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DETAILED ITINERARY FOR:

KIUNGA BIRDWATCHING TOUR - 5 DAYS 4 NIGHTS (TOUR CODE EM05)

Tour departs daily

The Upper Fly River area is a birdwatchers paradise. Surprisingly, the highway running either direction out of Kiunga town has some of the best birding opportunities. Here, and up the Fly and Elevara Rivers you will meet a fantastic array of birds including the Palm Cockatoo, Lesser Black Coucal, White-spotted Munia, Yellow-eyed Metallic starling, Rufous Babbler, many species of Bird of Paradise, Common Paradise-Kingfisher, Hooded Monarch, New Guinea Bronzewing, Red-bellied Pitta, Southern Crowned Pigeon, Blyth’s Hornbill, Great Fig-Parrot, Flightless Rail, Pesquet’s Parrots, Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo, Dwarf Koel, Flame Bowerbird, and a selection of Honeyeaters.

Day 1

Departing Port Moresby in the morning by Airlines PNG twin-engine prop-jet you will either fly direct or via Daru to Kiunga in the Western Province. On arrival you will be met and transferred to Kiunga Guest House for check-in and breakfast. After breakfast you can take an explorative stroll around Kiunga township.
After lunch you will be driven out of town along the Kiunga-Tabubil Highway to the KM17 birding site where you will spend the afternoon in birding bliss, returning to Kiunga after the sundown chorus. Overnight Kiunga Guest House.

Day 2

Before daybreak your vehicle and birding guide will again take you to a roadside birding site out of Kiunga town where you will be able to hear and see different species to those observed the previous evening.

After breakfast back at the guest house you will be transferred to the Kiunga town wharf (Fly River) and travel by motorised dinghy up the Fly and Elevara Rivers to Ekame Wildlife Lodge, stopping at riverside villages to purchase fresh fruit and young coconuts to drink along the way.
Ekame Wildlife Lodge is located some 50 kilometres east of Kiunga and the river journey takes two hours.

The Lodge was specially built to accommodate birders visiting the area, and is made of bush materials in local style. Facilities are very basic (no electricity), but you will not have time to notice when there is so much bird life to be seen. However It does rain frequently here so bring a novel to read during the afternoon downpours.

The Lodge is located in a birding hotspot where dozens of species can be viewed during each birding foray.

After lunch on your first day at Ekame you will walk along cleared bush trails leading to raised viewing platforms where you will be able to observe and photograph ground birds.

Today and during the rest of your time at Ekame you will visit a variety of bird habitats including tundra, savannah, swamp, rainforest. Nocturnal birding will be possible if weather permits – bring your own torch and batteries. Overnight Ekame Wildlife Lodge (improved village guest house)

Day 3

Whole day birding at Ekame Wildlife Lodge.

Day 4

After a full morning’s birding at Ekame and a final lunch, you will commence your journey back down-river to Kiunga, arriving in time for afternoon tea at Kiunga Guest House. In the late afternoon you will be driven to a birding site along the Boystown/Kokonda Road for the sundown chorus. Overnight Kiunga Guest House.

Day 5

Sunrise birding along the highway out of Kiunga town: your choice of site. After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport to meet your return flight to Port Moresby, departing mid to late morning depending on the day of the week.

TOUR NOTES

1. This tour includes all accommodation, meals, transport and birding guides but clients must bring their own birding equipment (binoculars, wet weather poncho/umbrella, torch and batteries).

2. Some interesting birdwatching trip reports from Papua New Guinea are available on the internet at http://www.birdtours.co.uk/tripreports/papua-new-guinea/index.htm

3. The Kiunga area experiences year-round rainfall and you assume the risk that inclement weather may impact on birdwatching activities. However, as long as the rain is not torrential your guide will be happy to accompany you for birding in the wet.

OPTIONAL EXTENSIONS

o Extra nights at Kiunga Guest House with birding.

o Extra nights at Ekame Wildlife Lodge with birding.

o Tour extension to Nomad. Rarely visited by tourists, Nomad is small station in a remote area where traditional culture is highly visible, especially the nose ornaments worn by the Biami people. Depending on the day of the week, an overnight stop at Nomad on the way back to Port Moresby can be arranged, including a visit to a local village.

o Tour extension to Balimo. This small town located inland from the Fly River Delta is the centre of the Gogodala culture which is unique in its tribal art featuring animal totems.

REFERENCES

1. Beehler, Pratt, Zimmerman & Coe, Birds of New Guinea, 1986, Princeton University Press

2. Brian J. Coates & William S. Peckover, Birds of New Guinea and the Bismark Archipelago: A Photographic Guide, 2001, Dove Publications Pty. Ltd., Queensland, Australia

4. Brian J. Coates, The Birds of Papua New Guinea, Volumes I and II, 1990, Dove Publications Pty. Ltd., Queensland, Australia (out of print).

5. Clifford B. Frith & Bruce M. Beehler, The Birds of Paradise, 1998, Oxford University Press, Inc.

6. Bird Life International, Threatened Birds of the World, 2000, Lynx Edicions

7. Taxonomy: Clements, Dr. James, BIRDS OF THE WORLD: A CHECKLIST