New Zealand Reviews

4.5 Rating 8 Reviews

Feb 21 - Mar 14, 2026 | Visit New Zealand, a land of unique landscapes and diverse animals and seabirds. We will look for the iconic kiwi, penguins, parrots, tuis, and the bizarre wrybill. This tour takes in both North & South Islands, as well as Stewart Island. Stops include Tongariro National Park and Kaikoura.

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“The tour was a comprehensive visit to a substantial portion of New Zealand. New started in Whagarei located on the northeast coast 7/8 of the way to the northern most point of New Zealand. Over the next 22 days we traveled the length of New Zealand all the way to Stewart Island, a ferry ride across Foveaux Strait from Bluff at the southern end of South Island. We had 2 guides, Donavan and Gregor, and an additional driver Simone. The three leaders worked amazingly hard to find to find us places to search for even the most difficult of New Zealand birds to find. Not having known each other prior to the start of the trip, they worked seamlessly as a team. Their willingness to change the published itinerary in order to more easily find birds and the willingness of Eagle-eye Tours of allowing the changes was especially noteworthy, since it added many excellent experiences to our tour. There were 4 nights when we stayed just one night at a location. I would recommend trying very hard to eleminate 1-night stays whenever possible. The accommodations were execellent, and the meals, too, were excellent. My favorite parts of the trip were the Kiwi excursions and the ample opportunities to see pelagic birds and penguins up close. Anyone who would like a full immersion introduction to New Zealand and its wonderful birds would love this trip.”

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Posted 1 month ago

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience, George. It’s wonderful to hear how much you enjoyed exploring New Zealand from top to bottom, and we’re thrilled that the journey—with Donavan, Gregor, and Simone—made such a lasting impression. They’ll be delighted to know their hard work and seamless teamwork helped make the trip special. We’re also really glad that, on this particular departure, there was room to make a few itinerary adjustments to take advantage of birding opportunities as they arose. While that level of flexibility isn’t something we can promise on every tour, it’s great to hear that the changes added meaningful moments to your experience. Thank you as well for sharing your thoughts on the one-night stays. Feedback like this is truly valuable as we continue fine-tuning our itineraries. It’s lovely to hear how memorable the Kiwi outings, pelagic trips, and penguin encounters were for you—thank you for sharing your photos and video! We really appreciate you travelling with us and recommending the tour, and we’d be delighted to have you join us again whenever you’re ready for your next adventure.

Posted 4 weeks ago

“We not only saw the wildlife, but a picturesque country from North to South. Scott is very enthusiastic about traveling and all aspects of Nature.”

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Posted 2 years ago

“Great way to see most of the endemics in New Zealand! This trip covers both North & South Islands & Stewart Island. Includes pelagic trips too. Includes lots of driving but vehicle was comfortable. Just sit back and enjoy the scenery.”

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Posted 3 years ago

“This is an excellent tour that takes you to most of the top birding sites in New Zealand, North Island, South Island and Stewart Island. It includes several pelagic trips out onto the sea to see sea birds. It also includes several outings to find Kiwi (we saw two species of Kiwi), and excursions to predator free islands and parks where endemic bird species are easier to find. We saw three species of penguins on our trip, and the bonus was seeing orcas, as well as three species of dolphins. In all, this was a fabulous trip that resulted in 126 new species for my life list, and 141 species in total, seen or heard. New Zealand is not to be missed and the Eagle-Eye staff are the best.”

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Posted 3 years ago

Marg Cuthbert

Verified Reviewer

“Fabulous, high caliber tour with excellent meals and accommodation; Guides Russ Cannings and Paul ? (sorry) were thorough, kind and conscientous. Thoroughly enjoyed the birding, amazing landscapes and travel (with the exception of very rough southern seas!). Have recommended this tour to many firends.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“This was a great tour, well organized and coordinated by Russell Cannings and his associate (?). The only challenge was tensions among participants, which the leaders handled very well. To be more precise it was just one person, and these things happen.”

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Posted 5 years ago

Mrs CJMcGhee

Verified Reviewer

“We decided to go on this tour of NZ because the guide was to be Russell Cannings whom we knew well from Canada. It is a long journey and expensive to get there, and it was very upsetting to find some of the guests were very hard to get along with. This was dealt with as best as possible by Russell and his co-guide, but it remained a shadow over the whole3 weeks. Apart from that it was wonderful to have such a thorough look at NZ, and particularly the birds, such a privilege!”

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Posted 5 years ago

Marilyn & Andy

Verified Reviewer

“New Zealand is a wonderful country to visit and we had an excellent tour with Eagle-Eye. We got to see a number of rare and endangered birds and some magnificent scenery. Overall a good trip.”

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Posted 6 years ago