Our tour to the Adelbert Range and Huon Peninsula takes in some of the remotest birding available, in an already distant part of the world. First, we’ll head to the Adelbert Range to search out one of Papua New Guinea’s most exquisite species, the Fire-maned Bowerbird; hopefully followed shortly afterwards by one of its most obscure, the Obscure Berrypecker! We’ll then drive down the coast to Madang to find the range restricted Edward’s Fig Parrot before winging our way from Lae to the resplendent, cool montane forests of the Huon Peninsula.
Host to a number of rarely seen, endemic Bird-of-paradise species that include Huon Astrapia, Wahnes's Parotia and the regal Emperor Bird-of-paradise. Throw in the attractive and localised Spangled Honeyeater, Huon Bowerbird (formerly part of the Macgregors Bowerbird complex), Cinnamon-browed Melidectes, Mottled Berryhunter (now in its own monotypic family, endemic to New Guinea), Pesquet's (Vulturine) Parrot, Tit and Fan-tailed Berrypecker (two different families endemic to New Guinea!), gaudy Papuan Lorikeet, Papuan Sitella, Blue-capped Ifrit (endemic to New Guinea) and Superb Bird-of-paradise, and this tour is sure to satisfy listers of both rare and remote species and families alike.
Fire-manded & Huon Bowerbirds; Huon Astrapia; Wahne's Parotia; Emperor, Lesser & Magnificent Bird-of-paradise; Superb Lophorina; Crinkled Manucode; Growling Riflebird; Spangled & Rufous-backed Honeyeaters; Obscure, Tit, Streaked, Mid-mountain & Fan-tailed Berrypeckers; Pesquet's Parrot; Papuan & Orange-billed Lorikeets; Dusky & Black-capped Lorys; Red-breasted & Buff-faced Pygmy Parrots; Edward's & Double-eyed Fig Parrots; Banded Yellow Robin; Brown-headed & Spotted Jewel-babblers; Tan-capped Catbird; Sclater’s, Brown-backed & Regent Whistlers; Canary & Lemon-bellied Flyrobins; Mountain & Hook-billed Kingfishers; Blue-capped Ifrit; Great Cuckoo-Dove; Ornate, Superb & Beautiful Fruit Doves; Rufescent, Pinon's, Torresian, Zoe's & Purple-tailed Imperial Pigeons; Papuan Sitella; Red-collared & Mountain Red-headed Myzomelas; Red-capped Flowerpecker; Black Monarch; Black-breasted Boatbill; Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo; Buff-faced Scrubwren; Brown-breasted & Green-backed Gerygones; Mottled Berryhunter (Whistler) [now in its own monotypic family]; Great Woodswallow; Varied & Black-mantled Goshawks; Papuan Eagle; Blue-grey Robin; White-shouldered & Orange-crowned Fairywrens; Cinnamon-browed Melidectes;
Habitats Covered lowland rain forest for half the tour, and mid to high montane forest for the latter half
Expected Climate hot and humid in the lowlands, with expectant rain showers. Cool to cold in the mornings and evenings at higher altitude
Max Group Size 7 with 1 Rockjumper Leader & 1 local leader
Tour Pace & Walking Our Mega tours are very fast-paced birding adventures designed for the dedicated lister and serious birder. The focus of the tour is to see as many of the endemics and area specials as possible in our given time. In order to cover the necessary route to maximise the species list we tend to spend a single night at most sites and travel large distances. There is very little down time aside from that spent driving from one site to the next. These tours are not suitable for dedicated or avid photographers; inexperienced or new birders; as well as anyone with serious mobility or health challenges.
Accommodation variable from tents and basic lodge to good in Madang and Lae
Ease of Birding moderate, can be challenging at times
Photographic Opportunities average to good
Birding in PNG was a little more challenging that expected, ..... the birds are as shy as anything I've experienced and the bird densities were extremely low. Of course that is not the fault of Rockjumper or the guides. The tour was excellent overall. The main guide, Stephan Lorentz, was really top class. His knowledge of the birds and calls and the fine id details was exceptional and his field skills were awesome, outdoing the local guides at times. And he is extremely personable and friendly. The local guides were also excellent and provided an exceptionally high level of field skill and support, and great enthusiasm in getting pax onto the more challenging birds. And physical support also, including even helping some of the pax on slippery slopes and cutting stairs on river landings at times!! The landed arrangements were generally slick and the accommodation of good quality. Some delays in getting collected at Kiunga airport were I think down to some communication issues with the local agent (Samuel) regarding the rerouting of our flights from Mt Hagen. And the offloading of three of our bags from the plane at Kiunga and delay in getting them back to us in Port Moresby was an Air Niugini issue. Overall it was an exceptional and really memorable tour with superb birds and birding, much or most of which would not have been possible without the Rockjumper team, slick tour planning and arrangements, Stephan and the local guides.
This has been an incredible tour with Stephan Lorenz and Dušan Brinkhuizen as amazing guides. Experts in their knowledge of the New Guinea birds and wonderful companions who looked after the needs of all the participants. We all worked as a team under their guidance and saw many challenging as well as beautiful birds.
David Erterius was very kind and considerate, often accompanying me at the back of the group and helping me see some birds that I otherwise might have missed.
Stephan is a top notch guide. Great eyes, ears & local knowledge found us all the specials. A healthy dose of patience also ensured we all got onto the birds (those that hung around!)
We thought the birding went very well. Both Dusan and Stephan were great guides - very knowledgeable, very dedicated, quite determined to get everyone onto pretty much everything, and they combined very well. And, they both tried very hard to help all the participants who needed it, whether it was locating a bird, getting up a steep section or getting in or out of the boats. They did an admirable job.