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Stamps in a Weathered Passport

10,000 Birds

What drove me to this revelation was crossing the border of the tiny, enclaved nation of Lesotho via the Sani Pass, a ridiculously treacherous road. Hannah overlooking a valley Traveling into Lesotho from the Sani Pass is an experience more than just the journey to the top.

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Birding the Drakensberg, South Africa

10,000 Birds

One in November 2018 included a one-day birding trip in the Drakensberg area, a mountain range in the border area between South Africa and Lesotho. Pretty pointless, I guess, if it wasn’t for the birds – though it seems some tourists take the same tour just to get the Lesotho stamp into their passport.

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Sasol Birds of Southern Africa, 5th edition

10,000 Birds

For several years I lived and birded in the south of Africa , and still have my battered second edition (1997) of the Sasol Birds of Southern Africa, the most trusted local field guide. Before that, while you all know what South Africa is, what exactly is Southern Africa?

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Birding and Safari-ing South Africa with the ABA

10,000 Birds

And so, I went on the American Birding Association Safari to South Africa. That was easily fixed by adding a post-Safari trip to Eastern South Africa, led by dashing Rockjumper guide Clayton Burne, to my itinerary. I was not on one of those lucky groups, but I did get to see a Secretarybird on my Eastern South Africa trip.)

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The Storks of Africa

10,000 Birds

Africa has more than its fair share of storks, with 8 of the world’s 19 species gracing the continent. Marabous occur throughout tropical and subtropical Africa from Zululand in northern South Africa right up to the arid Sahel region fringing the Sahara Desert, avoiding the closed canopy rainforest zones of central and west Africa.

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Sani Pass – a Drakensberg birding gem

10,000 Birds

What a way to sum up what is undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest birding sites and certainly my favorite in southern Africa. Albeit currently a rugged 4×4-only road, Sani Pass is the most accessible route from KwaZulu-Natal into the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho. Image by Adam Riley.

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KwaZulu-Natal

10,000 Birds

This image shows Sani Pass, a rough 4×4 track leading into the mountain kingdom of Lesotho. With this quote I have the pleasure of introducing my home province (state) for this month’s 10,000 Bird’s Africa Beat. They discovered Gurney’s Sugarbird during their time in South Africa. Image by Adam Riley. At 36,433 sq.