Planning a holiday in New Zealand..?

Want to visit zoos and wildlife areas in New Zealand?

Want to see what the general public do not see..?

Then theCMaG: ARAZPA NZ New Zealand Bird Tours are what you are looking for.

Join us for a unique tour to visit the captive breeding and release sites of some of the worlds rarest birds. New Zealand is well known for the pioneering work in saving endangered species.

CMaG members range from individuals and small private institutions to
large, internationally recognised Zoo's.

New Zealand's unique fauna has suffered disastrous declines at the hands of man and introduced predators. Captive propagation and release programmes have played an important role in halting the decline of these species.

Initiated by the discovery of the thought to be extinct takahe in 1948, captive management for release, as a tool to support recovery programmes, now includes a wide range species such as kiwi, black stilt, shore plover, kokako, blue duck, brown teal and the critical Campbell Island teal.

Fortunately offshore islands offer a safe environment to these species but even here introduced predators sometimes have to be eradicated prior to the introduction of endangered native species.

On your tour you will have the opportunity not only to visit the propagation centres and hear about the intricacies of these programmes from staff involved, but
you will also have the opportunity to visit some of the island release sites.

New Zealnd conservationists lead the way with pest eradication programmes and staff at these release sites will explain the methods used.

The recovery programmes are now taking another step forward with the
re-establishment of the first kaka population, using captive bred birds
fromCMaG: ARAZPA NZ, and now breeding on the mainland. You will have the opportunity to join a staff member using telemetry equipment to follow some of these birds in their forest habitat.

Meeting a kiwi, the New Zealand icon species, at close quarters is an experience which will remain with you for many years. A number of theCMaG: ARAZPA NZ institutions are involved in Operation Nest Egg and captive breeding programmes for kiwi.

The former involves captive incubation and rearing, in the initial stages,
of kiwi chicks prior to their release onto island sanctuaries. Here again
you will have the opportunity to meet staff involved and learn about the
challenges an rewards of this exciting programme.

CMaG members are currently supporting research into the diet of kiwi with some remarkable findings to date.

Not only will you meet the avian anomalies of New Zealand but you will be introduced to a unique reptile, the tuatara, which dates back to the dinosaur era.

In additionCMaG: ARAZPA NZ supports native frogs,
populations of which have been devastated by the chytrid fungus in the
wild. Once again unique in that, the size of the end of your thumb, these frogs only start to breed when about five years old and live to at least thirty five years. Males protect the eggs and then carry the juveniles on their backs for a short time.

On this tour you will have the opportunity
to enter a world of drastic but very successful species recovery methods
that few people experience.

You could:

Meet the staff involved in saving these rare creatures, investigate and discuss techniques including release methods, transmitter technology etc.

Join trained staff to track released kaka through the forest.

Visit two island release  sites and enjoy behind the scenes tours of the facilities involved.

Meet kiwi and their chicks, takahe,  black stilt and have a wild kaka land on your shoulder to preen you!

Meet a live tuatara (reptile) which dates  back to the dinosaur age and enjoy a Maori cultural evening and meal.

You will receive all the advice you  require in planning your trip and will be required to transport yourself from one destination to the next. Our dedicated team of aviculturists and ornithologists will help you to experience the trip of a life time. All proceeds go towards projects such as kiwi diet research and other captive components of our conservation efforts.

Here's how it works:

WE:-

Arrange visits to zoological parks, and wildlife sites available in the areas you intend visiting, as far as your schedule allows.

Ensure you are well looked after while visiting these places of interest.

Provide you with a personal contact person to ensure your visit runs smoothly

COSTS:-

All proceeds go towards projects such as kiwi diet research and other captive components of our conservation efforts.

Cost NZ$500 per person with a minimum of four people and a maximum of three groups per annum.

Don't delay

For more information visit:

Kiwi Wildlife Tours