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Papua New Guinea - Bird Families

© Blue Bird-of-paradise by Dusan Brinkhuizen
Papua New Guinea - Bird Families I 2026

11 Aug 2026 - 20 Aug 2026 (10 days)

PGK21,250 NO SPACES AVAILABLE

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Tour Leader: Paul Varney

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Tour Price (Per person): PGK21,250 (USD4,932 * GBP3,787 * EUR4,422 * AUD7,277)

Single Supplement: PGK2,850 (USD661 * GBP508 * EUR593 * AUD976)

Flight costs: PGK1,122 (USD260 * GBP200 * EUR233 * AUD384)

Pricing notes : Please note that, to minimize costs for this small group tour, the international flights for the Rockjumper Tour Leader have not been included in the pricing. This tour is planned to run in conjunction with another scheduled tour. However, if this arrangement is not feasible, a small additional fee will be required to cover the guide’s international airfare.

Papua New Guinea - Bird Families I 2027

05 Aug 2027 - 14 Aug 2027 (10 days)

PGK23,950 1 SPACE AVAILABLE on this guaranteed departure

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Tour Leader: Daniel Danckwerts

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Tour Price (Per person): PGK23,950 (USD5,559 * GBP4,268 * EUR4,984 * AUD8,202)

Single Supplement: PGK2,950 (USD685 * GBP526 * EUR614 * AUD1,010)

Flight costs: PGK1,235 (USD287 * GBP220 * EUR257 * AUD423)

Papua New Guinea - Bird Families I 2028

05 Aug 2028 - 14 Aug 2028 (10 days)

PGK24,450 SPACES AVAILABLE

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Tour Leader: Gregory de Klerk

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Tour Price (Per person): PGK24,450 (USD5,675 * GBP4,357 * EUR5,088 * AUD8,373)

Single Supplement: PGK2,950 (USD685 * GBP526 * EUR614 * AUD1,010)

Flight costs: PGK1,235 (USD287 * GBP220 * EUR257 * AUD423)

Of all the world’s birding destinations, Papua New Guinea must certainly rank amongst the most fascinating and exotic. The second largest island on Earth, New Guinea was the last inhabited island to be explored by Europeans, and even today many areas have little or no exposure to Western influence. Second only to Madagascar, New Guinea supports the highest number of endemics of any island and these riches are perhaps no better reflected by any other group than its birds. The most sought-after among these are the members of the seven endemic bird families including the monotypic Blue-capped Ifrit, Ploughbill, and Mottled Berryhunter along with the Satinbirds (3 species), Berrypeckers and Longbills (12 species), Painted Berrypeckers (3 species) and Melampittas (2 species). Coupled with a supporting cast of more nine other widespread Australasian bird families, including the unbelievable Birds-of-Paradise, Papua New Guinea is a destination like no other. Over the course of 10 days, we will target representatives of each of these endemic bird families all the while enjoying abundant fruit doves, fig parrots, pittas, honeyeaters and kingfishers.

Top Birds

Radjah Shelduck; Great Cuckoo-dove; Superb & Beautiful Fruit-Doves; Archbold's Nightjar; Feline, Mountain, & Barred Owlet-nightjars; Black-mantled Goshawk; +10 kingfishers; Papuan King-Parrot; Stella's Lorikeet; Eastern Hooded & Papuan Pittas; MacGregor's, Yellow-breasted, Fawn-breasted, & Archbold's Bowerbirds; Goldenface; Painted Quail-Thrush; Spotted & Chestnut-backed Jewel-babblers; Wattled Ploughbill; Tit & Eastern Crested Berrypeckers; White-bellied Whistler; Lowland & Mountain Peltops; Drongo Fantail; up to 14 Birds-of-Pardise; Blue-capped Ifrit; Lesser Melampitta; Loria's & Crested Satinbirds; Berrypeckers & Longbills; White-faced Robin; Mountain Firetail; Gray-headed Munia.

