The Tari Valley in the highlands of Papua New Guinea is unquestionably one of the World's premier birding spots, and this garden on the Ambua Lodge grounds lies in the heart of this bird rich setting. The Tari valley has gained world fame as it is one of the best places anywhere to catch up with arguably the most extraordinary bird family on Earth, the Birds-of-paradise. While the valley as a whole abounds with these near-mythical creatures, a visit to Ambua's garden when there are trees in fruit can be mind boggling. I visited this lodge twice during 2008 and racked up quite a garden list. This included the seductive Blue Bird-of-paradise, a scintillating male Princess Stephanie's Astrapia, Lawe's Parotia, Superb BOP, Loria's BOP, and the strange Short-tailed Paradigalla. Aside from that the lawn can also be one of the better places to observe the bizarre dawn display of the Black Sicklebill, at one point during a post dawn vigil we scanned the treetops from the lawn to find three separate males in the full throws of their weird "spaceship" display. Aside from this star-studded cast there is a lot more on offer in the area, and I got my lifer Spotted Jewel-babbler right on the lodge grounds too, a true wraith of the forest understorey. Elsewhere in the valley such prizewinners as Wattled Ploughbill, Crested Berrypecker, Forbes's Forest-Rail, Mountain Kingfisher, and Northern Logrunner lurk. A dizzying array of astounding Papuan birds. A must-visit destination, if you have the cash!