New Zealand from shore

Our 2026 Tasman Sea Cruise to New Zealand and Australia just wrapped up to great acclaim. We started the journey in Auckland with a short pre-tour extension and then a group flight over to Brisbane to board our ship.  During the pre-tour we visited a mainland colony of Australasian Gannets, were thrilled to spot a scarce Australasian Bittern lurking in a roadside marsh, had wonderfully close views of a couple of North Island Brown Kiwis and Brown Teal and took a day visit out to Tiritiri Matangi island; a predator-free island that held beautiful North Island Kokako and North Island Saddleback, as well as quite a few Red-crowned Parakeets and New Zealand Pigeons and even a rather debonair Tuatara.  

Once back across the Tasman we made six ports of call as the ship rounded New Zealand. Our first port was back in Auckland, where this time we headed south to visit the shorebird mecca of Miranda, where we connected with impressive numbers of Wrybill. Our second port was in Tauranga, where we made a special effort to locate the endangered Blue Duck on a rushing river surrounded by the stunning Whirinaki Forest Park.   

In Wellington, we visited the excellent Zealandia Sanctuary where we found Tui and Kaka to be pleasingly common and approachable. Once down on the South Island we called in at Christchurch, where a drive up into the mountains revealed a pair of New Zealand Falcons and several inquisitive Keas near Arthur’s Pass.

The final shore day was around Dunedin, where we connected with a few very bold South Island Robins and South Island Takahe, and enjoyed some excellent views of an array of coastal birds such as these Variable Oystercatchers. Our final views of New Zealand were centered in the impossibly beautiful Milford Sound, where towering granite cliffs and rushing waterfalls surrounded our ship, leaving indelible memories of this simply stunning country.