New Zealand bird watching tour

Planet

This tour is dedicated to celebrating New Zealand's diverse wildlife - with a special emphasis on the huge variety of birdlife.

Exploring on foot at every opportunity, ensures minimum impact on the environment from carbon emissions. The itinerary includes many tours, led by local guides, including a visit to the Black Stilt bird sanctuary in Twizel, where travellers learn how important these endangered birds are to New Zealand, and how we can help to prevent them becoming extinct with entry fees etc.

We include a trip to the Sir Edmund Hilary Alpine Centre - with some of the worlds most sophisticated stargazing equipment, its' a fascinating insight into the origins of New Zealand, and includes an amazing 3d show that transports you high above Mount Cook itself.

Through our New Zealand partner operator, we are a Qualmark accredited business and a member of the Tourism Industry Association of New Zealand. This means we have been independently reviewed and deemed to operate in an ethical and environmentally sustainable way.

People

All of our itineraries, whether tailor made or our Small Group Journeys, are strongly focused on ensuring support for local communities and educating our travellers on the importance of responsible travel.

Accommodation on our Tailor-made holidays is in smaller bed & breakfasts, inns, farm and homestays and travellers will enjoy the services of local activity operators and food from local restaurants. We actively encourage all travellers on our Tailor-made itineraries to get off the beaten path and discover, explore and support small local communities – as well as benefiting the New Zealand people, we firmly believe that this enhances our travellers experience during their time in New Zealand.

Ths tour celebrates the diversity and cultural significance of New Zealands people. We recommend visiting a Greenstone studio in Hokitika to watch the local Jade stone being crafted in to jewellery and ornaments, and include an evening spent in a Marae (Maori meeting house) learning about ancient Maori traditions and legends, and watching a Haka performance.

Dining in the evening is usually in locally owned restaurants, and the trip includes a unique Hangi dining experience in Rotorua, where the meal is prepared in a traditional Maori style, in a pit oven, using heated rocks to cook the food. Theres also a wonderful buffet meal served aboard the Milford Mariner during an overnight experience out on the Sound.