The unique Kagu, in display, by Jon Hornbuckle.
NEW CALEDONIA, FIJI and TONGA
- Tonga is one of the few places in the world where it is possible to swim with Humpback Whales
- While the whole region boasts some of the best coral reefs in the world, complete with Manta Ray cleaning stations
- With spectacular seabirds overhead, including Red-tailed and White-tailed Tropicbirds, and Great and Lesser Frigatebirds
- And some spectacular endemic birds on land, not least Kagu on New Caledonia, Crimson, Masked and Red Shining Parrots, Golden, Orange and Whistling Doves, Silktail and Blue-crested Flycatcher on Fiji, and Niuafo’ou Megapode on Tonga
- All in some of the most beautiful parts of the Pacific Ocean, complete with forested volcanic slopes, palm-fringed beaches and shallow coral reefs
- There are more coral reefs, seabirds and endemic landbirds on other island groups in this part of the Pacific, including Vanuatu (about six possible endemics including a scrubfowl, a fruit dove and a kingfisher), Western Samoa (about ten possible endemics including Tooth-billed Pigeon and a kingfisher) and the Cook Islands (about six possible endemics including a fruit dove and a kingfisher).
Best Wildlife in New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga
Mammals
Humpback Whale (Jul-Oct, mostly Aug-Sep) and Pacific Flying Fox. Also a chance of Spinner Dolphin.
Birds
Kagu, Red-tailed and White-tailed Tropicbirds, Great and Lesser Frigatebirds, Crimson, Masked and Red Shining
Parrots, Golden, Orange and Whistling (Velvet) Doves, Silktail, Blue-crested Flycatcher and Niuafo’ou Megapode (Polynesian Scrubfowl), as well as
Pacific Black Duck, Tahiti Petrel, Brown and Red-footed Boobies, Little Pied Cormorant, Rufous Night Heron, White-faced Heron, Pacific Reef Egret,
Osprey, Whistling Kite, Swamp Harrier, Brown, Fiji and New Caledonia Goshawks, Buff-banded Rail, Australian (Purple) Swamphen, Wandering Tattler,
Silver Gull, Black-naped, Bridled, Great Crested and Sooty Terns, Black and Brown Noddies, Metallic Pigeon, MacKinlay’s Cuckoo Dove, Emerald Dove,
Many-coloured and Red-bellied Fruit Doves, Cloven-feathered Dove, New Caledonia and Peale’s (Barking) Imperial Pigeons, Rainbow Lorikeet, Collared
Lory, Horned, New Caledonia (Red-fronted) and Uvea Parakeets, Glossy and White-rumped Swiftlets, Collared and Sacred Kingfishers, honeyeaters,
myzomelas, Fan-tailed Gerygone, Fiji and White-breasted Woodswallows, Melanesian and New Caledonia Cuckoo Shrikes, Long-tailed and Polynesian Trillers,
Golden, Rufous and Tongan Whistlers, fantails, Slaty Monarch, Black-throated, Fiji and Southern Shrikebills, Melanesian and Vanikoro Flycatchers,
New Caledonia Crow, Pacific (Scarlet) and Yellow-bellied Robins, Fiji Bush Warbler, Long-legged Warbler, New Caledonia Grassbird, Island Thrush,
white-eyes, Polynesian and Striated Starlings, and Fiji and Red-throated Parrotfinches. Also a chance of Herald, Kermadec and Murphy’s Petrels, and
Shy Ground Dove.
Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish
Manta Ray cleaning stations and numerous colourful coral reef fish amongst the 2000 fish
species recorded from New Caledonia and 1000 from Fiji.
Other Natural Wonders of New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga
Great Astrolabe Reef At over 120 km (75 miles) long this is the fourth largest barrier reef in the world. It is situated along the south side of Kadavu Island in Fiji.
Best Sites for Wildlife in New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga
- New Caledonia 20 possible endemic bird species.
- Grande Terre Kagu, Southern Shrikebill and the endemic goshawk, dove, imperial pigeon, parakeets, honeyeaters, myzomela, friarbird, whistler, cuckoo shrike, crow, robin, grassbird, white-eye, starling and parrotfinch.
- Grande Terre-Lifu-Uvea Ferry Great and Lesser Frigatebirds, Red-footed Booby, Tahiti Petrel, and Black and Brown Noddies.
- Lifu Large and Small Lifu White-eyes, Red-bellied Fruit Dove and Cardinal Myzomela.
- Uvea Uvea Parakeet and Red-bellied Fruit Dove.
- Fiji 21 possible endemic bird species.
- Kadavu Manta Ray, Whistling Dove, Crimson Shining Parrot, Kadavu Honeyeater and Kadavu Fantail.
