22 Jan 2026 - 04 Feb 2026 (14 days)
NZD9,500 - 4 Spaces Available
Tour Leader: Erik Forsyth
Pricing notes : *Prices are estimated and dates may change*
Tour price (Per person): NZD9,500 * USD5,648 * GBP4,394 * EUR5,284 * AUD8,600
New Zealand supports a host of unusual endemic land birds and a rich assemblage of marine birds and mammals. We begin our relaxed tour of the country on the North Island. Around Snells Beach we’ll find a multitude of new endemics and head out at night looking for North Island Brown Kiwi. Our pelagic into the Hauraki Gulf searches for the recently rediscovered New Zealand Storm Petrel amongst a myriad of albatrosses, shearwaters and other seabirds. Our time on the north island draws to a close with a visit to the fabled Tiritiri Matangi Island, where we’ll bird this predator-free reserve for the prehistoric South Island Takahe, strange North Island Kokako and Stitchbird amongst others.
We make our way south to the beautiful grasslands of the Mackenzie region of the South Island where we will take in the beauty of the Southern Alpine range, while looking for the critically endangered Black Stilt and unusual Wrybill, before hiking through pristine Red Beech forest surrounded by breath-taking glacier-lined mountains, where the massive Kea (an Alpine parrot) can be found. In Fiordland National Park we will search for Blue Duck, the cute New Zealand Rockwren and New Zealand Falcon, before catching our ferry to the rugged Stewart Island in search of Southern Brown Kiwi, Yellow-eyed and Fiordland Crested Penguins and a pelagic outing visiting several nearby islands in search of a variety of seabirds including 8 species of albatross! Our final destination will be Dunedin, where a visit to a Northern Royal Albatross colony will certainly be amongst the many highlights of this rewarding tour. With excellent lodging and meals, awe-inspiring scenery, and fantastically friendly “Kiwis”, this is sure to be a tour of a lifetime!
North Island & South Island Brown Kiwis; North Island Kokako; North Island & South Island Saddlebacks; Whitehead; Rifleman; Stitchbird; South Island Takahe; Wrybill; Blue Duck; Black Stilt; Yellowhead; Kea & Kaka; New Zealand Pigeon; Red-crowned Parakeet; Tui; Yellow-eyed, Little Blue & Fiordland Crested Penguins; New Zealand Storm Petrel; Northern Royal Albatross; Buller’s, Fluttering & Flesh-footed Shearwaters; Cook’s & Black Petrels;
Forest, beach, estuary and pelagic at sea
Subtropical with chances for occasional rain
8 with 1 Rockjumper Leader
Comfortable. Suitable for all birding / wildlife interest levels & most mobility capabilities.
Comfortable.
Undemanding, most species provide good visuals. Night birding for kiwis can be tricky. A small number of scarce/rare target species.
Tiritiri Matangi Island, Mt Cook scenery and glaciers, Southern Alpine Mountain Range, island life of Stewart Island, picturesque city of Dunedin
Good to very good. Pelagic opportunities can be outstanding in good weather conditions.
Erik Forsyth was excellent, a great guide; professional, knowledgeable, friendly and pleasant to be around. He was also a careful driver who spent many hours driving us around New Zealand. All in all, I was left very satisfied and happy with the tour; and this being my first Rockjumper tour, I was left with a very positive impression of the company and its staff. I would certainly like to use Rockjumper and Erik again!
Beautiful country, good birding sites, good group of travelers. Eric Forsyth was an excellent guide, handling all situations very well, including weather-related activity cancellations that were beyond his control.
Overall, a very good tour. Erik Forsyth got us onto all the most wanted birds and was attentive to everyone's needs. He was professional and kept the atmosphere fun and light.
Even though the weather did not always cooperate Erik was able to get us to sites to see the endemic birds of NZ. The pelagic trips were excellent as was Erik's quick response to having to use an alternate boat for our last trip. He was very helpful in allowing me to spend time with a relative I had not seen in a long time and she and I were able to visit while waiting for the Interisland ferry.
Erik was a delight to be with, as his sense of humour was a constant. Having him at the helm added an unexpected and pleasurable dimension to the whole trip. The entire trip was terrific: beautiful scenery, nice people, good beer and food, and comfy accommodations.
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New Zealand - Comprehensive I 2024 - January 2024
New Zealand - South Island Endemics 2023 - December 2023
New Zealand - Comprehensive III 2023 - November 2023
New Zealand - Chatham Islands Extension II 2023 - November 2023
New Zealand - Comprehensive II 2023 - October 2023
Australia & New Zealand - Zhong 2023 - October 2023
Grand Pacific Odyssey - New Zealand to Japan 2023 - March 2023
New Zealand - Chatham Islands Extension I 2023 - January 2023
New Zealand - Comprehensive I 2023 - January 2023
New Zealand - Comprehensive III 2022 - November 2022
New Zealand - Comprehensive II 2022 - October 2022
New Zealand - Comprehensive I 2020 - January 2020
New Zealand - Comprehensive II 2019 - October 2019
New Zealand - Comprehensive III 2018 - November 2018
New Zealand - Comprehensive II 2018 - October 2018
New Zealand - Comprehensive I 2018 - January 2018
New Zealand - Comprehensive III 2017 - November 2017