South Africa’s unflappable female bird guides

What do Mtunzini, Eshowe, Hluhluwe and Mkhuze have in common? Extraordinary bird life – and a flock of expert female guides to decipher it.

You can link these four nature havens into a lekker loop that works for adventurers and avid birders alike.

Location, location, location. When plotting a road trip to admire any feathered friends, environmental diversity is a sure-fire way to encourage a flourishing list. All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small. Tropical acacia and swampy waterhole. The murky mangrove marshes, the river running by. Rippling grassland fields and fever trees sky high. Fabled old-growth forests and sweeping sandy shore. Oh, what staggering awe – KwaZulu-Natal has them all. 

From Mtunzini to Mkhuze, each unique and enigmatic habitat bubble sustains its distinct bevvy of birds and beasts – as well as the binocular-clad beings intent on ticking them off. 

An unexpected twitch with Phindile Ntshangase

Some of these beings drive lumbering white Range Rovers and sport bazooka-sized spotting scopes too. They are also more than happy to drive the seven-hour haul from Gauteng during the soupy dead of night to sight a simple little sandpiper. 

At least that was the scene we stumbled across, and it froze local bird guide, Phindile Ntshangase, in her tracks. "Something is going on here", she said in her assured, but unpretentious way. 

Doing our best not to startle the mystery sighting, we skirted Mpempe Pan – and the parking lot of enormous 4X4s. What on earth could they be looking at? I mused feverishly, imagination whirling wild, for we had unwittingly stumbled across our very first twitch. The subject? Southern Africa’s 19th-ever Buff-breasted sandpiper.

Mpempe Pan was simply part of Phindi's regular circuit, our next stop after a glorious morning birding at silky sunrise around nearby Muzi Pan. Following healthy summer rains, water had spilt over the roots of Fever trees filling the wetland for Pink-backed Pelicans that sat sailing on the glossy surface and Blue-cheeked bee-eaters that twizzed in the branches above. Southern Brown-throated weavers threaded homes together in the reeds, and we kept a sharp eye open for the hippos har-har-har-ing somewhere beyond.

Phindi is one of four female guides I'd scheduled to visit on an avian expedition borne from a chance conversation with the BirdLife South Africa Avitourism Project Manager, Andrew de Blocq. 

BirdLife South Africa is is the country’s premier bird conservation authority and a registered non-profit, public benefit environmental organisation. For the last 20 years, this NGO has been training people from rural backgrounds to become professional bird guides, successfully graduating over 200. Roughly 50 of these remain actively guiding while others have transitioned into the tourism, hospitality, and education sectors.

I've encountered many of these iconic graduates during South African travels, David Letsoalo and Paul Nkhumane in the forests of Magoebaskloof, Themba Mthembu in subtropical St Lucia, and Lucky Ngwenya in the Wakkerstroom wetlands – legends very deserving of their recognition and talent. When seeking out why there were no community bird guides in the Western Cape (a story for another day) I was surprised to learn that BirdLife South Africa has also trained a whole host of women.

Like bird species, where males often bear the brightly coloured, noticeable plumage, it seemed that the females are somewhat overshadowed.

Phindile hails from Mtubatuba, was trained by BirdLife South Africa in 2016 and went on to establish Phindi's Travel and Tours. She owes much of her knowledge and inspiration to Themba. "‘Themba introduced me to BirdLife. Before that I knew only a few common species, just things like the Cattle egret”, Phindi said during our morning at Muzi Pans near Mkhuze Game Reserve. “I was so lucky to train with this guide – the famous one!”

Phindile means 'not another girl' in isiZulu as she was the last in a string of sisters. As such, it was her duty to tend to the cattle. Perhaps the gender-bending stereotypes started there, but does she now keep a comprehensive list of birds seen, as her tutor? "524", she beamed. "I added the Madagascar cuckoo and Caspian tern this year". Little did she know she'd hit 527 (and we’d score a day rate of 84) by midday. 

