Birdwatching on the Nile

Birdwatching

The islands around the 1st cataract are so close to each other, that it is too narrow for a felucca to sail, only very few motorboats get near or between the rocks. To turn off the motor and watch being watched by many different birds, there is no noise except the wind in the reeds, the Nile stroking the boat, you hear the wings of birds flowing up.

"Prior to the dam's construction, the Nile would rush noisily through the granite boulders that emerged from the riverbed (...). Herodotus reported that an Egyptian offical had told him this this was the sorce of the Nile, which flowed north and south from there." (Lonely Planet: Egypt).
Today this is only a memory and there is nothing I can think about, which is more relaxing than to visit quietly a piece of unique nature.

Have a look at the pictures. They tell more than I can do.

Bird-watching-guide
After the email from Monica (please see column right side) we tried to find a good solution to send a bird-watching-guide with the captain and motorboat.

Of course there is Mohamed Arabi: "The Bird Man" of Aswan and rather famous (please see review). Below is one page of the brochure he published.

I had thought a guide is a guide, no matter if he is educated about Egyptology or birds and botanic. But I had to learn this is not the case. Usually we ask for x EGP each hour. Mohamed Arabi asks for 85 USD EACH person (!!!) for a tour of 2 to 3 hours (= price is not for each hour) including boat and a captain that he will bring himself.

There are also others, but when I asked how much they ask for, they smiled and told me what Mr. Arabi is asking for and of course - if it is a big group, one could think ... but I would have to ask in this case ...

They all say I would not understand bird watchers. All over the world it would be usual to pay an equal sum or more and I would see when I will put the offer on this website.
And - by the way - Mr. Arabi and the others know about all plants on Kitchener Island (Botanical Garden).

It took me a while until I could bring myself to do so. Before I had answered emails with about the same information as said above. Until today everyone answered they would prefer our offer: captain and motorboat without guide (= 85 EGP each hour, no matter how many persons). And so I thought okay: everyone can decide for himself. And put the informations about a guide on this website.

Reviews

Helen Lewis, UK, February 6, 2011

Re: 3 hour Birdwatching Trip from Aswan

A rather belated but notheless heartfelt thank you for arranging our superb birdwatching trip on December 4th 2010. There are many glowing reviews on the Aswan Individual website, but surprisingly none that I could find for this trip so I wanted to record our experiences to encourage visitors in the future. It was the highlight of our week!

Mustafa came to meet us off our cruise boat, no mean feat as we'd had to change moorings, and within minutes we were gliding away in his motorboat across to the far bank of the Nile. Instantly we relaxed as we left the noise and crowds of the cruise boats behind and made our way upstream, captivated by the amber coloured sands rising high above the river. So began a perfect boat trip, one of peace and calm, full of wonderful sights and sounds. Mustafa skilfully steered the boat through the ever narrower channels of fast flowing water between the rocky islands of the first cataract. 'King fish' he cried out, as the ubiquitous pied kingfisher flew past. Slowing down we were delighted by close up views of many birds including little bittern, squacco heron, purple heron, purple gallinule and even an osprey - magical. The return route passed by a colourful Nubian village and local fishermen mending their nets, Mustafa singing and pointing out interesting sights. Although we had been very glad of the shade provided by the roof of the boat, the three of us couldn't resist climbing up to sit on the roof of the boat for the scenic ride past the Old Cataract Hotel and all the feluccas lined up on the shore of Elephantine island. A fabulous trip, one which we highly recommend.

Very best wishes, Helen

Monica Grabin, USA, October 1, 2010

... Mustafa's rides in his boats were a real highlight, and we saw wonderful birds. The only recommendation I would make there is that there really should be someone in the boat who can i.d. the birds in English, or whatever language. Birders are really into listing the things they see, writing them down, and then looking them up in books, etc., so not knowing the names was disappointing, On the other hand, the birds were still beautiful and we had a fantastic time. So I don't want to make it sound like we didn't enjoy the day, because we absolutely did. ...