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New Zealand - South Island Endemics

© Black Stilts by Erik Forsyth
New Zealand - South Island Endemics 2025

24 Jan 2025 - 02 Feb 2025 (10 days)

NZD6,795 - No Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: Erik Forsyth

Tour price (Per person): NZD6,795 * USD3,830 * GBP3,054 * EUR3,685 * AUD6,149

Single Supplement: NZD920 * USD519 * GBP413 * EUR499 * AUD833

Can be linked with: New Zealand - North Island Endemics 2025

New Zealand supports a host of unusual endemic land birds and a rich assemblage of marine birds and mammals. We start our tour in the beautiful grasslands of the Mackenzie region of the South Island where we will take in the beauty of the Southern Alpine range,  while looking for the critically endangered Black Stilt, before hiking through pristine Red Beech forest surrounded by breathtaking glacier-lined mountains, where the massive Kea (an Alpine parrot) can be found. In Fiordland National Park, our targets will include Blue Duck, the cute New Zealand Rockwren and New Zealand Falcon, before catching our ferry to the rugged Stewart Island in search of Southern Brown Kiwi, Yellow-eyed and Fiordland Crested Penguins and a pelagic outing visiting several nearby islands in search of a variety of seabirds including 8 species of albatross! Our final destination will be Dunedin, where a visit to a Northern Royal Albatross colony will certainly be amongst the many highlights of this rewarding tour. With excellent lodging and meals, awe-inspiring scenery and fantastically friendly “Kiwis”, this is sure to be a tour of a lifetime!

Top Birds

Southern Brown Kiwi, Black Stilt, South Island Saddleback, Yellowhead, Rifleman, Black-fronted Tern, Kea, Wrybill and Blue Duck

Habitats Covered

forest, beach, estuary and pelagic at sea

Expected Climate

subtropical with chances for occasional rain

Max Group Size

8 with 1 Rockjumper Leader and local leaders where necessary

Tour Pace & Walking

easy pace with undemanding walks. Most walks are on trails in reserves. Trails tend to be flat with reasonable space, but can be a little slippery when wet.

Accommodation

good hotels, roads, facilities and wifi throughout etc

Ease of Birding

most species are easily seen in open habitat. Kiwi are found at night and are wary of sound and light, so a fair amount of luck is needed

Number of Species Expected

+-100

Other Attractions

Mt Cook scenery and glaciers, Southern Alpine Mountain Range, Mitre Peak Milford Sound, island life Stewart Island, picturesque city of Dunedin

Photographic Opportunities

good to excellent

What our clients say about us

Erik Forsyth
RN, New Zealand 2017

The tour was well-planned and Erik Forsyth was an excellent leader. The accommodation, food and transportation were also excellent.

Erik Forsyth
LP, New Zealand 2017

Erik Forsyth's depth of knowledge of the birds of New Zealand was astounding. He delivered on all the species possible, and some even became good friends with multiple good sightings before the trip was through. He was good-natured and managed our group well throughout the long hours of driving on several days. The accommodations were good, as were the night walks for kiwis, the pelagic tours, and the visits to islands and refuges to see rare, endemic and endangered species. I loved the trip from the beginning to the end. We had good weather, too! Thanks, from the bottom of my heart, for the wonderful experience exploring New Zealand. I fell in love with the birds and the country. Thanks, Erik, for making it happen. Four stars, two thumbs up, all possible positive accolades.

Erik Forsyth
JM, New Zealand 2018

Overall, a very good tour. Erik Forsyth got us onto all the most wanted birds and was attentive to everyone's needs. He was professional and kept the atmosphere fun and light.

Erik Forsyth
SC, New Zealand 2018

Erik Forsyth was excellent, a great guide; professional, knowledgeable, friendly and pleasant to be around. He was also a careful driver who spent many hours driving us around New Zealand. All in all, I was left very satisfied and happy with the tour; and this being my first Rockjumper tour, I was left with a very positive impression of the company and its staff. I would certainly like to use Rockjumper and Erik again!

Erik Forsyth
PJ, New Zealand 2022

Even though the weather did not always cooperate Erik was able to get us to sites to see the endemic birds of NZ. The pelagic trips were excellent as was Erik's quick response to having to use an alternate boat for our last trip. He was very helpful in allowing me to spend time with a relative I had not seen in a long time and she and I were able to visit while waiting for the Interisland ferry.

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