Birding New Zealand - South Island

We will meet in the hotel foyer, whether you are continuing from the North Island tour or joining for the South Island tour. Today, we board the Interislander ferry at 8:30am for a 3.5-hour crossing to Picton. We'll watch for pelagic species, including shy albatross, black-browed albatross, northern giant petrel, fairy prion, westland petrel, and white-chinned petrel. As we approach Picton, we'll pass through Marlborough Sounds, home to the spotted shag and the endemic New Zealand King shag. Upon arrival, we'll have a quick lunch before boarding a ferry to Blumine Island, where we spend two hours searching for the critically endangered Malherbe’s parakeet. As there is no jetty, wear shoes suitable for wet landings. We return to Picton in the late afternoon. Drive: 5km/15 minutes. Overnight: Picton.

We will start our morning with some birding around Picton. Later, we will head east and spend two nights in the coastal town of Kaikoura. Along the way, we stop at the Ohau Point Seal Colony, where New Zealand fur seals can be seen lazing around. Occasionally, you might spot a pelagic albatross or petrel close to shore. Driving time: 150km/2 hours Overnight: Kaikoura

No trip to Kaikoura is complete without the famous Kaikoura pelagic. The continental shelf lies only 15 minutes offshore by boat, so you almost immediately see ocean-going species. We will spend 2.5 to 3 hours on the water. The species we see will depend on the time of year. Some we expect almost year-round are New Zealand white-capped albatross, Salvin’s albatross, northern giant petrel, westland petrel, and cape pigeon. We’ll stay in Kaikoura again tonight. Driving time: 10km/10 minutes Overnight: Kaikoura

Today is a longer travel day as we head to the beautiful village of Arthur’s Pass, in the centre of the South Island. We should see great crested grebes and pied stilts on lakes along the way, and Eurasian skylarks in the tussock habitats. The drive takes us through farmland, tussock grass, and alpine braided rivers, plenty to keep us entertained. On arrival, if time allows, we’ll walk around Arthur’s Pass Village looking for the amusing kea, the alpine parrot that loves pulling rubber parts off vehicles! Overnight: Arthur’s Pass.

After our long drive yesterday, we will spend a full day exploring the area around Arthur’s Pass. This gives us time to appreciate this stunning part of New Zealand, with its snow-capped mountains and river systems. Today, we might take several walks, depending on the weather and where birds have been seen recently. We should spot rifleman, New Zealand’s smallest bird, as well as the pipipi (brown creeper) and South Island robin. After dark, we might hear a great spotted kiwi calling from the dense cover. Driving time: 20km/30 minutes. Overnight: Arthur’s Pass.

Today, we travel south to Twizel. Our main target is a resident of braided river systems: the critically endangered black stilt, one of the rarest birds in the world. In the 1980s, just 23 adult black stilts remained. Intensive conservation raised that number, and now there may be as many as 170 wild birds in New Zealand. While searching for stilts, we may also encounter the beautiful black-fronted tern. Driving time: 350km/4.5 hours Overnight: Twizel

Today, we take a long drive to reach the bottom of the South Island for our visit to Stewart Island. We’ll stop in Queenstown, not for adventure sports, but for lunch and to search for species we haven’t found yet. These may include New Zealand falcon, grey gerygone, New Zealand kaka, black-billed gull, or tomtit. In the afternoon, we arrive in Invercargill and explore the town. For those interested, if we haven’t seen a little owl yet and one has been sighted recently, we may try after dark. Driving time: 350km/4.5 hours Overnight: Invercargill

A morning ferry takes us across Foveaux Strait to Stewart Island. We will spend today and tomorrow on the island. Heavily forested and hilly, Stewart Island is perfect for birdlife, so we should see plenty. On the ferry, expect pelagic species, with a chance for Cook’s petrel, common diving petrel, Buller’s albatross, and Stewart Island shag. Tonight, after dinner, we’ll walk from our hotel to search for the Southern brown kiwi. Driving time: N/A Overnight: Stewart Island

Ulva Island is a small island tucked into the western side of Stewart Island. A short five-minute boat trip will have us exploring this wonderful little island today. Inquisitive weka, spotted shag and a second chance to see red-crowned parakeet and yellow-crowned parakeet if we hadn’t managed to see them earlier in the trip. If we are here at the right time of year, we might even see the Pacific long-tailed cuckoo. On offshore rocks and headlands, there is always a chance of seeing Fiordland and yellow-eyed penguins. Although they are not often seen, we will certainly keep a keen eye out for them. Driving time: N/A Overnight: Stewart Island

After breakfast, we catch the ferry back to the mainland. Your guide will drop you at Invercargill Airport for a flight to Auckland, or at a local hotel if you are staying in Invercargill.