The first hurdle lying between visiting birders and their quarry is a blind corner, on the N2 highway: this needs to be crossed on foot with considerable caution after parking at the viewsite on the southern side of the road (at 1 on map, opposite). Running north of the road is a rocky ridge of minor outcrops leading up to the summit of Kanonkop peak at 2. Winding along its eastern contour is a broad track (3) leading north towards a neck in the mountains at 4 called Gantouw Pass (after the Khoikhoi word for Eland, as this was once the route taken by migrating antelope). Here you will see deep ruts in the soft sandstone, a legacy of the east-bound ox-wagons of traders and those who became restive under British rule in the Cape two centuries ago. By 1821, 4 500 wagons a year were making the crossing, a journey of such epic proportions that one in five wagons never survived it! Close by lie a pair of antique signal cannons that were later installed at the pass. The rocky slopes here are the domain of the Cape Rockjumper (p.73*). The entire length of the ridge between the N2 viewsite and the summit of Kanonkop is in fact prime Cape Rockjumper country, and birders alert to its loud, piping call can be sure to locate a group of these fine birds here (see box opposite).

Birds are scarce in this landscape, but the area does have its rewards. The series of rocky outcrops along the path and the ridges above also hold low densities of Ground Wood-pecker (p.105*), Familiar Chat, Cape Siskin (p.33*), Cape Rock Thrush and, rarely, Sentinel Rock Thrush. Common birds of the dense fynbos between the ridge and gravel track are Grassbird, Orange-breasted Sunbird (p.33*), Neddicky, and Karoo Prinia. Cape Sugarbird (p.33*) and Yellow-rumped Widow occur more sparsely in denser vegetation, such as that growing along the stream under the powerlines.

Victorin’s Warblers (p.73*) can be heard singing from the slightly denser vegetation of the hill slopes. Those unfamiliar with its call should take care to distinguish it from the superficially similar, but less repetitive, song of the more conspicuous Grassbird. Victorin’s Warblers are far more readily lured from cover in this relatively open habitat than in their more typical haunts in impenetrable streamside thicket, such as that found beneath the powerlines at Gantouw Pass, where they are common. Another good area to look for them is in the dense vegetation along the railway track at the bottom of the mountain at 6. To reach this spot, drive past the viewsite, turn left opposite the entrance to Steenbras Dam, and park at the gate. This area also supports Striped Flufftail, although this species is almost impossible to see during the day.

Jackal Buzzard (including at least one potentially confusing white-breasted individual; see p.99), Rock Kestrel and Peregrine Falcon are the most frequently seen raptor species at Sir Lowry’s Pass, although numerous others occasionally pass through the area. These include Black and Martial Eagles, Black Harrier (p.57*) and Red-breasted Sparrowhawk.

Over the crest of Sir Lowry’s Pass, the N2 continues eastwards across a rolling plateau, largely covered in timber plantations and South Africa’s most important deciduous fruit orchards, before dropping suddenly into the wheat-swathed lowlands of the Overberg (see p.63).