Trip
Information
Date: September
27 - October 13, 2009
Leader: Héctor
Gómez de Silva & local guides
Duration:
17 days
Limit: 12
people
Cost: $8550
USD, $9475 CDN, Single Supplement $1225 USD, $1360 CDN
From: Port
Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Highlights:
• Birding for the wonderful Birds-of-paradise plus many other endemics
at several sites across the island
•
Ambua lodge, one of the world’s finest
• Travel in a culturally diverse and exotic corner of the world
Featured Birds:
• Southern Crowned-Pigeon
• Superb Fruit-Dove
• Papuan Lorikeet
• Wattled Ploughbill
• Blue-capped Ifrita
• Emperor Bird-of-paradise
• Raggiana Bird-of-paradise
• King-of-Saxony Bird-of-paradise
• Superb Bird-of-paradise
• Twelve-wired Bird-of-paradise
Trip Summary
• Accommodation is superb at Ambua and comfortable elsewhere
• Warm and hot days in the lowlands, cooler in the highlands
• Short flights between birding locations
• All meals and internal flights included
• Easy but extended walking, short drives, river boat trip
• 6 to 12 participants with one guide plus a local guide throughout.
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An
incredible tour! Astonishing diversity from the highlands to the lowlands
of both the northern and southern slopes of the island. New Guinea has
the largest number of endemic bird species in the world - 269, more
than a third of all of its species. The list of possibilities seems
endless: among birds, there are large flightless cassowaries, pigeons
up to the size of a vulture, parrots ranging from the size of vireos
to one the size of an Osprey, and kingfishers ranging from the size
of a warbler to the size of a Barn Owl. Indeed, New Guinea is the center
of diversity of the world’s kingfishers, pigeons and parrots,
and the impressive New Guinea Harpy Eagle, as well as the highly acclaimed
birds-of-paradise and bowerbirds. We hope to see 15 or more species
of birds-of-paradise, as well as bizarre mammals, butterflies, flowering
plants and a host of other wildlife. New Guinea seems like the most
exotic place on Earth; a huge diversity of native cultures and an astonishing
number of languages. Papua New Guinea has facilities and services that
are up to international standards and Héctor has spent much time
on the island. Our tour certainly provides an opportunity to see some
of the world’s most exotic birds.
Our visit to the highlands includes Ambua, among the world’s finest
lodges. We visit Kiunga, Kumul Lodge, Tabubil, and several localities
around Port Moresby including Varirata National Park. This promises to
be a very exciting tour with superb birding for many very unique birds!
Masked Lapwing by Tony Menart
See detailed itinerary
below.
Previous
bird checklists:
2007 Papua New Guinea tour
(195
KB PDF).
2004
Papua New Guinea tour (pdf).
Click here to download
a registration form.
This tour can be
combined with our Borneo tour. |
Itinerary
Day 1 - Port Moresby
Arrival in Port Moresby’s International Airport, where you will
be met by the tour leader and transferred to our hotel. Birds to look
for around the airport and the hotel are Masked Lapwing (grassy strips
around the runway), Intermediate Egret, Peaceful Dove, Pacific Swallow,
White-breasted Wood-swallow, Yellow-tinted and Rufous-breasted Honeyeaters
(around ornamental flowers), Torresian Crow, Willie Wagtail and Singing
Starling. Night in Port Moresby.
Days 2 - Ambua Lodge
We take a flight to Tari in the Central Highlands where we will be picked
up by a vehicle from Ambua Lodge and taken to the lodge where we meet
our local guide. The climate of the highlands is very pleasant, with
cool nights and early mornings. We settle in to the delightful Ambua
Lodge with its superb location, rooms, food and birds! Night at Ambua
Lodge.
Days 3 - 4 – Ambua Lodge
There is a large number of bird species right around the lodge, and
these will keep us busy. Over 200 species of birds, with 12 species
of birds-of-paradise (including Blue and Superb, and Stephanie’s
Astrapia), have been recorded at or within a short distance of the lodge.
