18 Day Tour: October 4-21, 2027
Pricing for Australia & New Zealand
- Base Pricing is always calculated for double occupancy.
- $1980 supplemental for Solo Travelers.
Tour Highlights
- Sydney
- Royal National Park
- Myall Lakes National Park
- Darwin
- Litchfield National Park
- New Zealand’s South Island
- Christchurch
- Stewart Island
- Milford Sound
- Koala, wombat, dingo, kangaroo, penguins, fur seals, dolphin & more!
- LIMIT 15
Tour Includes
- Round trip airfare from Chicago
- All Internal Flights
- First Class Hotel Accommodations
- All Breakfasts and 10 Dinners
- Deluxe Motorcoach Transportation
- Admissions to all listed Attractions
- Round trip airport transfers in the Chicagoland area
- Guided by Bill Ball
- Baggage Handling
- All Gratuities
Tour Itinerary
One & Day Two We fly from Chicago to Sydney, Australia. We will cross the International Date Line and lose a day-but no fears-we get the day back on our return.
Day Three We land in Sydney—the cultural and economic capital of Australia. We will tour this world-class city including the famous Sydney Opera House, the Harbor Bridge, Bondi Beach, the iconic harborfront and the beautiful Queen Victoria Building among others. We should start adding to our species with ibis, cockatoos and even flying foxes.
Day Four We head to one of the oldest and best national parks in the world—Royal National Park. It is famous for its abundant bird life—over 300 species including cockatoos, colorful rosellas, rainbow lorikeets, kookaburras and lyrebirds. Mammal species include wallabies, possums, sugar gliders and echidnas. This evening we will take in a performance at the Sydney Opera House.
Day Five We head to Myall Lakes National Park noted as one of the few places to see wild koalas. It also hosts black cockatoos, black swans and the grey kangaroo–second biggest species. This is also one of the few places to see dingoes in the east. This is a scenic park with beautiful lakes and magnificent sand dunes.
Day Six We tour more of Myall Lakes adding to our already large species count before we head back to Sydney to catch our flight to Darwin. We are going to be at the top of Australia which has more wildlife species than any other parts of the island continent.
Day Seven We begin our day touring the city up North—Darwin. Darwin has interesting WWII connections, an earthquake history that tops most and one of the finest Aboriginal art collections anywhere. We will explore that and much more. Later in the day, we will head up to Kakadu National Park with a bonus stop on the way that will be particularly exciting for those birders and photographers in the group.
Day Eight A full day in Kakadu to see all the wildlife available. Here one-third of all birds of Australia are found including the illusive black-neck stork, the large emu and many parrots. Mammals are well represented with wallabies, wombats and carnivorous quoll. The king of all here is the largest living reptile in the world—the Saltwater Crocodile. We will get up close to these man-eating monsters as we cruise the rivers in the park.
Day Nine We head to our second national park in the north—Litchfield. Again, hundreds of bird species, dozens of mammals and a myriad of reptiles populate this park giving us several opportunities to photograph and add species to our count. The real one-of-a-kind creature here is the magnetic termites. Yes, these termite mounds are orientated north/south like a compass. Fields of these mounds line up in a wonder of nature.
Day Ten We are ready to head to our second country today as we fly to Christchurch, New Zealand—the largest and most interesting city on the South Island. To many, the South Island is the most beautiful of the kiwi islands with its lakes, glaciers and mountain ranges. It was the setting for the Hobbit movies and its natural beauty will leave you awestruck.
Day Eleven We venture north of Christchurch today to sail with, photograph and potentially swim with one of the rarest and smallest dolphins in the world—Hector’s Dolphins. These naturally curious sea creatures love interacting with people. On the way, we will experience the great plains and small villages that make New Zealand a scenic wonderland.
Day Twelve We tour Christchurch today including it’s incredible museum featuring Aboriginal, early settler life and natural phenomena. This museum has an astounding collection of moa bones and fossils—the giant birds that once lived here. After our tour, we will head south to Oamaru to see the white flipper little penguins come ashore. We are here at the breeding season so be ready for big numbers and very active birds. Their march to shore will leave you smiling.
Day Thirteen We head to the southern end of the island today. On the way, we will see the Remarkable Mountain Range—so aply named and the Southern Alps. Upon reaching Te Anau and its beautiful waterways, we will visit the bird sanctuary to get a close-up view of some of the rarities.
Day Fourteen Be prepared to see the most beautiful mountain, valley and fjord combination in the world at the Milford Sound. It has literally brought Bill to tears with its beauty. Here wildlife is special from the rare Fjordland penguins to the giant mischievous Kea parrots to New Zealand fur seals. This will be a day you will never forget.
Day Fifteen We head to Invercargill, one of the most southern portions the South Island, to catch a short boat ridge to Stewart Island –a birders paradise if ever there was one. Rakiura National Park covers 85% of the island and features birds with wacky names like kaka, kakapo and weka. This evening we will do something very special—a night safari to see a kiwi. Most New Zealanders have never seen a wild kiwi, but you will. What a special privilege.
Day Sixteen We take a daytrip to an even more pristine island where New Zealand bird species that are extinct everywhere else, still exist! Get ready to photograph Yellow crowned and red crowned parakeets, Stewart Island robins, saddlebacks and much more. The most beautiful and rarest birds are found here and often nowhere else.
Day Seventeen We head back to Invercargill and visit the Old English-looking city. Its museum has a number of Tuatara to see, a rare lizard-like creature what dates back to the dinosaurs and has 3 eyes!
Day Eighteen We fly home today getting our lost day back. You have seen wildlife from kangaroos, wombats, koalas, dingoes, giant salt water crocs to lyrebirds, emu, parrots, parakeets and cockatoos. You have experienced Aboriginal culture, seen a production at the Sydney Opera House and learned about Australia’s contribution to WWII. This is truly the greatest Australia & New Zealand tour.
