Welcome to Birdquest
NEW ZEALAND
The Ultimate Endemics and Seabirds Tour
Birdquest's New Zealand birding tour thoroughly explores these scenically spectacular and friendly Antipodean islands. Our New Zealand tour offers the most thorough coverage of this island nation available and has the potential to turn up just about every endemic bird species occurring in the main islands.
Tuesday 19th November -
Sunday 8th December 2013
(20 days)
Leaders:
Chris Gaskin and assistant
Group Size Limit: 12
Tour Category: Easy for the most part, occasionally Moderate
The smart Saddleback, one half of the endemic New Zealand Wattlebird family (Pete Morris)
New Zealand – the ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’ is the most remote major landmass of the globe. Isolated from the rest of the world for tens of millions of years, New Zealand is now a veritable treasure trove of natural wonders, a living natural history museum that is a reminder of a time now long past - a land of ancient conifers, tree ferns and prehistoric flightless birds, reptiles and insects. A country of contrasting extremes, of high alpine peaks and arid valleys, volcanoes and glaciers, dramatic fjords and towering southern beech forests, surf-swept headlands and bubbling mud pools, New Zealand is also one of the most scenically exciting places on earth.
For the birdwatcher the principal attraction of New Zealand is its exciting mixture of endemic birds (over 50 endemic species occur on the main islands) and the finest collection of pelagic seabirds in the world. Amongst the endemic birds, it is the four endemic families, comprising the kiwis, the New Zealand wrens, the stitchbirds (recent research has demonstrated that Stitchbird belongs in its own family) and the New Zealand wattlebirds, that are the most sought-after. The remarkable flightless kiwis are nocturnal, using their strong sense of smell (with nostrils near to the tip of the long bill) to locate their prey. Only those willing to creep quietly about at night can hope to see most of the species, and then only if you know the right places. We shall be trying hard to ensure that participants have the opportunity to see up to six species of these bizarre creatures as they snort and sneeze their way through the New Zealand night!
Amongst the many other exciting birds we shall be looking for are the world’s rarest penguin, the Yellow-eyed Penguin, Fiordland Crested Penguin, the highly localized Northern Royal Albatross, the world’s rarest cormorant, the King Shag, the rare and elusive Blue Duck, the strange Wrybill, the endangered Black Stilt (one of the world’s rarest waders), that curious parrot the Kea and the strange Kokako, a wattlebird with the power of flight so diminished that it is virtually reduced to gliding between trees.
Our itinerary is specifically designed to be the most comprehensive bird tour of New Zealand available, delivering more of the specialities than any other.
We will begin our journey through New Zealand at Auckland in North Island, where we will enjoy a visit to a spectacular colony of Australasian Gannets before visiting the long northern ‘panhandle’ of North Island, where we will be looking for Brown Kiwi, Brown Teal and Fairy Tern.
Next we will explore Tiritiri Matangi island in search of its fine assemblage of endemic birds, including the rare Little Spotted Kiwi, the strange Takahe, the rare Saddleback and Stitchbird. From here we will travel out by boat into the Hauraki Gulf to look for seabirds, including Black and Cook’s Petrels and the recently rediscovered New Zealand Storm-Petrel.
To the south of Auckland, coastal and wetland habitats should produce Australasian Bittern, the strange Wrybill and the lovely New Zealand Dotterel, while the volcanically active central highlands of North Island, the heart of traditional Maori country, is a place where Blue Ducks haunt the rushing rivers and where the remaining primeval forests are the headquarters of the wonderful Kokako.
After crossing the Cook Strait to northernmost South Island, we shall explore Queen Charlotte Sound with its colony of King Shags and enjoy yet more pelagic seabird riches (including a series of albatrosses, Hutton’s Shearwater and Westland Petrel) off Kaikoura.
Before crossing the spectacular Southern Alps at Arthur’s Pass we will pause to look for the elusive Great Spotted Kiwi and the uncommon Orange-fronted Parakeet, while amidst some more awesome scenery along the Tasman Sea coast we will looking for Okarito Kiwi, Haast Kiwi and Fiordland Crested Penguin.
