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PA P U A N E W G U I N E A
Papua New Guinea
Birds of Paradise
Wednesday 17 September – Friday 03 October 2014
Leaders: Simon Boyes and local guides
2014 Cost £7,999 single room supplement £900
Karawari Lodge
Ambua Lodge
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Kumu Lodge
Port Moresby
or many people, New Guinea represents the ultimate birding goal. Certainly Sir David Attenborough regards the country as ‘the greatest
F unclaimed prize in ornithological filming.’ His classic programme about the splendours of the birds of paradise and bowerbirds has created a
widespread public interest in experiencing New Guinea at first hand. Until recently, the island’s remoteness and lack of tourist infrastructure prevented
this dream from becoming reality. Now, with the help of some well-located lodges, we can explore the best Papuan habitats and their unique birdlife
in comfort and safety. We will divide our time between one lowland lodge (Karawari) and two highland lodges (Kumul Lodge and Ambua Lodge) before
finishing our tour in the capital Port Moresby. This should give us a wonderful opportunity to watch many species of birds of paradise (which possess
some of the world’s most exotic plumages and displays), as well as a wide variety of pigeons and fruit-doves, parrots, cuckoo-shrikes, kingfishers and
bowerbirds. Less familiar groups include fairy-wrens, whistlers, berrypeckers, butcherbirds and honeyeaters. We will also be able to observe some of
Papua’s colourful peoples, with their distinctive tribal dress and customs. There is an option of breaking the outward or return journeys in Singapore
for those who wish. This will be Ornitholidays’ third tour to Papua New Guinea
ITINERARY
Days 1 & 2
We leave London Heathrow on a scheduled
flight to Singapore, arriving the next day. We
then catch the connecting flight to Port Moresby.
Day 3
Arriving in the morning, we are welcomed by our
hosts and transferred to our hotel. We have time
to freshen up, relax and have lunch. In the
afternoon we begin with a gentle introduction to
the birds of PNG with a visit to the grounds of the
Pacific Adventists’ University, where the ponds
attract a good selection of waterbirds. In
particular, we will look for Blue-winged
Kookaburra, Rufous Night Heron, Black Bittern,
Wandering, Plumed and Spotted Whistlingducks,
Comb-crested Jacana, Brown Oriole,
Fawn-breasted Bowerbird, Rufous-banded
Honeyeater, Black-backed Butcherbird,
Torresian Pied Imperial-Pigeon, Orangebreasted
Fruit-Dove, Singing Starling and
Grey-headed Munia.
Days 4 to 6
The next morning we transfer to the airport and
take a short domestic flight to Mount Hagen, in
the Central Highlands. From here, a 90 minute
drive brings us to Kumul Lodge, set at 2,800m
just over the border in Enga Province, where we
stay for three nights. The accommodation is
simple and rustic, but you will love the setting –
as you can relax in a comfortable chair and
watch the well-stocked bird table laden with
fruits and have your first close-up experience of
Birds of Paradise! Notable visitors to the garden
feeder are Brown Sicklebill and Ribbon-tailed
Astrapia, Brehm’s Tiger-Parrot, and with luck the
shy Bronze Ground Dove and Archbold’s
Bowerbird. The photographic opportunities are
wonderful. We also hope for Plum-faced and
Papuan Lorikeets, Regent, Brown-backed and
Rufous-naped Whistlers, White-winged Robin
and Mountain Firetail. We can walk the trails
below the lodge and look for Lesser Melampitta,
as well as Blue-capped Ifrita, a bird with a
poisonous plumage. Excursions we can take
from the lodge may enable us to find
Magnificent Bird of Paradise, Torrent Flycatcher
and with luck Torrent-lark.
Days 7 to 9
This morning we say goodbye to the staff at
Kumul and make the return journey to Mt Hagen
where we catch a charter flight to Karawari
Airstrip over impressive mountain scenery. We
drop down into the lowlands of the Sepik Valley.
The journey from airstrip to lodge is by boat, the
only practical transport in such an isolated
region. Karawari Lodge is perched on a ridge,
with spectacular views over endless tropical
forest. It is built in the style of a traditional spirit
house, decorated with local artefacts and boldly
carved furniture. Here we can watch from the
balcony for species such as Blyth’s Hornbill and
Glossy-mantled Manucode. The gardens attract
Orange-bellied and Coroneted Fruit Doves,
Double-eyed Fig-Parrot, Variable Pitohui, Streakheaded
Honeyeater and Black Sunbird (to name
a few). Much of the birding will be done from
stable boats which can be tied to the bank to
allow scope use. In this way we will look for King
Raggiana Bird of Paradise
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For a previous tour report or further information please call: 01794 519445