 The country of South Africa boasts of some of the continent’s most stunning landscape and diverse wildlife. South Africa is home to a wonderful array of exciting fauna and flora from the albatrosses that fly around the storm-pounded Cape Peninsula, to the colorful floral displays of Namaqualand and the big game of Kruger National Park. This African country is, after all, home to over 800 species of butterfly, and among this excess of species are the Emperor Swallowtail, the largest butterfly in southern Africa, and the diminutive Dwarf Blue, with a wingspan of only 12 millimeters, one of the smallest species in the world. Though butterflies are the main focus on such a tour, the region’s birds, mammals, dragonflies and other wildlife are usually not neglected.
You may explore the tropical coastal forests and bushveld savannah of the Zululand region of Kwazulu-Natal, visiting at a time of the year when the heat of summer has subsided and the days are pleasantly warm. At the montane grasslands of Wakkerstroom you may receive an introduction to some of the common butterfly species such as African Monarch, Meadow White, African Clouded Yellow, Citrus Swallowtail, Common Diadem and Painted Lady. Birds to observe are Greycrowned Crane, Southern Bald Ibis, Blue Korhaan, South African Shelduck and many more.
The Mkuze Game Reserve in the foothills of the Lebombo Mountains contains a wide range of habitats, including thornveld savannah, broadleaved woodland and riverine forest, and is home to a wealth of butterflies that includes the tiny Dwarf Blue, Blue and Yellow Pansy, Gaudy Commodore and Smoky Orange-tip. Here you may look out for a butterfly known as the “African Leopard” and, if fortunate, may even also encounter the big cat itself. Leopards are not uncommon in Mkuze and share the reserve with both Black and White Rhinoceros, Giraffe and both the beautiful Nyala and the diminutive Suni antelopes. Bird species are abundant here and includes such species as Narina Trogon, Pink-throated Twinspot, Eastern Bronzenaped Pigeon and African Crowned Eagle. The park is also habitat to a wide range of dragonflies and damselflies including the Black Splash, Glistening Demoiselle and perhaps the enormous Black Emperor and endemic St. Lucia Basker.
Near the Indian Ocean coast spend some time at St. Lucia to explore the world famous St. Lucia Estuary, Lake St. Lucia and the coastal dune forest. It is the largest estuarine system in all of Africa and is of international importance for its wildlife that covers 325 square kilometers. Here you may observe localized Gold-banded Forester, together with Green-banded Swallowtail, Golden Piper, Small Orange Acraea, Redline Sapphire and Two-pip Policeman.
Or head for Eshowe where a unique aerial boardwalk has been constructed high in the canopy of the Dlinza scarp forest. Here you encounter the high fliers of the butterfly world such as the charaxes and attractive Common Mother-of-Pearl. The area boasts of such species as Dusky Acraea and Polka Dot, plus Natal Acraea and Spotted Joker. It is also renowned for birds such as Spotted Ground-thrush, Brown Scrubrobin, Lemon Dove and Narina Trogon. Here you will encounter a small selection of the country’s numerous moth species: Heady Maiden, Pleasant Hornet, Netted Slug, Florid Pearl, Victorian Emerald, Cabbage Tree Emperor, Oriental Bee Hawk and perhaps the large and impressive Lunar Moth.
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