Birders will find it easy to escape the droves of holiday-makers, who tend to keep close to the major centres of Knysna and Plettenberg Bay. You can potter about the restful coastal lake system of the Wilder-ness National Park, or take refuge in the lush forests protected here and at Nature’s Valley in the Tsitsikamma National Park, where a good diversity of forest specials is on offer. Sadly, only a single elephant still survives in the forests, a remnant of the great herds that once roamed the area.

This verdant coastal region is isolated from the interior of the country by the Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma mountains. In their rain shadow lies the dry Little Karoo, a region made famous and prosperous by its ostrich farmers, who supplied the demands of an ephemeral ladies’ fashion a century ago. North of the Little Karoo lies another great fold in the landscape, the Swartberg Mountains, traversed by the ambitious bends of the Swartberg Pass. Here, notably, six of the fynbos endemic birds may readily be found close to the road. The Swartberg is also the last outpost of moist landscape before the vast and arid Great Karoo, which covers much of central South Africa.

Contrary to the preconceptions of many, the Karoo presents a varied and exciting landscape offering excellent birding (see also pp.74 and 86). The mountainous Karoo National Park, near the regional centre of Beaufort West (five hours’ drive on the N1 from Cape Town), provides a representative cross-section of Karoo birding. Besides being a very worthwhile destination in itself, it serves as an excellent staging post en route from Cape Town to Johannesburg.