Top Mammals

Spectacled Dasyure, Black-tailed Giant Rat, Agile Wallaby

Habitats Covered

lowland and montane rainforest, secondary forest, Eucalyptus savanna, mangroves, grasslands, wetlands

Expected Climate

hot and humid with tropical showers in the lowlands, cooler in the highlands

Max Group Size

8 with 1 Rockjumper leader

Tour Pace & Walking

DIFFICULT: This is a high-intensity “mega” tour designed for passionate listers and serious birders who enjoy a fast-paced schedule. Due to its demanding nature, it’s not recommended for avid photographers, inexperienced birders, or anyone with mobility or health limitations.

moderate pace with some longer hikes

Accommodation

comfortable to luxurious hotels and lodges

Ease of Birding

moderate, can be challenging at times

Photographic Opportunities

worthwhile

What our clients say about us

Glen Valentine
MK, Papua New Guinea 2018

The credit for the trip’s success goes to our guides, Glen Valentine and David Erterius. Both have seemingly limitless knowledge of the birds, extrasensory capacities to find them, apparently endless patience and generosity with their clients, and (critically) wonderful senses of humor. They consistently squeezed more out of the birds, the environment, and the experience than I thought possible.

Lev Frid
LF, Papua New Guinea - Birding in Paradise 2026

The birding in PNG is amazing though the logistics at the end of the tour became extremely challenging and we missed the entire New Britain extension. Those who did not book the extension had to re-book their outbound flights daily until we finally left. I would suggest that if you continue with this itinerary and the Kiunga airport remains closed, that you book charter flights for Tabubil. Having to find and arrange the charter while we were there took up a lot of time and charter flights are not always available. Our first cancelled flight was on Wed and those of us on the charter finally flew out on Sunday and the ones who didn't do the charter were fortunate enough to fly out on Monday. It would be one thing if this was an abnormal event, but the Tabubil airport is known for this. Lev warned us about flying in and out of this airport, but we didn't believe him especially as we got in without any problems. However, after spending five days staring at the cloud cover and wondering if an Air Niugini plane could land (they need a higher clearance than charter/other flights) and then also seeing on flight tracker when no AN planes were even flying in our direction, it's clear that the problem is not just the weather. Given the challenges of PNG, I am grateful for our guide, Lev Frid, who has made an effort to get to know and be on good terms with the local people and service providers. Cloudlands hotel made space for us every time our flight was cancelled and we needed another night's stay. Raintree also looked after us and it felt like returning home at the end. Lev's local connections were also helpful in securing for us access to local hides in the highlands area where we got great views of otherwise difficult-to-see birds. We paid for this as an extra as it was not on the original itinerary, but it was well worth it not just for the birds, but also for the interaction with locals. The time in Kwatu was wonderful. We spent two nights there, and I enjoyed every moment of it. Ok, maybe not the spam at every meal. The stars at night were brilliant, as were the owlet-nightjars! The flame bowerbird, the river ... it's a magical place. Which, actually, is true for nearly all the places we visited ... beautiful birds in seemingly pristine wilderness.

Adam Walleyn
RP - Papua New Guinea 2019

[This was] my third trip with Adam Walleyn and I will definitely go with him again. He is constantly looking and working to find the birds---during lunch breaks, after the day ends, on the bus. He never stops and it pays off. He works hard to get everyone on the birds and remembers special needs that various members of the group have. He took a lunch break one day to spend time with me looking for one bird that I had repeatedly missed. We didn’t find it, but the effort was very much appreciated and noticed. He gave me some pointers and I did find the bird later on during another break.

Lev Frid
DK - PNG 2022

"Andre and Lev were excellent guides, and ensured we had a great time, even when birding, the weather, or the inevitable logistical challenges of travel within PNG seemed to do their best to thwart us. They did an excellent job of managing expectations, but also ensuring that as many people in the group got to see the birds, while also understanding that not everyone would see ingle bird. Difficulties, whether with accommodations, weather, or even participants, were dealt with quickly, and I have no doubt far more issues were cleared before the group was even aware they existed! I look forward to returning to New Guinea (including West Papua) with Rockjumper soon, and also exploring more birding destinations with Lev and Andre or the other excellent guides you have!"

Adam Walleyn
JH - Papua New Guinea 2019

Adam Walleyn knew the birds and the calls and worked hard to make sure we saw not only the specialties of the area but all the birds. His nightbirding skills were phenomenal. It is like he knew exactly where the bird was going to show.

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