New Zealand Highlights

New Zealand—known to the Māori as Aotearoa, the Land of the Long White Cloud—is a country of extraordinary beauty and equally extraordinary birds. Separated from the rest of the world for millions of years, these islands followed an independent evolutionary path, producing flightless kiwis, inquisitive parrots, and ancient lineages of wrens and wattlebirds found nowhere else on Earth.

Our journey explores both the North and South Islands, traversing landscapes from temperate rainforest to high alpine tundra and the rugged coasts of Fiordland. On offshore sanctuaries such as Kapiti and Tiritiri Matangi, we’ll experience thriving populations of reintroduced endemics—Saddleback, Stitchbird, Kokako, and the charming North Island Robin. Evenings may bring encounters with the nocturnal Little Spotted Kiwi, a memory few travelers ever forget.

New Zealand’s seas are equally rich, and our pelagic excursions promise close views of albatrosses, petrels, and shearwaters in staggering abundance. On Stewart Island, we’ll explore predator-free Ulva Island, where rare Yellowhead, South Island Saddleback, and parakeets flit through pristine forest. Scenic highlights include the mirror-calm waters of Milford Sound, the volcanic slopes of Tongariro National Park, and the glacier-carved valleys surrounding Mount Cook.

Throughout, we’ll enjoy warm hospitality, excellent cuisine, and outstanding accommodations—from elegant lodges and modern hotels to a rustic island retreat. With exceptional guides and intimate group size, this journey offers a perfect balance of birding, natural history, and the sheer joy of travel through a land shaped by wind, water, and wonder.

Subtropical and temperate rainforest, alpine scrub, glacial river valleys, coastal wetlands, and nutrient-rich seas supporting one of the world’s greatest concentrations of seabirds.