We offer this cruise "Birding Down Under" in partnership with Heritage Expeditions. By booking through Ornis, you will be travelling with Chris Venetz as your private bird guide for the duration of the cruise. Those who know him will emphatically advocate to his skill not only as a dedicated leader, but one of the world's best international bird photographers. Chris will be working tirelessly with all our participants to help teach seabird identification, and prove himself invaluable on the islands where he can make sure you see all the birds and provide photographic tutoring to help you get the right angle for taking stunning photographs. 

Our pricing is simple: we charge the same cabin rates as Heritage Expeditions for all classes, with $500 USD extra to help cover the expenses for our enthusiastic guide. Please contact us if you have any questions or if you wish to provisionally reserve a cabin (deposits are not due until mid-2026). 

Day 1: Arrivals into Invercargill Airport (IVC) for overnight. Some may find it easier to arrive directly into Queenstown International Airport (ZQN), from where we will assist with arranging a group transfer by bus (3h) to Invercargill.

Day 2: Boarding the Heritage Adventurer, we will begin sailing south. Today is perhaps the best day of the cruise to see Mottled Petrel and Broad-billed Prion, so we will begin studying our seabirds! 

Day 3: Awakening near Snares Island, it is a simply awe-inspiring sight to behold as you look across the open ocean with your binoculars. Literally tens of thousands of seabirds arcing up and down all the way along the horizon, for as far as the eye can see. As we approach the island itself, incredible numbers of Cape Petrel, Sooty Shearwater and Common Diving Petrel will be passing the boat on their way to forage out at sea. Our first zodiac cruise will get us right up next to Snares Penguin, along with the all-black dannefaerdi Tomtit and caudatus Fernbird. Landing is prohibited on this island, so the endemic Snares Snipe is only very very rarely recorded from the zodiacs, but we will certainly see our first Antarctic Terns in stunning breeding plumage, before setting sail in the afternoon. Focusing on the albatrosses today, we will work through the identification characteristics of Southern Royal Albatross, Antipodean Albatross, Buller's Albatross, Shy Albatross, Salvin's Albatross, Black-browed Albatross, and probably our first Campbell Albatross. 

Day 4: Our first landing in the Auckland Group is on the fantastic Enderby Island this morning, which is absolutely brimming with life. Walking amongst the blooming subantarctic megaherbs, we will watch for Subantarctic Snipe which are always very confiding. Yellow-eyed Penguin are everywhere, while the truly beautiful Auckland Shag and flightless Auckland Teal can be found along rocky shores and sandy bays. There will be many Light-mantled Albatross elegantly soaring around their nesting cliffs, making incredibly fast passes back and forth below us. New Zealand Sea Lion loaf about everywhere (be careful not to step on them!), while we will also keep lookout for New Zealand Falcon, exilis Double-banded Plover, marrineri Tomtit, and aucklandicus New Zealand Pipit. More birds to enjoy which will be companions on several other islands and ocean crossings in the coming weeks include Northern Giant Petrel and Brown Skua. Depending on timing, we aim for a second landing in the afternoon at Carnley Harbour. Here, a moderate climb will provide intimate encounters with steadi Shy Albatross at a nesting colony, while huge gibsoni Antipodean Albatross soar past on their way up to a higher plateau. 

Day 5: Day at sea en rotue to Macquarie Island. More phenomenal seabirding could include our first Snowy Albatross, Grey-headed Albatross, White-chinned Petrel, White-headed Petrel, Grey-backed Storm Petrel, and Black-bellied Storm Petrel. 

Day 6-7: Two full days on the remote Macquarie Island, the southernmost landmass in this region and equidistant between Australia and Antarctica. At Sandy Bay we can walk amongst thousands of King Penguin and the endemic Royal Penguin, where the sights and sounds at these colonies will be forever etched into our memories. Inquisitive birds will waddle over and peck at your feet, while immense Southern Elephant Seal are interspersed with them along the beach. We should be able to closer to the endemic Macquarie Shag, before a zodiac cruise at Lusitania Bay brings us along the shore where no less than 200,000 King Penguin are breeding in an immense congregation. At nearby Macquarie Station we can enjoy Gentoo Penguin breeding amongst the tussock grasses and Southern Rockhopper Penguin on the cliffs. Macquarie Island is a great place to see the white morph of Southern Giant Petrel too, sometimes with blood-red heads after feasting on carcasses. After lunch on our second day, we begin another crossing bound for Campbell Island. 

