New Zealand supports a host of unusual endemic land birds and a rich assemblage of marine birds and mammals. We start our tour in 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, before hiking through pristine Red Beech forest surrounded by breathtaking glacier-lined mountains, where the massive Kea (an Alpine parrot) can be found. In Fiordland National Park we will have a boat tour of the stunning Milford Sound while our targets will include 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!
Day 1: Queenstown to Omarama
Day 2: Mt Cook area
Day 3: Omarama to Te Anua
Day 4: Fiordland National Park
Day 5: Te Anua to Stewart Island
Day 6: Stewart Island Pelagic
Day 7: Stewart Island
Day 8: Stewart Island to Dunedin
Day 9: Dunedin area
Day 10: Final departure
This tour is designed to be a relaxed, slow paced tour that spends quality time observing and learning about a number of local birds and the conservation effort to save them.
We stay at four hotels and limit ourselves to short drives to nearby birding sites. These accommodations have 3* ratings. Days 1-2 Heritage Gateway Omarama, Days 3-4 Te Anua, Days 5-7 South Seas Hotel and Days 8-9 Kingsgate Hotel Dunedin.
Each day begins breakfast between 07:00 and 08:00am. All other days will be sit down lunches at cafeterias. We meet at 19:00 to discuss the following days activities and enjoy an aperitif before taking dinner.
Travel is on good tarmac roads throughout. Most outings are short drives from our hotels. There is one long drive: Omarama to Te Anua is 4.5 hrs with stops for coffee and lunch etc en route.
Extra activities that can be arranged whilst at the hotels include hiking trails, horseriding and Salmon fishing etc.
Southern Brown Kiwi, Black Stilt, South Island Saddleback, Yellowhead, Rifleman, Black-fronted Tern, Kea, Wrybill and Blue Duck
forest, beach, estuary and pelagic at sea
subtropical with chances for occasional rain
10 with 1 Rockjumper Leader and local leaders where necessary
easy pace with undemanding walks. Most walks are on trails in reserves. Trails tend to be flat with reasonable space, but can be a little slippery when wet.
good hotels, roads, facilities and wifi throughout etc
most species are easily seen in open habitat. Kiwi are found at night and are wary of sound and light, so a fair amount of luck is needed
+-100
Mt Cook scenery and glaciers, Southern Alpine Mountain Range, Mitre Peak Milford Sound, island life Stewart Island, picturesque city of Dunedin
good to excellent
Erik made long days on the road a entertaining with a very friendly a manner and frequent comfort stops! A wonderful sense of humor is always appreciated. His knowledge was excellent and he always worked very hard to get everyone on the birds. We really enjoyed traveling with him and hope to do so again!
ERIK IS A WONDERFUL GUIDE AND COMPANION WITH A GREAT SENSE OF HUMOR BUT ALSO WITH ATTENTION TO DETAIL. WE FOUND ALMOST ALL OF THE BIRDS ON OUR CHECKLIST AND ARE VERY HAPPY WITH THE RESULTS.
Erik is a fantastic leader and guide, with a great sense of humour and empathy. His knowledge and experience was first class, and he was entirely on top of the logistics throughout. All of which made this trip of a lifetime a total joy. Thank you!
Erik Forsyth's depth of knowledge of the birds of New Zealand was astounding. He delivered on all the species possible, and some even became good friends with multiple good sightings before the trip was through. He was good-natured and managed our group well throughout the long hours of driving on several days. The accommodations were good, as were the night walks for kiwis, the pelagic tours, and the visits to islands and refuges to see rare, endemic and endangered species. I loved the trip from the beginning to the end. We had good weather, too! Thanks, from the bottom of my heart, for the wonderful experience exploring New Zealand. I fell in love with the birds and the country. Thanks, Erik, for making it happen. Four stars, two thumbs up, all possible positive accolades.
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!
30 Nov 2024 - 09 Dec 2024 (10 days)
NZD6,695 - Spaces Available
Tour Leader: Erik Forsyth
Tour price (Per person): NZD6,695 * USD3,987 * GBP3,187 * EUR3,720 * AUD6,092
Single Supplement: NZD850 * USD506 * GBP405 * EUR472 * AUD773
24 Jan 2025 - 02 Feb 2025 (10 days)
NZD6,795 - Spaces Available
Tour Leader: Rockjumper Tour Leader TBC
Tour price (Per person): NZD6,795 * USD4,046 * GBP3,235 * EUR3,776 * AUD6,183
Single Supplement: NZD920 * USD548 * GBP438 * EUR511 * AUD837
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New Zealand - Chatham Islands Extension II 2023 - November 2023
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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
New Zealand - Comprehensive II 2017 - October 2017
New Zealand - Comprehensive I 2017 - February 2017
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