New Zealand Discovery & Australia

Auckland is one of the few cities in the world to have harbors on two separate bodies of water. The central part of urban Auckland covers a narrow isthmus between the Manukau Harbor on the Tasman Sea, and the Waitemata Harbor on the Pacific Ocean. In addition, Auckland’s diverse geography and warm, humid climate has inspired a lifestyle regularly ranked in the world’s top ten. A half hour drive from the city there is an abundance of activities: sailing to a secluded island, trekking through the rainforest, picnicking on a volcano, sampling wines at a vineyard or exploring a black sand beach.

Visually stunning, Wellington is nestled between a magnificent harbor and a natural amphitheatre of forest-clad hills. Its compact size, combined with cultural sophistication, makes it New Zealand’s most inspiring urban destination. Wellington’s cultural crowning jewel is Te Papa, a donation-only museum that celebrates Australasian natural history, science and culture. Exhibits include Maori artifacts, an extensive Pacific Cultures collection and interactive science exhibits. The city’s art scene is flourishing, with numerous galleries and craft markets displaying the work of the country’s top artists and craftspeople.

Picton sits at the head of the Queen Charlotte Sound and the sail into and out of town will reveal some classic New Zealand scenery. The town offer access to the Marlborough wine country, other spectacular sounds and lots of outdoor activities such as kayaking, fishing, trekking and cycling.

Backed by a range of the Southern Alps and fronted by a magnificent stretch of sea coast, Kaikoura on the eastern shore of New Zealand’s South Island is a wonderful place in which to contemplate nature. It is famous for whale- and Dolphin-watching, and for the large colony of Southern Fur Seals found nearby. The coastal areas also draw many pelagic seabirds such as albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters close to shore.

Set on a beautiful, sheltered harbor and nestled in the heart of an ancient volcano, Akaroa is a popular resort village. Located 50 miles southeast of Christchurch, this quaint seaside town is situated on the southern side of the Banks Peninsula and has a distinct French flavor to it. Many street names are of French origin because of its French Whaling and colonial history. One of the first settlements in the Canterbury region of the South New Zealand Island, the town has a rich Maori and British heritage, as well as its French history. Today, the town center is dotted with colonial architecture, and the harbor area is lined with boutiques and cafes.

South of the Canterbury Plain on the South Island, Timaru is built on the rolling volcanic hills surrounding Mt. Horrible. Originally a whaling station, it grew to serve the sheep stations in the surrounding countryside. Visit the South Canterbury Museum, filled with artifacts and information about the history of the region from the Maori arrival to the present day, and the Aigantighe Art Gallery, housed in a homestead dating from 1908.

You might not realize that New Zealand has a third island. It hangs beneath the South Island and is just about the last inhabited place before Antarctica. The island itself is only about four percent inhabited, and that is its attraction. It is an unspoiled piece of primeval New Zealand. Oban is a very small town, about 800 souls. The phonebook is printed on a single sheet of A4 paper!

New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park is the largest of the country’s 14 national parks, at 4,868 sq. mi./12,607 sq. km. Located on the southwest corner of the South Island, it was founded in 1904, to protect the natural environment for nature lovers and trekkers. It comprises a large portion of the Te Wahipounamu UNESCO World Heritage Site. The key features of the park are the mountain ranges of the Southern Alps, which rise to heights from 1,500 m/4,900 ft to over 2,500 m/8,200 ft., as well as the spectacular U-shaped glaciated fjord valleys that cut into the mountains as deeply as 25 miles from the sea. There are three major fjords that are navigable by your ships, Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound and Dusky Sound. Your exact itinerary will be determined by your captain depending on the weather and other conditions on the day. But whatever course you sail, you will be treated to spectacular waterways curving between sheer cliffs towering thousands of feet above the mirrored surface of the fjord. Depending on recent rainfall, waterfalls tumble down the rock faces from above. Many of the peaks have nicknames based on their resemblance to animals or other objects of previous observers’ imaginations. You are also likely to see seals, birds including fiordland penguins, bottlenose dolphins and possibly such other fauna as red deer or whales.

Milford Sound is a fjord in the south west of New Zealand’s South Island, off the Tasman Sea. Part of the Fjordland National Park and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site, it has been judged one of the world’s top travel destinations in an international survey. Frequently visited by rain, the mountain peaks rising from the waters of Milford Sound are often softened by mist and an air of almost flawless and overpowering mystic calm. Acclaimed as New Zealand’s most famous tourist destination.

Located at the mouth of the Yarra River, Melbourne was founded by free settlers in 1835, 47 years after the first European settlement in Australia. Transformed rapidly into a major metropolis by the Victorian gold rush in the 1850s, Melbourne became Australia’s largest and most important city, and by 1865 was the second largest city in the British Empire. Today, Melbourne is a major center of commerce, industry and cultural activity, and is consistently ranked as one of the most livable cities in the world.

At the Conservation Centre, view koalas at tree-top level on a skywalk, and attend the sunset “Parade” when Little Penguins waddle from the sea to their nests among the dunes.

This picturesque town near the border of New South Wales and Victoria was the site of a thriving shore-based whaling industry that depended on the cooperation of orcas, which herded baleen whales into Twofold Bay. Learn about it at the small but informative Killer Whale Museum. The Sapphire Coast Marine Discovery Centre concentrates on smaller sea-life. Ben Boyd’s Tower looms over Disaster Bay in the scenic national park named after the eccentric 19th-century magnate. The town’s name is unrelated to the biblical garden. It was named for George Eden, first Earl of Auckland.

Sydney is a cosmopolitan, multicultural city surrounded by golden sand beaches, World Heritage areas, lush national parks and acclaimed wine regions. Sydney owes much of its splendor to its magnificent harbor. Arriving by ship provides an unequaled impression, showing off the city’s famous landmarks: the dramatic white sails of the iconic Opera House and the celebrated Harbor Bridge, looming over the skyline.