PAPUA NEW GUINEA 2026
I visited PNG in 2004 (starts here) and 2006 (starts here), both successful trips organised by Jon Hornbuckle which between them covered all the main birding sites with the exception of the Huon. In early 2019 Matt Eade asked me if I was interested in joining a private trip to PNG including Huon that summer. After much thought I declined. It was hard to justify a second or third trip to most of the sites despite there being a few nice birds I'd previously missed. Later I heard someone on Matt's trip had dropped out and had a rethink but by the time I contacted him he'd found a replacement. No worries, I had a good time in Borneo but as the years rolled by Huon increasingly seemed a missed opportunity.
Nick Preston phoned me in 2025 to ask if I knew that Birdquest were advertising a short trip to Huon and Bouganville in August 2026 and might I be interested? I was and we signed up. Closer inspection showed the trip only had three nights on Huon but the brochure suggested that would be long enough to see the key species. Other tour companies which included Huon or offered it as an extension also had three nights there so, while being less than I would have liked, it seemed it would be three days or nothing. Bouganville was five nights in Arawa in the lowlands although each day we would be going up to 1000m and in range for a few of the more montane species. It offered me some Bouganville endemics and more widespread Solomons species. As I'd not visited the Solomons, and the more I heard about them the less keen I was to ever go there, this seemed a reasonable combination. Nick and I hadn't visited New Britain either and booked five nights at Walindi after the Birdquest tour had finished to give us a good chance of seeing many of the lowland species there, some of which were quite appealing. New Britain's highland species were only feasible by expedition or helocopter!
A month before departure Birdquest informed us we would have a day less on Bouganville due to changed airline schedules. My hope that we would do something useful with the time was not to be, for me the Birdquest trip proved to be deeply disappointing. In contrast New Britain was nothing short of excellent.
Photos for what most are worth were taken by me, new birds (just over 50 in total) are shown when first seen in red.
Sunday 02 August 2026. Megan dropped me at Hove Railway Station from where the National Express bus to Heathrow was departing to avoid the Brighton Pride carnival. I arrived at Heathrow at 16:30, way earlier than necessesary but with time for delays. The previous time I had travelled to Heathrow on a Pride day, in 1985, I'd arrived two hours late with an old passport. Then Nick flew to Costa Rica and I went back home, ripped the cover off my old passport and returned the next day with the new passport and joined Nick there. No such issues this time. Nick had arrived at Heathrow before me and we departed on Singapore Airlines flight to Singapore at 22:00.
Monday 03 August 2026. We arrived in Singapore at 18:30 after a 13.5 hourflight during which I watched 4 Bourne films back to back. We had 2.5 hours in Changi before flying Air Niugini to Port Moresby.
Tuesday 04 August 2026. We arived in Port Moresby at about 05:30 after a seven hour flight in an old uncomfortable 737. We cleared immigration, collected our bags, and breezed through customs. We were booked into the nearby Airways Hotel and soon found their courtesy minibus, checked in and put our bags in store while the helpful concierge arranged a taxi to take us to Varirata National Park for most of the day. This part of Port Moresby seemed very relaxed in contrast to our previous visits where the impression of a seige mentality prevailed. We left Airways at about 07:00 and arrived at Varirate at 08:00. Most traffic was heading into Port Moresby with the road quiet going our way. We spent seven hours birding at Varirata. One of the first birds seen was a superb photographable Rufous-bellied Kookaburra which was when I remembered I'd taken the battery out of my camera before travelling and left the Airways without realising I didn't have it. We walked up the Lookout Trail and back then drove back to the entrance and tried the Circular Trail. We'd agreed with our driver Perry to spend four hours at Varirata but he was happy to follow us around and we stretched it to seven. Better birds I saw at Varirata were New Guinea Scrubfowl, Amboyna Cuckoo-Dove, Pacific Baza, 2 Rainbow Bee-eaters, Papuan Dwarf Kingfisher (I only heard it), a Blue-winged and 2 Rufous-bellied Kookaburras, 2 Yellow-billed Kingfishers, Papuan Black Myzomela, a Barred and 2 Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrikes, Varied Triller, Piping Bellbird, Rusty Pitohui, 4 Chestnut-bellied Fantails, 2 Frilled, Spot-winged and Golden Monarchs, 2 Growling Riflebirds, 4 Raggiana Birds-of-Paradise (but no adult males) and a rather smart White-faced Robin. We'd only just scraped the surface and given how easy it had been to arrange our visit rather wished we'd gone out a couple of days earlier to spend more time there. Returning to the Airways we met the group all of whom had returned from an Adelbert Mountains pre-tour extension. Nick and I had visited there in 2006 and felt that a return would be an extravagence and our money better spent visiting New Britain.
 |
| views from Varirata Lookout |
Wednesday 05 August 2026. The Domestic Terminal at Port Moresby was fairly chaotic but the Air Niugini counter for those booked in online was free and we were soon processed. Our hour flight to Lae was on time and we soon boarded what is best described as an armoured bus to take us to the Crossroads Hotel which was half way into town. The days birding was an afternoon walk around the extensive gardens which produced 4 Channel-billed Cuckoos, Peaceful Dove, 20 Torresian Imperial Pigeons, 6 Orange-bellied Fruit-Doves, 4 Masked Lapwings (Port Moresby runway), Eastern Cattle Egret, Glossy Swiftlet, Variable Goshawk, Papuan Harrier, a Whistling, 2 Brahminy and 20 Black Kites, 2 Sacred Kingfishers, 2 Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, Papuan Eclectus, Red-cheeked Parrot, 4 Black-capped and a Dusky Lory, 6 Coconut Lorikeets, 4 Helmetted Friarbirds, 2 White-bellied Cuckooshrikes, 2 Brown Orioles, 2 Willie Wagtails, Torresian Crow, 2 Pacific Swallows, 5 Yellow-faced Mynas, 8 Singing Starlings, Red-capped Flowerpecker, single Black and Sahul Sunbirds and 10 Tree Sparrows.
 |
| Port Moresby Airport from Airways Hotel |
 |
| awaiting departure |
 |
| leader Dani in armoured bus |
 |
| Norma, Dani and Nick in Crossroads gardens |
 |
| Willie Wagtail at Crossroads |
Thursday 06 August 2026. After an early breakfast we birded in the Crossroads grounds for an hour seeing mostly similar species to the previous day plus 6 Pinon Imperial Pigeons, 3 Blyth's Hornbills and a Palm Cockatoo. We left some luggage at Crossroads and returned to Lae Airport with Chayne who ran the Huon Birding Camp. After an hour of hanging around we and the luggage we were taking were weighed. Our plane, a Pacific Aerospace P-750 XSTOL operated by North Coast Aviation and built in New Zealand, was pushed out onto the grass runway and the engine revved up. This was when everything started to unravel. Screwdrivers appeared and the engine casing was taken off and bits examined and replaced. The plane taxied a few 100m and full throttle applied but something was amiss and it returned to the hanger. A part was needed which should arrive on the last plane into Lae from Port Morseby later that day. Our short three night visit to the Huon was now down to two, at best. Back to Crossroads for lunch and then an afternoon trip through town to the Merambi Bridge where Edward's Fig Parrot was possible, having been a very remote possibility at Crossroads. We birded along the road until dusk seeing the Fig Parrot untickably in flight, Black-billed Coucal, 5 Channel-billed Cuckoos, Pink-spotted Fruit-Dove, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, 2 Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, Marbled and Streak-headed Honeyeaters, Black-shouldered Cicadabird and Hooded Butcherbird and White-bellied Thicket-Fantail. Needless to say an anxious night followed.
