Of all the world’s birding tours destinations, Papua New Guinea would have to rank as the most fascinating and exotic. New Guinea, the planet’s second largest island, was the last inhabited landmass to be explored by Europeans. These virtually untouched forests come alive with the sights and sounds of fruit doves, fig parrots, fairywrens, whistlers, paradise kingfishers, jewel-babblers, honeyeaters, berrypeckers and bowerbirds, whilst more than twenty species of dazzling birds-of-paradise display their iridescent colours and elaborate plumes in one of the most astonishing exhibits of the natural world.
Travelling by air, road and boat, our tour is a birdwatching safari par excellence that explores the region’s diverse habitats, from winding lowland rivers and sprawling grasslands to rich highland ecosystems and forested valleys. Here tribes dance to mimic the fabulous birds-of-paradise, adorned with elaborate head plumes of the exotic birds that grace this mystical island. Over the years Rockjumper has established an unbeatable reputation for leading highly successful birding tours to Papua New Guinea, and our tour totals of around 400 species include up to 24 different birds-of-paradise! We also enjoy almost 20 kingfisher species, a feat impossible to match anywhere else. Furthermore, most of our tours boast sightings of the rarely seen Shovel-billed Kookaburra, remarkable Southern Crowned Pigeon and Papuan Eagle. You can therefore expect a phenomenal array of remarkable birds amidst vast and pristine forests.
Our new Papua New Guinea Highlights tour has been specifically crafted to take in the region’s very best sites, from Mount Hagen and the Tari Valley to the lowlands of Varirata, and is specifically designed for those with less time to spare in the field, yet still wishing for a comprehensive overview of this exceptional land. Time is spent in areas rich with avian diversity giving ample opportunity for finding many of the area’s most sought-after species. Fabulous birds-of-paradise will feature highly, while we will also enjoy some incredible fruit doves, kingfishers, parrots, honeyeaters, bowerbirds and a couple of endemic families such as berrypeckers and longbills.
New Britain Endemics Extension takes us to another beautiful and little-explored region of the world, the Bismarck Archipelago just to the north of mainland New Guinea. Famous amongst birders for its amazing forests and wealth of very special and localised endemics, our New Britain extension affords us a fantastic opportunity for some great birding, fabulous scenery, brilliant snorkelling and excellent accommodation and food.
Our new extension to the Huon Peninsula takes in some of the remotest birding available, in an already distant part of the world. Due to it's geographical location, there is little in the way of ammenities or comfort on this tour. However, this is more than made up for by resplendant, cool montane forests that host some rarely seen, endemic Bird-of-paradise that include Huon Astrapia, Wahne's Parotia and the regal Emperor Bird-of-paradise. Throw in the attractive and localised Spangled Honeyeater, Huon Catbird, Macgregors Bowerbird (soon to be split as Huon Bowerbird), Mottled Whistler (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), Superb Bird-of-paradise and Papuan Eagle, and this short extension is sure to satisfy listers of both rare and remote species and families alike.
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