Other goodies include Tit-Berrypecker and Crested Berrypecker (one of
New Guinea’s endemic bird families), Lemon-breasted and Fan-tailed
Berrypecker (representative of the other New Guinea endemic bird family),
Modest Tiger-Parrot, Sanford’s Bowerbird, Lesser Ground-Robin,
Mountain Firetail, Hooded Munia, White-breasted Fruit-Dove and New Guinea
Logrunner. A road leads up about 9 km from the lodge through cloud and
elfin forest to the alpine grasslands at Tari Gap (2500 m/7800 ft elevation,
quite chilly in the early morning). We bird around this road and side
trails leading from it, accompanied by one of the lodge’s resident
guides. Nights at Ambua Lodge.
Days 5 - 8 - Kumul Lodge and the Central Highlands
Reluctantly leaving this magnificent locality, we take a flight to the
town of Mount Hagen, still in the Central Highlands of New Guinea. From
Mount Hagen we will be driven up to the upper reaches of cloud forest
to Kumul Lodge where we spend four nights. Kumul Lodge is owned and
run by local landowners and is a model of the type of sustainable ecotourism
that will enable the world to conserve significant wilderness areas.
Our time around Kumul Lodge will allow us to see a large number of highland
birds. Some species that are rare at Ambua are easier to see at and
near the lodge, such as Crested Bird-of-paradise, Painted Tiger-Parrot
and Yellow-breasted Bowerbird. A highlight at the lodge is the bird-of-paradise
feeder, where some exciting birds visit throughout the day and can be
seen and photographed up close. Our stay allows us a chance at Chestnut
Forest-Rail which visits feeders, Mountain Owlet-Nightjar and Black-billed
Cuckoo-Dove.
One day we bird the Baiyer River area, which will enable us to see mid-elevation
birds of the north slope of the Central Ranges. A pre-dawn departure
allows us to reach the lek of Lesser Bird-of-paradise in time before
they finish displaying. Baiyer River is also a good place to look for
Dwarf Cassowary, Hooded and Red-bellied (Blue-breasted) Pittas, ground-doves
and much more. Nights at Kumul Lodge.
Days 9 - 10 - Tabubil
We leave Kumul Lodge and transfer to Tabubil for a two-night stay. Several
very special species occur here, including Shovel-billed Kingfisher,
Torrent Lark and Salvadori´s Teal, as well as the very impressive
New Guinea Harpy Eagle, Black Butcherbird, the resident race of Little
Ringed Plover and Grey-headed Cuckoo-shrike. Nights in Tabubil.
Days 11 - 13 - Kiunga
We catch a morning flight to Kiunga, where we spend three nights at
the guest house there. The Kiunga area is hot and humid and it usually
rains almost every day of the year (mostly in the afternoons). It is
extremely rich in bird species and we have a chance at several choice
species such as Southern Crowned-Pigeon, King and Twelve-wired Birds-of-paradise,
Flame Bowerbird, White-crowned Koel and Streak-headed Honeyeater. Our
stay at Kiunga includes a boatride along the Fly and Elevara Rivers
that will enable us to see a large number of lowland rainforest species.
Night at Kiunga Guest House.
Day 14 - to Port Moresby
We take a morning flight from Kiunga to Port Moresby. In the afternoon
we bird in the grounds of the Pacific Adventists’ University near
Port Moresby, which holds many waterbirds and birds of open woodland,
perhaps including Fawn-breasted Bowerbird. Night in Port Moresby.
Days 15 – 16 Varirata National Park and around Port Moresby
An early morning departure takes us to Varirata National Park, where
we spend most of one day birding forest trails. Here, we may encounter
Dwarf Cassowary, Black-billed Brush-turkey (and their nest mounds) and
Brown-headed Paradise-Kingfisher. On the way back to Port Moresby, we
stop at several points in open eucalyptus woodland. Around Port Moresby,
we bird localities within a short driving distance such as Brown River
and Moitaka Ponds. The lowland forest at Brown River supports several
interesting species including Orange-breasted Fig-Parrot, Rufous-bellied
Kookaburra and Raggiana’s Bird-of-Paradise. The ponds at Moitaka
hold Spotted Whistling-Duck amongst other waterbirds, and are a good
spot for Orange-fronted Fruit-Dove. Time permitting, we may visit the
Hisiu mangroves for a different community of birds, including the endemic
Dusky Myzomela. Nights in Port Moresby.
Day 17 - Departure
This morning we take our international flight to Australia and then
departure home.
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