Day 8: At sea again accompanied by many of the same species we have been enjoying all week, but hopefully these southern waters will allows us to add Southern Fulmar, Blue Petrel, and Grey Petrel to our growing list of tubenoses. We should also see Subantarctic Shearwater in the afternoon as we approach our next destinations, these being quite common in the shallower waters.

Day 9: Wonderful Campbell Island is perhaps most notable for the incredible windswept scenery and amazing close-encounters with Southern Royal Albatross! Experiencing these huge and graceful seabirds down on land, performing their elaborate bill-clattering courtship as you sit on the ground just metres away... Undescribable! The endemic Campbell Shag and Campbell Teal are now quite plentiful after a successful rodent eradication which took place in 2001, while we should see more Light-mantled Albatross and Subantarctic Snipe. 

Day 10: Another day for pelagic species at sea, we will turn our attention to the study of the prions. Antarctic Prion is relatively straightforward to identify, but picking Fairy Prion from Fulmar Prion is much trickier! Other species around may include Soft-plumaged Petrel and Wilson’s Storm Petrel.

Day 11: The isolated Antipodes Island is another exciting stop, where we can see the hulking all-green Antipodes Parakeet alongside the recently-split Reischek’s Parakeet. We will surely be excited to see our first groups of Erect-crested Penguin! More lovely Antarctic Tern will be seen along the coast before we head north in the afternoon.

Day 12: Our morning zodiac cruise around the Bounty Islands is yet another amazing experience. These isolated and barren granite rocks stretch over just four kilometres, but hold the endemic Bounty Shag with tens of thousands of breeding seabirds and New Zealand Fur Seal. Many more Erect-crested Penguin bob in the water while the majority of the world population of Salvin's Albatross and Fulmar Prion wheel around us at close range. It is truly a spectacular place! 

As we move north towards the Chatham Islands this afternoon, all eyes will be peeled on deck as we begin searching for the Critically Endangered Magenta Petrel and the rare Chatham Petrel, which can be seen anytime today or tomorrow. New species will start to appear in these more northern waters, including Northern Royal Albatross, Chatham Albatross, the somewhat distinctive platei Buller's Albatross, Grey-faced Petrel, and White-faced Storm Petrel. However, most of our southern friends will still be with us, meaning it is possible to see more than 30 species of tubenose before sunset!

Day 13: Sailing past The Pyramid early this morning, huge numbers of the beautiful Chatham Albatross will be seen close to the boat, this being their sole breeding ground. Next, a zodiac cruise along the coast of South East Island will allow us to search for the beautiful Shore Plover feeding on rock platforms, along with the endemic Pitt Shag. Landing is prohibited, but very very occasionally some people are lucky enough to spot the rare endemic Black Robin or chathamensis Red-crowned Parakeet from a zodiac.

Day 14: Today's excursion onto Chatham Island itself will probably begin with some nice observations of Chatham Oystercatcher and Chatham Shag before we head to a protected forest patch in the south. Here, the endemic Chatham Pigeon and Chatham Gerygone are quite common, along with the introduced Weka and breeding White-fronted Tern. This evening will be perhaps our best chance to see Magenta Petrel at sea as we head away from the island, bound for the New Zealand mainland. 

NOTE: On this day, Heritage aims to arrange access to a private reserve where Magenta Petrel and sometimes Chatham Petrel can be seen at their burrows. If possible, this extra activity will cost ~$150USD and is payable in cash. 

Day 15-16: Two final days at sea, crossing the famous Chatham Rise where a plethora of seabirds can be seen in the shallower waters. There will be lots of Northern Royal Albatross, and we may see some new species like Cook's Petrel, Black-winged Petrel, Gould's Petrel, Westland Petrel, Flesh-footed Shearwater, Buller's Shearwater, and Hutton's Shearwater. We will have a lovely final dinner on board, toasting to the end of this once-in-a-lifetime cruise. 

Day 17: The ship will return to port back at Invercargill this morning, where we will all disembarck and transfer to the airport.

NOTE: We are happy to provide detailed information and help plan self-drive birding itineraries in New Zealand for anybody who wishes to spend some time on the main islands of this fabulous country before or after the cruise. Just send us a message!