- Kadavu boat trips Red-tailed and White-tailed Tropicbirds, Great and Lesser Frigatebirds, Red-footed Booby, Black-naped and Sooty Terns, and Black and Brown Noddies.
- Taveuni Orange Dove, Red Shining Parrot, Silktail and Many-coloured Fruit Dove.
- Taveuni boat trips White-tailed Tropicbird, Great and Lesser Frigatebirds, Tahiti Petrel, Red-footed Booby, Black-naped, Bridled and Sooty Terns, and Black and Brown Noddies. Also a chance of Spinner Dolphin, and Herald, Kermadec and Murphy’s Petrels.
- Viti Levu Golden Dove, Masked Shining Parrot, Fiji Goshawk, Many-coloured Fruit Dove, Peale’s Imperial Pigeon, Collared Lory, Orange-breasted Myzomela, Fiji Woodswallow, Slaty Monarch, Blue-crested and Vanikoro Flycatchers, Fiji Shrikebill, Pacific Robin, Fiji Bush Warbler, Long-legged Warbler, Layard’s White-eye and Fiji Parrotfinch. Also a chance of Black-throated Shrikebill.
- Tonga Two possible endemic bird species.
- Vava'u A chance to swim with Humpback Whales or to see them from land, from Toafa Lookout, and the endemic Tongan Whistler.
- Niuafo'ou The endemic Niuafo’ou Megapode.
Best Times for Wildlife in New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga
The best time is August-September when Humpback Whales are most likely to be seen.
Recommended Books etc. for New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga
Birds of Melanesia by G Dutson. Helm, 2011. (covers New Caledonia).
Birds of the Solomons, Vanuatu and New Caledonia by C Doughty, N Day and A Plant. Helm, 1999.
A Guide to the Birds of Fiji and Western Polynesia (including Tonga) by D Watling. Dick Watling, 2003 (Second Edition).
Birds of New Zealand, Hawaii, Central and Western Pacific by Ber Van Perlo. Harper Collins, 2011.
A Field Guide to The Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific by H D Pratt, P L Bruner and D G Berrett. PUP, 1987.
Reef and Shore Fishes of the South Pacific by J E Randall. University of Hawaii Press, 2005.
Reef Fish Identification: Tropical Pacific by G Allen et al. New World Publications, 2003.
Trip Reports for New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga
Many trip reports, some for New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga, are posted on the websites listed here. On some of these websites some reports are independent and some are posted by tour companies who organize tours to New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga. These tour companies and others also post their own reports on their websites, which are listed under 'Some Organized Tours to New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga' below.
- The best website for trip reports is Travelling Birder
- but these are also worth a look
- Birdtours
- Fatbirder
- Jon Hornbuckle
- Mammal Watching
Local Guides and Tours in New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga
The costs of organized tours partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ. If you are travelling independently, employing such local guides will greatly increase your chances of seeing the wildlife you wish to see.
- Whale Watch Vava'u
Accommodation in New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga
Some Organized Tours to New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga
There are many tour companies who organize tours to see mammals, birds, other wildlife and other natural wonders. The cost of these tours vary considerably according to such variables as the airlines used, the number of days the tours last, the number of sites visited, the number of people in the group (an important consideration if you wish to see such wildlife as rainforest mammals and birds), the number of tour leaders, the standard of accommodation and transport, and the percentage profit the company hopes to make. Generally, where the number of days tours last and the number of sites visited are similar, the cheapest tours are those that use the cheapest airlines, accommodation and local transport, that have the largest groups with the least number of leaders, and that make the least amount of profit. The most expensive tours tend to be those which are exceptionally long, use the most expensive accommodation (ridiculously lavish in some cases, even for single nights) and which make the most profit. Some tour costs partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ.
While tour companies organize tours with set itineraries many also organize custom tours for individuals and private groups who instead of taking a tour with a set itinerary want to follow their own itinerary to suit their own personal tastes, whether it be mammals, birds, other wildlife, other natural wonders or even man-made attractions, or a mixture of them all. Many organized tours with set itineraries are also fast-paced and target as many species as possible, whether they are mammals, birds or other wildlife or everything, which usually leaves little time to enjoy the best sites and individual species, but on a custom tour those taking part can specify the pace and the sites and species they wish to concentrate on. Custom tours also suit people who like to travel with people they already know, rather than with a group of strangers, and people with partners with different interests. Individuals and small groups will almost certainly have to pay more than the price of an organized tour with a set itinerary but a large group of friends may be able to travel for less than the price quoted for a set tour.
Tour companies who are running organized tours to New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga in the next couple of years include the following. Many of these also offer custom tours.
