Western Pacific Odyssey

Day 1: AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND

Board the ship and sail late afternoon with the first seabirds of the trip likely to include Australasian Gannet, Fluttering Shearwater and Silver Gull.

Day 2: HAURAKI GULF

We plan to spend the morning exploring the Hauraki Gulf where we will look for the critically endangered New Zealand Storm Petrel as well as Little Penguin, Buller’s, Fluttering and Little Shearwaters and Grey-faced and Black Petrels.

Day 3: AT SEA

On the transit to Norfolk Island, potential species could include Gould’s, Black-winged, Kermadec, White-necked and Grey-faced Petrels, plus Wedge-tailed and Short-tailed Shearwaters.

Day 4: NORFOLK ISLAND

This Australian island (once an infamous penal colony in the days when convicts were transported from the UK to Australia) is home to four endemics – Norfolk Island Parakeet, Norfolk Gerygone, Norfolk Robin and Slender-billed White-eye. Once ashore, we plan to visit the island’s remnant forest where there are good chance of seeing all of these plus the highly distinctive form of Golden Whistler.

As we head north in the late afternoon, we will look for the endemic subspecies of Little Shearwater as well as White-bellied Storm Petrel.

Day 5: AT SEA

As the ship heads towards New Caledonia, there are several underwater seamounts close to our route and these can be productive for seabirds including Tahiti, Collared, White-necked, Providence and Kermadec Petrels. In 2008, we found the first Australian record of Polynesian Storm Petrel in this area and there are also chances for the New Caledonian Storm Petrel.

This species was first seen on the WPO expedition in 2008 and has been found on a number of occasions since then. Although seemingly a close relative of the New Zealand Storm Petrel, it is unquestionably different and is now considered that this is the same as a long-lost species collected in Samoa more than 200 years ago.

Day 6: NEW CALEDONIA – PARC DE LA RIVIERE BLEUE

Once immigration and customs clearance has been completed in Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia, we will leave the ship for a visit to the Parc de la Rivière Bleue Regional Park where our main priority will be the island’s endemics including the incredible Kagu and critically endangered Crow Honeyeater.

Other species we might find include White bellied (New Caledonian) Goshawk, Horned and New Caledonian Parakeets, New Caledonian Imperial Pigeon, Southern Melanesian and New Caledonian Cuckooshrikes, Yellow-bellied Robin and Red-throated Parrotfinch.

Day 7: NEW CALEDONIA – MOUNT KOGHI AND AT SEA

We plan to leave the ship before dawn for a morning visit to the forested slopes of Mount Koghi where there are chances for both New Caledonian Crow and New Caledonian Thicketbird, birds we are highly unlikely to have seen at Parc de la Rivière Bleue. Other possibilities include White bellied (New Caledonian) Goshawk, South Melanesian Cuckooshrike, New Caledonian Streaked Fantail, Southern Shrikebill and Yellow-bellied Robin.

We will head back out to sea in the late morning and there will be further opportunities to look for New Caledonian Storm Petrel as we cruise up the western coast of the island, with other possibilities including Tropical Shearwater, Red-footed Booby and Gould’s Petrel.

Days 8 to 10: AT SEA

As the ship heads for the Solomon Islands, new seabirds could include Polynesian Storm Petrel, Providence Petrel, Vanuatu Petrel, Collared Petrel and Tahiti Petrel. We will also hope to see Band-rumped Storm Petrel as we have seen this on several occasions, even though this species is normally regarded as one which is not found in the southwest part of the Pacific.

There are also chances for some interesting cetaceans on this transit and in 2019 we had one of the first at sea sightings of the recently described Deraniyagala’s Beaked Whale.

