Relaxed charm …
Our final destination on the tour of the South-west Pacific is Samoa. Here we will visit the two main islands, Upolu and Savai’i. On the main island of Upolu we will visit O l e pop u pue National Park where we should be able to find a large proportion the Samoan specialties: White-tailed Tropicbird, Buff-banded Rail, the lovely White Tern, Crimson-crowned Fruit-Dove, Blue-crowned Lorikeet, Flat-billed Kingfisher, Polynesian Triller, Samoan Fantail, Samoan Flycatcher, Samoan Whistler, and Polynesian and Samoan starlings. We will take the ferry over to Savai’I where we have entire day, for those who wish, to attempt the rather steep climb up Mt Silisili in order to try and see the very rarely observed Samoan White-eye. These less disturbed upland forests will also likely give us a better chance for Mao – a giant endemic honeyeater and Samoan Triller. There is an extreme outside possibility of the severely endangered Tooth-billed Pigeon and there is a recent unconfirmed record of Samoan Woodhen.
This is just a sample of what we can hope to see in these remarkable islands on what promises to be a most memorable tour. The islands of the South-west Pacific have a lazy, relaxed charm about them and one of the features that we can anticipate on this tour in addition to many, many special birds includes a fascinating collage of landscapes and culture, great food and some lovely accommodations.
