New Zealand Birding Tour

The Australia and New Zealand Grand Tour

This is Part 3 of the Grand Tour

Part 1, September 14 - 20, 2026, 7-day tour in the Sydney, Australia area

Part 2, September 20 – 29, 2026, 10-day tour of New South Wales

Part 3, September 30 – October 10, 2026, 11-day tour to New Zealand

Part 1, The Sydney Opera and Birding Festival:  We will go birding in and around the Sydney area, and travel to birding areas that are within a 1-hour drive from Sydney. Please the Sydney Opera and Birding page for more details.

Part 2:  We will travel through New South Whales, starting and ending in Sydney, making a loop through the countryside for a 10-day tour of birding.  Please see our New South Wales Tour page for more details.

Below you will find the details of Part 3

• Travel Dates: September 30 – October 10, 2026
• Group Size: 7 travelers, spots left = 2
• Trip Length: 11 days
• Rate per person:  $6,420 per person (based on double occupancy), an extra $1,750 for single occupancy.
• Rates include:  Lodging, meals, daily tours, airport transfer, Picton to Wellington ferry ride, and basic travel insurance.
• Not included: International flights, Airfare* to the Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) and/or Christchurch (CHC) and/or Auckland (AKL), snacks, alcohol, and trip cancelation insurance.
• Adventure level:  Easy, please check the "Welcome" page for definition
• Reservations: To reserve a spot on the trip, a non-refundable 30% deposit is required, and the non-refundable balance is due six months prior to the trip.  

*Special note about airfare:  If you are signing up for Parts 1 and/or 2 and 3, we recommend buying a one-way ticket to Sydney and then a one-way ticket home from Auckland (AKL). You will also need to purchase a one-way ticket from Sydney (SYD) to Churchchrist (CHC) for about $350. Please contact us for details. 

2026 Itinerary for Part 3

This tour will start in Christchurch, New Zealand, on the south island, where we will spend 4-days traveling and birding the coast, heading north to Picton.  From there we will take the ferry across the Cook Strait to city of Wellington, on the north island.  From Wellington we will travel and bird the central part of the island and end the tour in Auckland.

Day 1, September 30th: Fly to Christchurch, New Zealand, South Island
If you are only signing up for the New Zealand tour, you need a book a flight that arrives in Christchurch (CHC) on this day, September 30th.  If you were on Part 2, we will be taking a morning flight from the Sydney Airport (SYD) to the Christchurch (CHC) airport.  This international flight is not included in the price.  From Sydney, is a non-stop 3-hour flight.  With the time change, the flight usually arrives in the afternoon.  If you are only signing up for the New Zealand trip, we will meet you at our hotel, which is the Sudima Airport Hotel.  We are staying for 1-night. 

Day 2: Kaikoura 
From Christchurch, it is a beautiful coastal drive the town of Kaikoura, about 2.5 hours. Stops along the way for opportunities to view: Black-fronted Tern, Double-banded Plover, Black-billed Gull, South Island Pied Oystercatcher, Variable Oystercatcher, Paradise Shelduck, and New Zealand Scaup. Lodging at the Panorama Hotel

Day 3: Kaikoura
A full day birding the Kaikoura area, with the option for a 3-hour Pelagic Trip, which guarantees arm's length views of several albatross species. There is a very good chance of both Hector's and Dusky Dolphin, as well.  Birds:  Antipodean Albatross, Northern Giant Petrel, Westland Petrel, Hutton's Shearwater, several other seabirds. Other birds for the day include the Wrybill, Banded Dotterel, Black-fronted Tern, Brown Creeper, Australasian grebe, and King (Rough-faced) Shag.  If a pelagic trip is not for you, there will be birding options along the peninsula. 

Day 4:  Picton
From Kaikoura, it is a 2-hour drive to town of Picton where we will spend 2-nights at the Gateway Motel. Stops for the day included:  Ohau Point fur Seal colony, Lake Elterwater, Wairau water treatment plant, Grovetown Lagoon. Birds of note: Great Crested Grebe, Hoary-headed Grebe, New Zealand Grebe, Australasian Shoveler, Royal Spoonbill, and Cirl Bunting. 

Day 5:  Picton
Full day birding the Picton area, including a boat trip within protected waters to Blumine Island. Birds and wildlife:  King and Spotted Shag, Fluttering Shearwater, Little Blue Penguin, Australasian Gannet, White-fronted Tern, South Is Saddleback, Orange-fronted Parakeet, Weka, and Hector's Dolphin.

Day 6:  Wellington
Today we will take the ferry across the Cook Strait to the city of Wellington.  We hope to see pelagic birds, such as the Fairy Prion and Flesh-footed Shearwaters. It is a 3.5 hour ferry ride, and we will arrive in Wellington at about 1:00pm  This ferry is a large passenger ferry that also carries vehicles. Our hotel in the town of Foxton for one night is about a 1-hour drive north of Wellington.  We will arrive at high tide and birds to view include: Wrybill, both Variable and Pied Oystercatchers, and Bar-tailed Godwit. Hotel for 1-night:  Celtic Motel

Day 7:  Turangi
From our lodging in Foxton, it is a 2.5 hour drive to the village of Turangi.  We will travel through the central mountains, passing by Mount Ruapehu, which is the largest active stratovolcano in New Zealand with an elevation of 9,176 feet (2,797m), and the highest point on the North Island.  Our lodging is located next to Tongariro National Park and in between Lake Taupo and Lake Rotaira, which is an excellent location to view birds such as the Blue Duck.  Lodging for 2-nights: Turangi Bridge Motel

Day 8:  Turangi
A full day birding the Turangi area and Tongariro National Park.

Day 9:  Thames
Early morning departure for The Shire's Rest at the Hobbiton movie set for a tour and lunch.  Afterwards, we will head to the Miranda and Thames area via the Pureora Forest, not just to view birds, but to see the fantastic trees as well.  Once we get to the coast, we will arrive just in time for high tide and great  birding.  Birds: North Island Robin, New Zealand Falcon, Yellow-crowned Parakeet, Kaka, New Zealand Pipit, Wrybill, Red-breasted Dotterel, and Arctic shorebirds.  We will be staying 1-night at the Comfort Inn

Day 10:  Auckland
From Thames, it is a 1.5 hour drive to our lodging that is located close to the Auckland Airport, which will give us another full day of birding including the Robert Findlay Wildlife Reserve, the Miranda Pukorokoro Shorebird Center, Widgery Pond, and the Puhinui Reserve.  Lodging for our last night will be close to the airport at the Holiday Inn 

Day 11:  Fly Home
There will be a shuttle to the airport for your flight home.

Sav "Sav" Saville:  Sav was born and brought up in London. He started birding in the early 70s and was fairly active in the British twitching/birding scene from then through to the late 80s – building a British list of just on 400 (which was quite a lot in those days!).

Sav moved to New Zealand in 1989 and stayed for nearly 3 years, before having to return to UK in 1991. In late 1993 he went to Saudi Arabia for 2 ½ years (during which time he was a regular contributor to “Birding World”) and then arrived back in New Zealand in 1996.

Sav has been the Ornithological Society of New Zealand (OSNZ) Regional Recorder (c.f. County Recorder in UK) since 1996 and was the OSNZ Regional Representative for the Manawatu Region from 2000-2011. He was then appointed to the OSNZ Rarities Committee. Sav moved to Hawkes Bay in early 2014, with the Ahuriri Estuary and surrounds now being his ‘local patch’.

Sav was also a key player in the rediscovery of the supposedly-extinct New Zealand Storm-petrel, being on the trip in January 2003 when the species was initially resighted and being the first person onboard to see the bird.