West Pacific Odyssey - Tour Destination

This tour provides an unprecedented chance to see some of the world’s most rarely-observed sea birds and a variety of island endemics that have been seen by very few.

Pacific seabirds, Norfolk Island, New Caledonia, the Solomons, Truk and Japanese islands.

Whilst the Western Pacific Odyssey was designed with seabird enthusiasts in mind, the planned landings add a variety of stunning species, including the curious, world-renowned Kagu, a very good selection of Solomon Islands endemics and a variety of other small-island endemics on Norfolk Island (Australia), Truk and Mijake-Jima in the Izu Islands of Japan. As such, it is undoubtedly one of the most interesting of all the birding pelagics that one can do. The trip is based on a comfortable Russian research vessel, the ‘Spirit of Enderby’.

The voyage starts in Tauranga, New Zealand, and our first dawn, in the Hauraki Gulf, will provide us with an opportunity to see a good variety of southern ocean species, including with luck, the recently rediscovered New Zealand Storm-Petrel and southern albatrosses As we sail northwards, the seabird species composition gradually changes, and more tropical species, in particular, spectacular Pterodroma petrels such as White-necked, Gould’s, Kermadec, Providence and Tahiti, should pass our ship at regular intervals. As we travel further north, more tropical species will be searched for, including the recently rediscovered Beck’s Petrel and little-known rarities such as Heinroth’s Shearwater and Polynesian Storm-Petrel. Chumming will increase our chances of seeing some of the petrels.

Our first scheduled landing will be on Norfolk Island, where we anticipate finding the Norfolk Island Parakeet, Norfolk Gerygone and Slender-billed White-eye, as well as Pacific Robin. The second landing of the voyage will be on New Caledonia, where a visit to the Riviere Bleue Park should give everyone great views of the very special Kagu and the majority of the other endemics to be found on this ancient island. In the Solomon Islands we hope to make four landings on four different islands: the remote island of Rennell, Makira, Guadalcanal and the rarely-visited island of Kolombangara — whilst these landings are brief, on past trips they have produced a very good variety of the lowland forest endemics of the Solomon Islands. Some of the mid-elevation Solomon endemics can be seen on the planned visit to Mt Austin on Guadalcanal, but in general the montane endemics of the Solomon islands can only be seen on long and difficult hikes into the mountains, something the WPO is unable to offer. Nevertheless, we anticipate seeing up to a third of the Solomon Islands endemics on our forays into the forest there.

After crossing the equator (where seabird activity is usually very low), we will visit Truk, (or “Chuuk” part of the Federated States of Micronesia), where we should manage to see most of the Micronesian endemics that inhabit this island group. Sailing northwards from Truk, the voyage again crosses a stretch of ocean where few birds feed, but once near Japan we will start to see a different selection of seabirds, and will pass close to Torishima, the breeding island for the threatened Short-tailed Albatross. Chumming should ensure that everyone has close views of what must be one of the world’s most impressive seabirds. The last leg of the trip takes us to Mijake-jima, with a good possibility of getting close views of the diminutive Japanese Murrelet en route or near the island. On land, we should see Izu Thrush and Ijima’s Leaf Warbler, as well as a few other Japanese specialities. From Mijake-jima after some 31 days, we finally arrive in Tokyo, where the voyage will end.

Please contact us for the detailed itinerary for this tour.

tour name & dates 2011	Western Pacific Odyssey: 19 April - 19 May (31 days)
tour cost 2011	TOUR FULLY BOOKED - WAIT LIST NOW OPEN
tour leader 2011	Chris Collins
tour dates 2012	1 April - 1 May 2012 (31 Days)
tour cost 2012	US$10,500 - US$12,500 pp Landing fees US$500
tour leader 2012	Chris Collins & Peter Harrison
habitats covered	Pacific Ocean, landings on tropical islands, lowland rain forests, deciduous forest
climate	cool (but not cold) seas off New Zealand, much hotter weather as we sail towards and across the equator. Japan will be cool again. Rain is likely on some days.
tour pace & walking	Easy pace with some tricky species.
accommodation	Comfortable.
ease of birding	easy
no. of species expected	230+
top birds	Seabirds: Cook’s, Black, Black-winged, Grey-faced, White-necked, Collared, Gould’s, Kermadec, Providence, Tahiti, Beck’s and Bonin Petrels, New Zealand, Matsudaira’s and Polynesian Storm-Petrel, Tropical, Heinroth’s and Bannermans Shearwater, Black-footed and Short-tailed Albatross, Japanese Murrelet, Grey-backed Tern, Grey Ternlet. Landbirds: Norfolk Island endemics; New Caledonia endemics including Kagu, New Caledonian Imperial Pigeon, Horned Parakeet, Cloven-feathered Dove, Crow Honeyeater; Solomon Island endemics including all of those on Rennell (5 species), Solomon Sea-Eagle, Ducorp’s Cockatoo, Claret-breasted and White-headed Fruit Dove, Finsch’s Pygmy-parrot , Yellow-bibbed Lory, Cardinal Lory, Roviana Rail, Ultramarine Kingfisher, Solomon Islands Cuckoo-Shrike, San Cristobal Melidectes, Sooty Myzomela, White-collared and White-capped Monarch, Midget and Mottled Flowerpecker, San Cristobal and Brown-winged Starling. Truk: Caroline Islands Ground-dove, Reed Warbler, Swiftlet and White-eye, Oceanic Flycatcher, Micronesian Myzomela and Micronesian Starling. Truk Monarch and Truk White-eye will be sought for if we are able to visit Sol Island. Japan: Izu Islands Thrush, Ijima’s Leaf Warbler, Japanese Robin, Japanese Bush-warbler, Varied (Owstone’s) Tit.
top mammals	Sperm, Dwarf Sperm, False Killer and Humpback Whale, Pacific Spinner, Fraser’s, Striped and Rough-beaked Dolphin.
other attractions	Coral reefs, snorkelling, seldom-visited islands, stunning scenery.
photographic opportunities	Excellent.
Note	As with all expedition-type cruises, the exact itinerary will be subject to weather and local conditions, and all landings are subject to government permissions.

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