Big game encounters with Thobeka Nkosi

Next stop was Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge at Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve where I had a date with one of the iSibindi Africa’s only female field guides. Although no affiliation to BirdLife South Africa, Thobeka Nkosi is a whizz at all things wild and has been at the lodge since its inception. “Six years now”, she calculated with a grin. “My home is Mpenbeni village, just a 15-minute drive from here”. What she couldn’t figure out though, is why I’d come to meet with her. “I’m very shy”, she insisted. Yet, on getting into a game drive vehicle with her, demureness quickly gave way to a confident passion. 

Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge is situated on land belonging to the local Mpembeni community, which has been incorporated into the Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park. Our safari started as most do, with indifferent impala herds, a breeding march of stoic mothers flanked by cheeky teenage elephants and journeys of giraffe. “There are the dlulumeti”, Thobeka pointed. “That is our Zulu name for giraffe, which means taller than the trees”. We also saw a lightning lizard, otherwise known as the chameleon. I loved this aspect of our outings the most. Thobeka elegantly intertwined her culture with our sightings. Doing her best to appease every guest on our vehicle, she’d stop for the big sought-after game, but always surreptitiously point out the interesting feathered finds to me. An Orange-breasted bushshrike, the Tambourine dove or a Green-winged pytilia.

“Before I started here at the park, I never got to see the animals and when I started guiding I was really scared. Reading animal body language took me a long time to understand. Like the elephants, they’re really unpredictable. The rhinos, too. I just remember looking at that large horn! When I started there were few challenges. Some guys would drive past, and they wouldn’t share any information. I’m still being told what to do!”.

Thobeka regaled her backstory with a laugh, which doubled after I shared that there’s a modern term for that – it’s called mansplaining.

“I’d say I’ve inspired other people”, she then added reluctantly. “I get more people asking questions. How can they do this too? Especially the kids. When little girls see it, they can see it’s possible”. 

This female presence in the industry is vital. “Guided tourism is already an imbalanced industry” Andrew later told me in agreement. “Women, particularly African women, often struggle to make inroads because of client perceptions and prejudices as well as cultural and systemic issues. It has been said that, in general, women are actually much better guides than men”, he continued with a small smile, “because they are more empathetic and attentive to their clients. Some of the men don't like hearing that”.

Going off-the-beaten-track forest bathing with Manah Ntuli

Manah Ntuli is the kind of person that doesn’t give a tailfeather about what people do or don’t like hearing.

She went to Wakkerstroom for two years and trained with Birdlife South Africa in 2001. “I’m also a prophet and sangoma”, she shared on our drive towards the Ongoye Forest. This last shred of ancient forest spans some 4000 hectares and sits 15km inland, parallel to the coast between Eshowe and Empangeni. Decked out in big sunglasses, armed with a keen bird-like whistle and boasting a head of bright red hair, our drive through rural Zululand towards this lesser-visited arboreal oasis revealed plenty of character.

While I was fretting about getting the Toyota through mud after an overnight deluge, Manah remained nonplussed and confident in my abilities. “This is a big car. It will be fine!”. Grasslands (“Often we see Southern Ground-hornbill here”, Manah enthused) gave way to soaring trees and we were soon strolling below the leaves, eyes angled eagerly upwards. This forest is home to the highly-localized Green barbet (you get them up in East Africa too, but this is the only location for about 500 km!), Eastern Bronze-naped pigeon, and oNgoye Red Squirrel. Even without sighting these specials, the drive was worth it.

“Where are you? You bastard”, Manah whispered under her breath, creeping gently along the mud road (we’d parked the car safely in the grass and opted to walk). Above us, the dark shape of a Green malkoha flip-flapped, all-too-obscured in the upper crown of the canopy. Then a cacophony. “It’s a party! Melanie, look at this party”, Manah practically hopped from foot to foot. Dark-backed weavers, White-eared barbets, Yellow-streaked greenbul, a Golden-tailed woodpecker and drongos deluxe. Although I will have to return for that Green barbet someday, I certainly didn’t depart disheartened. Manah divvied out buckets of sheer delight. Besides, BirdLife South Africa reckons there’s a density of one pair of Green Barbets per four to five hectares, which are pretty tough odds.

