Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Birding Tour

The Australia and New Zealand Grand Tour

This is Part 2 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:  Below you will find the details of Part 2

Part 3:  This will be a 11-day tour of New Zealand.  The tour starts in Christchurch, New Zealand (south island) and ends in Auckland (north island).  Please see our New Zealand Tour page for more details.

• Travel Dates: September 20 - 29, 2026
• Group Size: 5 travelers, spots left = 0
• Trip Length: 10 days
• Rate per person:  $5,250 per person (based on double occupancy), an extra $1,300 for single occupancy.
• Rates include:  Lodging, breakfast, lunch on days 2 - 9, dinner on days 2 - 9, daily birding tours, airport transfer to/from Sydney, basic travel insurance.
• Not included: Airfare to the Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD), snacks, alcohol, lunch on days 1 and 10, dinner on days 1 and 10, 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.  

2026 Itinerary for Part 2

This tour will make a loop through eastern New South Wales.  Distance between lodging locations is never more than a 2 – 2.5 hour drive.  This way we can spend our time birding and not sitting in the car.  Most of our birding stops are also eBird hotspots, and you can view the bird lists on eBird.  The stops listed are an indication of what we will be doing.  Our local guide may make small changes to the stops based on bird activities and sightings.

Day 1:  Arrival in Sydney
If you were on the Part 1 tour, this day you will be on your own for this day because some guests might be leaving, and some guests might be arriving, and that will be the activity for the day while we get reorganized in between tours.  Your hotel will be included for the night and breakfast, but lunch and dinner are not included.  Shuttle transfer from the Sydney Airport (SYD) to the Pullman Hyde Park Hotel, where we will stay for 1-night. The Sydney Airport is a 20-minute drive from our lodging.  No activities for the day. Lunch and Dinner on your own.

Day 2:  Newcastle
A  2-hour drive north of Sydney is the city of Newcastle where we will stay for 2-nights. Stops along the way include:  Ourimbah RTA Reserve, Central Coast Wetlands - Pioneer Dairy, Tuggerah Bay Saltmarsh, Tuggerah Wastewater Treatment Plan, and Chittaway Point West.  Lodging at the Sir Francis Drake Inn

Day 3:  Newcastle
A full day of birding areas in and around Newcastle:  Birding the hotel property, Glenrock State Conservation Area, Awabakal Nature Reserve, Belmont Wetlands State Park, and Hunter Wetlands Centre.

Day 4: Sandy Hollow
From New Castle it is a 2-hour drive to the small village of Sandy Hollow, where we will spend 1-night. Stops along the way include:  Hunter Wetlands (various locations within the complex, Walka Water Works, Quarry Wetland, and Giant’s Leap Walking trail.  Lodging for 1-night:  Sandy Hollow Retreat

Day 5:  Mudgee
From Sandy Hollow, it is a 2-hour drive to the town of Mudgee where we will spend 2-nights.  Stops along the way include:  Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve, Castle Rocks trail, and Goulburn River National Park. Lodging for 2-nights at Soldiers Motel

Day 6:  Mudgee
A full day of birding the Mudgee area:  Putta Bucca Wetlands, Mellissa Harwood Memorial Park, Rare Dog Name National Park, and Lawson Park.

Day 7:  Mount Victoria
From Mudgee it is a 2-hour drive to Mount Victoria.  Stops along the way include:  Turtle Island Park, Lake Windamere, Lithgow Wastewater Treatment Plant, Marrangaroo National Park, Lake Wallace, and Lake Lyell.  We will stay for 2-nights at the Victoria and Albert Guesthouse. 

Day 8: Mount Victoria
Our lodging in Mount Victoria is a 15-minute drive from Blue Mountains National Park. We will spend the day birding area in and around the national park. 

Day 9:  Sydney
Mount Victoria, it is a 1.5 hour drive back to our hotel in Sydney.  Stops along the way include:  Blue Mountains National Park (westside stops), and numerous short stops along the route back to Sydney, where we will stay at the Amora Jamison Hotel for 2-nights.

Day 10:  Fly Home or stay for Part 3 
If you choose to stay for Part 3 of the tour, this day you will be on your own because some guests might be leaving, and that will be the activity for the day while we get reorganized in between tours.  Your hotel will be included for the night and breakfast too, but lunch and dinner are not included. 

Deborah Metters:  An environmental scientist who has worked in conservation for over 25 years and is passionate about landholder-led ecological restoration. She lives near Brisbane, coordinates a wildlife conservation program in south-east Queensland and manages a Nature Refuge near Toowoomba. She is also an avid birder. She was introduced to birding about 30 years ago when she was a camp cook for a tour company that took birders to remote locations across Australia. She learnt Australian birds with a field guide and binoculars; prior to the wonderful apps and online resources we have now.  Deborah is a proficient birder and field ecologist who does regular bird surveys for Birdlife Southern Queensland and the Queensland Wader Study Group. She delivers workshops to improve the bird identification skills of other ecologists and landholders.

Alex Rossi:  A red-headed woodpecker first seen when living in Chicagoland re-sparked Alex’s long dormant passion for nature, generally, and birds specifically. She has entered lists into eBird daily ever since that first encounter. She enjoys her role as a citizen scientist. Lucky encounters in the bird world means she is more involved than ever with eBird and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. She has attended workshops on sound recording and is set to become a sound annotator in 2026. A life-long educator, Alex has lived and worked on every continent bar Antarctica. She has called Australia home since 2006. Guiding marries Alex’s love of birds, science and education and she looks forward to helping visitors, whether they are scientists, researchers or tourists, discover the wonder and diversity of Australian birds.