Join us on a brand new tour developed to introduce you to the natural wonders of St Helena, including nesting seabirds and the endemic Wirebird as well as the many endemic and endangered plant species found here. Led from Cape Town by Alastair Kilpin and accompanied by local guides on island.

After completing a science degree in 1997, Alastair travelled and birded parts of North America and Europe before beginning his guiding career in northern KwaZulu-Natal. His enthusiasm for reptiles, birds, photography, botany and big game tracking was matched by the diversity on offer in the various game reserves of Southern Africa. In 2005 he and his wife went to live and work in the Serengeti and he managed a large community-owned wildlife concession, trained guides and led walking safaris for 3 years. Alastair has travelled extensively, soaking up the natural world in other wild parts of the world including Ethiopia, the Indian Ocean, Costa Rica and the Peruvian Amazon. He is currently based in the Cape, leading high-end naturalist tours around Cape Town and the surrounding Biosphere Reserves.

The bird watching tours on island are escorted by Dr Chris Hillman and, Mr ‘Eddy’ Duff, who both work for the St Helena National Trust. Chris has worked as an ecologist in Kenya, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Oman, and has a keen interest in avian species. Eddy is St Helena’s ‘Wirebird Man’. Wirebirds are his passion. He has been watching them from a very young age. To be taken on one of his tours is a unique experience. The other tours are escorted by Mr Basil George. Basil is the former principal of the Prince Andrew School, a local historian and an enthusiastic conservationist.

Itinerary for the Birding Tour

Voyage 189, departing Cape Town 9th April 2013

Day 1
Depart Cape Town. Meet your tour guide and fellow passengers.

Days 2-5
On board the RMS St Helena.

Day 6
Arrive St Helena and check into your accommodation.

Day 7
Meet your local tour guides and learn about the Island and its birds. (Morning tea provided) In the afternoon drive around the island on a scenic tour.

Day 8
Wirebird tour (6 hours approx-lunch provided).

Day 9
A visit to the sites associated with St Helena’s most famous prisoner, Napoleon (6 hours approx-lunch provided).

Day 10
‘Booby’ rookery tour to Lots wife area (6 hours approx-lunch provided).

Day 11
A boat trip along the Island’s northern coast to see the cliffs, offshore islands, seabirds and dolphins (4 hours approx-lunch provided).

Day 12
See and experience St Helena’s rare and endangered endemic flora. The tour is through the central peaks of the St Helena National Park (5 hours Approx-lunch provided).

Day 13
Debrief with guides and talk about the St Helena experience (morning/afternoon tea provided subject to timing). Further visit to Wirebird sites.

Day 14
Depart St Helena.

Days 15-18
On board RMS St Helena.

Day 19
Arrive Cape Town

Price is per person and includes accommodation in a shared two berth cabin on A deck with private facilities and full board while on board the RMS St Helena, in a shared twin/double room on St Helena at Farm Lodge on a bed and breakfast basis, all tours on St Helena with lunches where mentioned and attending lectures and meetings.

Price per person

The day to day itinerary on island is subject to local weather conditions and the order and or/content of the included tours may alter.
The tour is based on a minimum of 6 passengers and operation is subject to reaching minimum numbers.

Please contact our reservations department in London on 020 7575 6480 or Cape Town on +27 (0) 21 425 1165 for price details and to book this voyage.