day 1 8/10/2025 Kick off Sugarbird Safaris When Gerda and Leo stayed with us at Paradise River Lodge last year and heard that we were in the process of setting up a travel company specialising in birds, wildlife and photography, they didn’t have to think twice. Almost in unison they said: “We’ll be your first guests!” Not long after, the plans were laid out on the table. We quickly agreed on both the route and the target species: the elegant Serval, the iconic Cheetah and the