Total woodland immersion with Mabuyi Zungu

I had better lifer-luck at my last destination, where Mabuyi Zungu led a walk through the shadowy sanctum of Dlinza Forest in Eshowe. Mabuyi has been working full time at the forest for seven years, and at the nearby Umlalazi Nature Reserve before that. We toured the viewing tower in hopes of scoping out the Eastern Bronze-naped pigeon, but drizzly landscapes hindered our progress. “Forest birding is already tough”, Mabuyi allayed my disappointment.

“Down here you can’t even see the noisy Hadeda or enormous Trumpeter hornbill”. She had a point.

No matter, we were soon rewarded with a Spotted Ground thrush and she guided us like a practised pro towards a Narina Trogon that most generously sat and posed. 

Named by François Levaillant – a French explorer, zoological collector, and celebrated ornithologist sent by the Dutch East India Company to South Africa's Cape Province in 1781 – this bird has a particularly appropriate backstory. Levaillant travelled extensively and collected specimens until 1784, during which time he fell in love. It’s believed that this spectacular trogon is named after Narina, his Khoi mistress.

Most birds are named after men and that’s just the taxonomic norm, but this jewel-coloured Narina trogon is a most exquisite exception.

A little like this group of guides.

How to support female bird guides in South Africa

BirdLife South Africa has a comprehensive list of registered bird guides in several birding hubs across the country. On your next outdoor adventure, consider hiring the services of one of their female guides. These knowledgeable guides provide improved security plus valuable information on where elusive and special bird species can be found. In some cases, you can even gain access to otherwise restricted locations. They are self-employed and free to set their own rates but offer very competitive, affordable fees.

PHINDILIE NTSHANGASE, PHINDI’S TRAVEL AND TOURS Phindi is based in St Lucia and operates across the entire Isimangaliso Wetland Park, False bay, Nibela flood plain up to Mkhuze. From R550pp for a half-day guiding. 072-356-5906, phindylungile@gmail.com 

MANAH NTULI is based in Eshowe and operates in the Dlinza forest, Eshowe, Mtunzini, Ntumeni, Mlalazi, Matigulu, Stanger (her favourite!), Dreadnought Farm, Phobane Dam and Ongoye forest. R800 for a half-day from 7am to 1pm and R1500 for a full day from 7am to 4pm. 073-910-6033, manantulikambhele@gmail.com 

MABUYI ZUNGU is based in Mtunzini and loves guiding in the Umlalazi Nature Reserve. She is employed full time by KZN Wildlife, but freelances on weekends. R600 for half day birding from 7-11am and R1200 for full day from 6am to 2pm. 073-944-8708

Where to stay when birding in KwaZulu-Natal

Please note, prices listed are from base rate for SADC citizens and are subject to change.

Mseni Beach Lodge lies ensconced in a forest regularly visited by Trumpeter hornbills and trilling with the calls of Tinkerbirds and Livingstone’s turaco. Then there’s also the plus of a beautiful beach. B&B in swish log cabins from R1100pp.

Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge is a super chic, yet understated stay and the only 4-star private lodge in the Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park. More impressively though, is its Fair Trade ethos. Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge is a joint venture between the National Empowerment Fund and the local Mphembeni community who own the land on which the lodge is built. People from the community have been trained to work in various departments and now constitute 97% of the lodge staff. Safari rooms from R2340pp (excludes park fees and Isibindi Foundation levy).

Ngoye Lodge and Nguni Cottage make for a sublime birding base in the charming village of Mtunzini. The self-catering Nguni Cottage sleeps four and is incredibly spacious with a wide stoep that overlooks the lively gardens, while the B&B rooms at Ngoye Lodge share a homely central area with a pool. From R750pp sharing B&B and R800pp sharing in the private Nguni cottage. Don’t miss the chance to Kayak the Umlalazi River with Explore Zini to a glorious sunrise. Rentals costs R200 for two hours or R600 for a guided outing. 084-929-9911

This story originally appeared in Getaway magazine.