Day 11: HONIARA, GUADALCANAL, SOLOMON ISLANDS

We will anchor off Honiara, the capital city of the Solomon Islands, and depart before dawn for the forested slopes behind the town. The birding here is exceptional and the specialities could include Ultramarine Kingfisher, Solomons Cuckooshrike, Chestnut-bellied Monarch, Steel-blue Flycatcher, Midget Flowerpecker, Brown-winged Starling and Black-headed Myzomela. Depending on the number of fruiting trees, there could also be a good variety of parrots and pigeons, including Yellow-bibbed Lory, Solomons Cockatoo and Red-knobbed Imperial Pigeon.

Day 12: AT SEA

We will spend the day cruising westwards through the waters of the Solomon Islands with this being our first opportunity to see the poorly known Heinroth’s Shearwater. The breeding grounds of this small all-dark shearwater remain to be discovered but it is thought that at least some of the birds nest on the mountainous island of Kolombangara as they are regularly seen offshore from there in the late afternoon.

We may see some mixed species feeding flocks too and as well as checking these for shearwaters, we will also need to be on the lookout for Grey-backed Tern as this is also a possibility in this region.

These waters can also be good for cetaceans with both Dwarf and Pygmy Sperm Whales amongst the species we have seen previously.

Day 13: BOUGAINVILLE, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Although politically Bougainville is part of Papua New Guinea, from a biological perspective it has more in common with the Solomon Islands and after being closed to outsiders for many years (due to political problems), the island is now a welcoming destination.

After clearing customs and immigration, we will head up a paved road to explore some mid-elevation forest and whilst the habitat is somewhat degraded, it still offers some excellent birding on an island that very few birders have had the opportunity to visit.

There are a number of species which are endemic to Bougainville and nearby islands which we could see and these include Boungainville Rail, Bougainville Monarch, Bougainville Bush Warbler, Bougainville Crow and Bougainville White-eye. Other possibilities include Blyth’s Hornbill, Ultramarine Kingfisher, Meek’s Lorikeet, Solomons Cuckooshrike, Solomons Rufous Fantail and Yellow-throated White-eye.

Day 14: SHIP CRUISING OFF THE COAST OF BOUGAINVILLE AND NEW IRELAND

The waters off the coast of Bougainville and New Ireland are where we stand our best chance of finding the critically endangered Beck’s Petrel. This species was only rediscovered in 2007 after the original specimens were collected in 1928/29.

This area will be our final opportunity to look for Heinroth’s Shearwater, however, there is also a dark pseudobulweria petrel which has been seen here on a number of occasions which appears to be an undescribed species.

Due to a deeply shelving trench between New Ireland and Bougainville, the waters off these two islands are a fantastic place for cetaceans with the possibilities including Melon-headed Whale, Dwarf and Pygmy Sperm Whales and Orca.

Day 15: KAVIENG, NEW IRELAND

Kavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinean province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island and those not continuing to Japan will disembark after breakfast with a transfer provided to the nearby airport.

For those journeying on to Japan, there should be time for some local birding with one of our main targets being Mottled Mannikin (otherwise known as Mottled Munia or Hunstein’s Mannikin) which is endemic to New Ireland. We will also hope to find Bismarck Crow (which is endemic to New Ireland and New Britain) with other possibilities including Variable Goshawk, White-bellied Sea Eagle and Red-knobbed Imperial Pigeon.

Days 16 to 20: AT SEA

Over the next five days the ship will cross the Equator and Tropic of Cancer as we head north for Japan.

Initially the birding is likely to be relatively slow with the possibility of species such as Bulwer’s Petrel, Tropical Shearwater, White-tailed Tropicbird and Sooty Tern, however, as we pass the North Mariana Islands, we will begin to encounter a different suite of birds with Christmas Shearwater, Matsudaira’s Storm Petrel and Bonin Petrel amongst the possibilities.

As we get closer to the Bonin Islands, there will be increased chances for Bannerman’s Shearwater and we will also hope to pick out Tristram’s Storm Petrel from amongst the much more numerous Matsudaira’s.

