New Zealand - Sites of Interest for Birdwatchers

This page contains a list of sites where endemic or difficult to see birds can be found. It is aimed at people planning a birdwatching trip to New Zealand.

The following sites are arranged north to south:

Kauri Coast Holiday Park
Details: Guided tours through a Kauri Forest at night - also weta and glowworms
Contact: Trounson Park Road, Kaihu, Northland. Ph/Fax - 09 439 0621
Birds: Brown Kiwi

Tiritiri Matangi Island
Details:Tiritiri is an open sanctuary that has been replanted with native plants and is free from introduced predators. As the habitats have improved, several rare species have been reintroduced or translocated.
Contact: For information about visiting 09 479 4490
Birds: Takahe, Kokako, Saddleback, Stitchbird, Brown Teal, Red-fronted Parakeet, Little Spotted Kiwi, Whitehead, North Island Robin

Motuara Island
Details: An island in the Hauraki Gulf with translocated Shore Plovers. Visitors welcome although no regular boats. The island is in the process of being replanted and other rare endemics should be there soon.
Contact: Campground bookings Ph - 09 303 1530
Birds: Shore Plover

Dolphin Watch Marleborough
Details: Boat trips in Queen Charlotte Sound for seabirds and visits to Motuara Island Bird Sanctuary
Contact: Les and Zoe Battersby, Beside the Picton Railway Station, Picton, New Zealand. PO Box 197, Ph - 573 8040, Fax - 573 7906
Birds: King Shag, South Island Saddleback

Paparoa Nature Tours
Details: Just south of Punakaki on the West coast. A walk to see the petrels around their burrows in the forest.
Contact: 03 731 1826
Birds: Westland Black Petrel

Ocean Wings - Kaikoura
Details: The widest variety of seabirds I have seen anywhere in three hours. Very good for albatrosses - we saw six species. Possibly also dolphins - we saw them on both trips.
Contact: WWW link
Birds: A wide variety of seabirds - albatrosses, petrels, gulls, terns etc

Akaroa Harbour Cruises
Details: On the Banks Peninsula, two hours drive from Christchurch. An eco-tour of the harbour during which you should see White-flippered Penguin. This bird is difficult to see well from land.
Contact: 03 304 7641
Birds: White-flippered Penguin

Bluefin Charters (Akaroa)
Details: On the Banks Peninsula, two hours drive from Christchurch. Pelagic seabird trips and White-flippered Penguin. This bird is difficult to see well from land.
Contact: WWW link
Birds: A wide variety of seabirds - White-flippered Penguin

Dunedin Marine Charters
Details: A charter firm that will cater for your own specific requirements. We booked them for the day and were shown great views of the Royal Albatross and Stewart Island Shag colonies and were then taken out to sea looking for pelagic birds. Buller's Albatross was seen in good numbers.
Contact: WWW link
Birds: A wide variety of seabirds - albatrosses, petrels, gulls, terns etc

South Light Wildlife
Details: Situated at the end of the Otago Peninsula. A drive to a viewing area over-looking a beach where Yellow-eyed Penguins can be seen at dusk.
Contact: 03 318 9211
Birds: Yellow-eyed Penguin

Bravo Adventure Cruises -Kiwi-watching on Stewart Island
Details: A very well organised tour to see Tokoeka (Stewart Island Brown Kiwi). Includes a boat trip from Oban to Ocean Beach. Then a walk to look for the kiwis that feed on the beach.
Contact: Ph/Fax - 03 219 1144
Birds: Tokoeka (Stewart Island Brown Kiwi)

I have visited all of these sites on either my 1991 or 1998 trip