Our tours: the itineraries

We look forward to taking you birding here in New Zealand.

Just click on the map here to see the details of each of our tours.

Our tours give you an opportunity to see the wonders of New Zealand’s unique birds the way they should be seen: from a quiet, small, exclusive group.

Don't see the tour you want to do? We can take you on a personalized, tailor-made tour that will get you close to the birds. Just ask.

Birding Tours New Zealand can take you to some of the less-frequented spots, where you can watch at your own pace and leisure. Yet you travel and stay in comfortable and relaxed convenience.

1. Farewell Spit

An established sandy spit reaching 30kms into the turbulent, vital Tasman Sean, Farewell Spit hosts shore and beach birds, and is home to colonies of Australasian gannet, Caspian tern, southern black-backed gull, red-billed gull and variable oystercatcher.

It is a staging area for shorebirds which travel up to East Asia, and 83 species have been recorded. Summers find the bar-tailed godwit living on the spit, and in winter the South Island pied oystercatcher shelters here.

Rare and endangered plant species grow on this unusual site.

2. Nelson Lakes, Buller River Gorge and Lewis Pass

A set of diverse birding sites stretched across the mountain range dividing the South Island of New Zealand.

Of special interest is a large tract of native forest that has been systematically cleared of predators, like stoats, and is now magnificently restored to its earlier, pristine state. The abundant birdlife in this benchmark conservation area is truly astounding.

The fast-flowing small rivers, and large lakes, in this tour stretch across the forest-clad mountains dividing the South Island of New Zealand in a sprawling, virtually uninhabited wilderness.

3. The West Coast

This trip can be added on to either of the above trips to further your exploration of New Zealand's diverse habitats.

The West Coast is a special area in its own right — rich in history and spectacular beauty. There are few temperate rain forest habitats in the world’s inventory.

The associated birdlife is a mere shadow of its former glory but is till very interesting. Species include Tui, NZ pigeon, Weka in the forests and the elusive Fernbird in the marshy grasslands. The White Heron (kotuku) has special significance to the Tangata Whenua (people of the land) and the sight of this bird's striking white plumage set against the misty green of the Okarito Lagoon will be linger long among your memories of this amazing land.

The high rain fall is a feature of the Coast, so adequate preparations are needed. While bears and poisonous snakes are not present, the pesky sandflies can be an annoying replacement. But they are more that compensated for by the scenery and beauty of the land.

4. Fiordland

Add this trip module to the Stewart Island trip or the West Coast module and see the astounding splendour of Fiordland National Park.

Kaka, Yellowhead, and (in the evenings) short-eared bats, are features of the Eglington Valley. Rock wrens and Keas are present around Homer Tunnel.

There are opportunities to take scheduled boat excursions into the fiords to experience the awesome magnitude of the effects of ice and time because fiords are glacial valleys flooded by the risen sea level. The area, which is, isolated with few roads has a wild remoteness that is captivating. Southern Fur Seals and Crested Penguins are seen from the boats along the trip out to the Tasman Sea.

At Te Anau the Department of Conservation's Takahe Breeding unit nurtures a species thought to have been extinct until 1948, when it was rediscovered by Professor Orbell. The Kakapo, rare night parrot, once inhabited the mountains of fiord land and now is isolated on offshore island sanctuaries as part of the effort to save this unusual species. This facility provides information on NZ’s efforts to preserve its avian heritage.

5. Stewart Island

Again this tour can be added to the above trips or set as a distinctive trip on its own.

To ease the travel to Invercargill there is an option to fly from Christchurch, then either use the fast ferry (55 minutes of potential excitement) or fly (20 minutes) to the third major Island of New Zealand. The trip plans for two nights on the island to take in the wonders of NZ’s newest national park.

The jewel in the crown is the night kiwi tour featuring the Stewart Island Brown Kiwi. This a very special treat for the serious birder; even most new Zealanders can't say they have seen Kiwi in the wild.

The kiwi — New Zealand's national symbol — is under serious threat in other parts of the country. Stewart Island is largely unspoiled due to the relative isolation from many of the predators that have devastated the birdlife of the mainland.

Ulva Island provides a predator-free environment in which Saddle backs (wattle crows) have been reintroduced. It’s many walks allow the visitor to enjoy the sights and sounds of the New Zealand bush as it once was. Kaka, forest cousins of the mountain Kea are common. A wide variety of seabirds such as the Yellow-eyed Penguin (whio) and Stewart Island Shag can be seen.

6. Estuary and Lake

The diverse aquatic habitats in and around Christchurch are the feature of this tour.

The Heathcote/Avon estuary and the environs around Lake Ellesmere (Te Waihora) have a variety of shorebirds, waders, and waterfowl at any time of the season. These areas are especially interesting as the rare and unusual sightings often are made during Spring and Summer.

Godwits, various Chalidris species of waders as well as the indigenous Wrybill, Dotterels Stilts and Plovers. Some of the freshwater marsh species are also present such as Royal Spoonbills, Herons and the hard to find Bittern and Marsh Crake. The coastal areas are always exciting with the opportunities for various species of Penguins, Gulls, Terns and other pelagic species.

This is a vast area and the local knowledge of sites from which birds are more easily seen reaps interesting rewards.

7. Forest and Mountain

This trip focuses on Arthur’s Pass National Park (West of Christchurch).

Providing an opportunity to view the forest species such as: Robin, Fantail, Tomtit, Bellbird, Rock Wren, Yellowhead, Brown creeper. In the alpine area the Kea, the world’s only alpine parrot and a real character, will display both a colourful plumage and a personality not soon forgotten. The mountain rivers and lakes provide Wrybill plover (in season) Dotterels, Terns and the Great Southern Crested Grebes as well as a wide range of native and introduced waterfowl. New Zealand Falcon are often seen as is the more common Harrier. There are opportunities for short walks to take in the scenery, flora and fauna from well-established trails (tracks).

8. Kaikoura

This graceful curving coastline is the leading South Island pelagic birding opportunity. You will see Westland black petrel, Hutton's shearwaters, Mollymawks, and both Royal Albatross and Wandering Albatross.

Inland, along little-known tracks, we can take you hiking through forest and mountains to a remarkable water-worn creek bed where soft sandstone has been shaped into formations that almost defies imagination. Not many people know of this striking natural feature, let alone visit. We can, and show you a range of bush birds along the way.

9. Chatham Islands

The Chatham Islands are a set of tiny, low-lying, exposed islands over 500 miles to the East of Christchurch, on the end of the Chatham Rise, at the very edge of the Pacific Plate. They are awesomely isolated.

Several very interesting bird species live only on the Chathams. In particular, the Black Petrel (or Taiko) and the Black Robin. The Black Robin was saved from the very brink of extinction. (The population had been reduced to one productive female "Old Blue"! Since then a cross-fostering program has brought the numbers back up to around 200 birds!)

Other species you will look for include the Chatham Petrel and the Chatham Warbler.

We look forward to taking you birding here in New Zealand.

Click below for more information.

The tour itineraries
Where we take you and birds you will see.

Prices
Costs and prices.

How we conduct our tours
Notes on our style, philosophy, and what we do for all our clients.

Terms and Conditions
The legal stuff.

Our Safety Plan and Record
How we manage your safety and that of the birds we watch.