A few extra days on a trip can be a dangerous opportunity for my husband because I will plan something wild. On our recent trip to South Africa for the Flock to Marion Cruise with BirdLife South Africa, we had a few “days to kill” before we jumped on the cruise ship. There is not enough time to go somewhere, but there is too much time not to take advantage of it. So, I did what I always do: pull up eBird and Google Maps and try to locate the best practical options within a driveable distance. After an exhaustive search, I concluded that Tala Private Game Reserve would offer us the best choice for birds and an interesting place to stay. Never having stayed on a private game reserve… this was also a leap of faith.
We arrived in Durban after 36 hours of travel, starting with a morning of guiding at the Morro Bay Birding Festival, driving back to LAX, and then off to eastern South Africa via Paris and Johannesburg. We got the rental car and reacquainted with driving on the opposite side of the car and road and then off to Tala. I fought sleep for an hour-and-a-half drive there.
Faithfully following our GPS, we turned off the highway at a faded sign. On the short entrance road to the gate, we were met with familiar friends, Southern Fiscal and Zitting Cisticola, along with a new bird for us, Cape Starling. Then, turning into the preserve, we met with one of our targets, a Common Ostrich. We quickly checked in at the head office and then headed towards our cabin.
Tala offers a couple of different options for accommodation; there are a couple of lodges with dining included, a self-catered cabin, and even camping. When making the reservation, we were not entirely sure what we would get into, so we opted for the self-catered cabin and then planned to figure out food as we went. Let me tell you – that cabin is the way to go! The Fisherman’s Cabin is miles from anywhere, with a private Boma area where you could sit and enjoy an African night in the bush. When we woke in the morning, Zebras were grazing on the lawn, a Warthog was trotting down the road, and a Burchell’s Coucal was playing on repeat.
On our first evening there, we headed to the open restaurant at the Leadwood Lodge, which has a lovely open veranda and many great food options. We talked with the owner for a bit, who is a naturalist educator; he asked what targets we had and, in unison, said: “Blue Crane”! He gave us easy directions to where they were being seen, and a few minutes later, we saw them grazing with Kudus in a field.
The following day, we had scheduled a reserve birding tour, but it took us an hour to drive the 0.1 mile to get to the entrance gate because of all the birds! The guided game drive was in a large, open-sided caravan vehicle, which I have always wanted to go on.
Over the two-and-a-half hours, we explored the reserve, seeing fifty-six bird species, five of which were lifers, including Black-winged Lapwing, Red-billed Oxpecker, and Rufous-winged Cisticola.
While heading for dinner that evening, we followed a family group of Shelley’s Francolin meandering down the road and a calling Four-colored Bushshrike.
We managed to talk the owner into some owling, so he zipped us around and found a Spotted Eagle-Owl who put on a good show of hunting on the road.
The following day, we tried to squeeze out any last birds before heading to the cruise port in Durban and joining 2,000 birders for the world’s largest pelagic trip. So, we got up with the sun and cruised around the reserve one last time. Unfortunately, a family group of giraffes thought the same thing and managed to clog up the road for about 30 minutes! Not to complain, they put on a good show with several juveniles mock-fighting.
When we finally arrived at the lodge for breakfast, our lifer, Red-throated Wryneck, was waiting in the parking lot. At the exit were more distant Blue Cranes; we were grateful for a better look a few minutes prior, as was the resident herd of White Rhinos.
I was a bit skeptical about staying at a game reserve with my limited vacation time, but it was an excellent site! Tasty food, good birds, and good company!
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