From here we will head inland, into the dry Mackenzie Country behind the Southern Alps, where we will explore the valleys, river deltas and lakes near Mount Cook (3764m), the highest peak in New Zealand, which are home to New Zealand Falcons and the critically endangered Black Stilt.
At the Otago Peninsula, near Dunedin, we will visit the famous Northern Royal Albatross colony at Taiaroa Head and also an area where Yellow-eyed Penguins breed.
Next we travel to the huge and spectacular Fiordland National Park in the southwestern corner of the island, home of Keas, South Island (or Rock) Wrens and Pipipis.
After reaching the southernmost extremity of South Island at Invercargill, we will cross to Stewart Island in search of Stewart Island Kiwi and Yellowhead. Stewart Island is one of the best places in New Zealand for seabirds, and so we shall have our final glorious New Zealand pelagic here.
Birdquest has operated tours to New Zealand since 1990.
(Note: The above is a summary of the tour. For more information please download the detailed, day-by-day itinerary. The button is at the top right of the page.)
Accommodation & Road Transport: The hotels/motels are of normal Birdquest standard almost throughout. On Tiritiri Matangi we will spend one night in simple but clean bunk-house accommodation owned by the reserve, with a number of people in each room. Road transport will be by minibus and roads are good.
Walking: The walking effort is easy almost throughout, but there are a few harder walks and those wanting to look for Orange-fronted Parakeet will have to ford a few streams.
Climate: Rather variable. In North Island conditions will be warm or hot, with dry, sunny periods interspersed with overcast spells and rain. In South Island and on Stewart Island it will range from distinctly cool to warm with a mixture of dry and sunny or overcast and wet weather.
Bird Photography: Opportunities are quite good.
Tour Price: (provisional): $7870 Auckland/Dunedin. Price includes all transportation, all accommodations, all meals, bottled water, some drinks, all excursions, all entrance fees, leader services. Tipping is not customary in New Zealand.
Single Room Supplement: (provisional): $1137 (excluding the night on Tiritiri Matangi).
Deposit: 10% of the tour price (excluding any single supplement).
Air Travel To & From The Tour: Our in-house IATA ticket agency can arrange your air travel in connection with the tour from a departure point anywhere in the world, or you may arrange your own air travel if you prefer. We can tailor-make your itinerary to your personal requirements, so if you would like to travel in advance of the tour (and spend a night in an hotel so you will feel fresh when the tour starts), or return later than the end of the tour, or make a side trip to some other destination, or travel business class rather than economy, we will be happy to assist. Please contact us about your air travel requirements.
Seabirding off Kaikoura can be fantastic. An amazing array of tubenoses are attracted to the boat, whilst fantastic snow-capped mountains provide a superb backdrop! (Mike Watson)
Expect fantastic scenery for much of the tour, such as this splendid scene on South Island (Hannu Jännes)
23 photos
View Gallery Photos From NEW ZEALAND
The prehistoric Takahe was thought to be extinct until a population was discovered in some remote mountains on South Island. Since then, a few populations have been established on predator-free islands such as Tiritiri Matangi, where this photo was taken (Pete Morris)
New Zealand is a great bird for seabird enthusiasts. Several albatross species can be seen including Black-browed Albatross (Pete Morris)
... and the recently split Gibson's Albatross (Pete Morris)
During our pelagic in the Hauraki Gulf, we should see good numbers of Cook's Petrels (Pete Morris)
... White-faced Storm-Petrels (Pete Morris)
... and we will be hoping the recently re-discovered New Zealand Storm-Petrel will join them during our pelagic! This species was virtually dismissed by the scientific world until its recent re-discovery! (Hannu Jännes)
We should also get some very good views of the world's smallest penguin, the Little Blue Penguin (Pete Morris)
Endemic landbirds include Whitehead (Pete Morris)
The unique Wrybill is always a favourite! (Mike Watson)
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Ph: 512-343-1700, Fax: 512-343-1701
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