Day 21: CHICH-JIMA, BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN

After clearing into Japan at the largest of the Bonin Islands, Chichi-jima, we may have time to go ashore to look for Japanese Bush Warbler, Blue Rock Thrush, Brown-eared Bulbul and Japanese White-eye. Our main priority, however, is to be off the eastern coast by mid-late afternoon as there is a small islet which is the only known breeding site for the critically endangered Bryan’s Shearwater.

It is thought the world population of this recently described species could be as low as 70 individuals and we will have to search through the Bannerman’s Shearwaters in the hope of finding this smallest member of the shearwater family.

Day 22: HAHA-JIMA, BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN

During the night, the ship will reposition approximately forty kilometres to the south to allow us to make a landing on the rarely visited island of Haha-jima. Reaching this island by ferry from mainland Japan is extremely time-consuming so few foreign birders have been here despite it being the only place in the world where the extremely handsome Bonin White-eye can be found.

We stand a good chance of finding this important speciality, however, we will also hope to encounter Bonin Greenfinch which is now regarded as a full species by authorities such as the IOC. Whilst it is known that the greenfinch breeds on some of the very small islands offshore from Haha-jima, it remains unclear if it is actually resident on the island itself, however, birds are certainly seen here periodically. As this is now regarded as Japan’s rarest endemic, we will certainly hope to find it along with the white-eye.

Other possibilities include Black (Japanese) Wood Pigeon, Eastern Buzzard, Brown-eared Bulbul, Japanese Bush Warbler, Warbling (Japanese) White-eye and Blue Rock Thrush and with the northbound migration underway, we may also see some transient species.

As we head north and away from Haha-jima, there will be an excellent chance of seeing Humpback Whales as there are often good numbers around the Bonin Islands.

Day 23: TORISHIMA, JAPAN

Landings are not permitted on this special island but we plan to cruise offshore in the hope of finding what is surely one of the most beautiful seabirds in the world, the gorgeous Short-tailed Albatross. This species was believed to have been driven to extinction in the early part of the 20th Century due to feather trade but has slowly begun to recover and it is now thought to number about 2,500 birds.

We will hopefully also find Black-footed Albatross and there are also chances of Laysan Albatross and Streaked Shearwater.

We may also find some cetaceans and previous WPOs have recorded Risso’s and Pantropical Spotted Dolphin, Melon-headed Whale, Cuvier’s Beaked Whale and the very rarely seen Ginkgo-toothed Beaked Whale in this region.

Day 24: AT SEA

We will have a final day at sea and whilst we are unlikely to find any new seabirds, there will be a final opportunity to enjoy those we have encountered over the preceding days with Short-tailed Albatross, Streaked Shearwater, Matsudaira’s Storm Petrel and Bonin Petrel amongst the possibilities.

Day 25: OSAKA, JAPAN

After completing Japanese arrival formalities, this amazing trip concludes at the port of Osaka and after breakfast there will be a complementary transfer to Osaka Air Terminal.

Please note: All itineraries are subject to weather, local conditions and final approval by the relevant authorities.

THE SHIP

Heritage Expeditions have been running the “WPO” since 2007. Previously these expeditions ran on a converted Russian research vessel, the Spirit of Enderby (or to give it it’s Russian name Professor Khromov), however, since mid-2022 Heritage Expeditions have been operating Heritage Adventurer, and all future Western Pacific Odyssey voyages will be on this vessel.

This purpose built expedition ship (which was previously known as Hanseatic and Resolute) offers extremely comfortable cabins and passenger facilities and is so smooth that on flat seadays it is possible to use a telescope to look for seabirds.

Originally designed to accommodate 184 guests, Heritage Adventurer will carry a maximum of 140 expeditioners ensuring spacious, stylish and comfortable voyages. There will be a fleet of 14 zodiacs to ensure all guests are able to maximise on their expedition experience.

• WPO Trip Report 2024
• WPO Systematic List 2024
• WPO Systematic List 2023
• WPO Systematic List 2019
• WPO Systematic List 2016
• WPO Systematic List 2015 Part 1
• WPO Systematic List 2015 Part 2