NEW GUINEA & AUSTRALIAA rich and diverse sampler of the best birding of New Guinea and Australia.
$5975 (includes flights within New Guinea; 2008 fee). 19 days See our triplist for 2007 If you think you may have only one opportunity to visit Australasia and want to make sure you have a chance to bird in New Guinea, this tour is designed for you. We'll be sampling two great birding sites in New Guinea (including beautiful Kumul Lodge with its many birds-of-paradise) and the best of eastern Australia (including the Cairns area, the edge of the Outback, O'Reilly's in Lamington National Park, and Royal National Park near Sydney). In New Guinea’s Astrolabe Mountains near Port Moresby we'll visit Varirata National Park, haven for Raggiana Birds-of-paradise, Magnificent Riflebird, the striking and secretive Pheasant Pigeon, and a multitude of other birds. Then we'll continue to the highlands near Mt. Hagen and the rustic charms of Kumul Lodge. In the surrounding mountain forests we could find various species of birds-of-paradise, including such incomparables as King-of-Saxony, Blue, Superb, Brown Sicklebill, and both Stephanie’s and Ribbon-tailed astrapias. Other spectaculars include Feline and Mountain owlet-nightjars, Chestnut Forest-Rail, Papuan Lorikeet, Brehm’s Tiger-Parrot, and Garnet and White-winged robins. Enga Province itself, first touched by Western influence only in the 1950s, is a remarkable backdrop for our birding, with many people still practicing their traditional lifestyles and a few still wearing traditional dress. Returning to Cairns in Australia's northern Queensland, we’ll hope to find a huge Southern Cassowary at the well-known Cassowary House near Kuranda, and we'll also visit the beautiful rainforest reserves of the Atherton Tableland, home to such birds as Wompoo and Superb Fruit-Dove, Chowchilla, Tooth-billed Catbird, Victoria’s Riflebird, Golden Bowerbird, and a variety of mammals including Duck-billed Platypus. Cairns is, of course, our gateway for a brief foray into the quintessential semi-arid Australian landscape, the Outback at Georgetown. To the south in Brisbane, we'll spend two days at O'Reilly's Guest House (Lamington National Park), perhaps Australia's single most famous birding spot. Here such fantastic species as Regent and Satin bowerbirds, Australian Brush-Turkey, and Crimson Rosellas are easily seen at close range, and we'll also have time to search for a few of the more challenging ones, including Noisy Pitta and Albert’s Lyrebird. Before returning home, we’ll fly to Sydney and Royal National Park—home to many birds typical of Australia’s eucalypt woodlands, as well as the magnificent Superb Lyrebird, the world’s largest passerine.
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