NEW ZEALAND IN SPRING

Beautiful landscapes as a backdrop for nearly 50 endemic birds plus a great selection of seabirds.

2008
November 23-December 11
with Phil Gregory

2009
November 19-December 7
with Chris Benesh

$6475 (2008 fee). 19 days
From Auckland. Limit: 12
Good to fine accommodations, mostly easy terrain, cool climate. Our staff travel agents can book your air travel for this tour. Contact us at (800) 728-4953 for more information. 2009 tour may be combined with PENGUINS, PETRELS & ALBATROSSES: CRUISING NEW ZEALAND'S SUBANTARCTIC.

See our triplist for 2007 or 2006 or 2005.

Nugget Point, South Island
by guide John Coons

With its picturesque mountains, meadows, and fjords, New Zealand is an enchanting land. Like its nearest neighbor, Australia, “the land of the long white cloud” (“Aotearoa” in Maori) has remained isolated for millions of years since the split of the continental plates, a fact reflected in the near absence of native land mammals and in the ancient derivation of its avifauna. This is the home of such primitive and endemic families of birds as the amazing kiwis, New Zealand wattlebirds, and the New Zealand wrens.

Our tour visits some of the wildest and loveliest parts of New Zealand, with an emphasis on the endemic landbirds, seabirds, and shorebirds. Although New Zealand supports relatively few species of landbirds, it boasts some forty-five endemics on the main islands. Some of these, such as Saddleback, Kokako, and Stitchbird (now in a new bird family of its own; see more here), are among the most endangered birds on Earth. There have been major habitat changes since Maori settlement began a thousand years ago, and in particular since European settlement in the nineteenth century. The menace of introduced mammals means that many native bird species are now found only in island sanctuaries or in remnant native forests. New Zealand has done an outstanding job of conserving these precious fragments, with very successful reintroduction programs for some of the rarest species, and we’ll visit many of these prime sites.

Situated in a subtropical ocean convergence zone, New Zealand is richly endowed with seabirds and one of the cradles of seabird evolution. Boat trips off North and Stewart islands and visits to several coastal sites will allow us to experience close at hand the tremendous variety of marine birds and mammals of this region. The short sea-trip off Kaikoura is one of the best pelagics in the world, just minutes from shore.

Our travels will take us to many places of great scenic beauty on both North and South islands, from incredible glacier-ringed Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park to the deep-water upwellings off the seaward Kaikouras, the wild and remote Stewart Island, and the Northern Royal Albatross nesting colony at Taiaroa Head on the Otago Peninsula. Our 2005 tour enjoyed marvelous views of such rare birds as Westland and Cook’s petrels, New Zealand Falcon, the extraordinary Wrybill, New Zealand Rock Wren, the critically endangered Yellowhead and Kokako, and the world’s rarest shorebird, the Black Stilt, among a whole host of endemics, including amazing views of Okarito Brown Kiwi.

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