GREAT ADVENTURE DOWN UNDER - 2010

Vacation Overview

This in-depth vacation is truly the South Pacific vacation of a lifetime! You experience the fun of Australia’s and New Zealand’s great cities, as well as the unique and stunning beauty offered by its landscapes, national parks, and native animals. You also learn about life in the Outback and about the Aboriginal and Maori cultures.

Begin your trip in Brisbane, Australia, and drive to the Sunshine Coast, where you visit the Australia Zoo of Steve “Crocodile Hunter” Irwin fame. Come face to face with many of Australia’s native animals. Then fly north to Cairns, gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Board a catamaran and experience Australia’s Great Barrier Reef firsthand on Green Island, one of the many tropical islands on the Great Barrier Reef. You can snorkel, take a glass-bottom boat tour, or walk through the island’s rainforest. Enjoy leisure time in Cairns then fly to Darwin and the rich Aboriginal heritage of Kakadu National Park. Cruise waterways where you may view crocodiles and walk ancient trails to see Aboriginal rock petroglyphs.

Tour Darwin then travel to Alice Springs to discover life in the Outback. Enjoy a tour around the base of Ayers Rock and witness the changing colors of the Rock at sunset. Board The Ghan for an overnight train journey to Adelaide and for fascinating perspectives of the Outback. Take a city tour of Adelaide and enjoy leisure time before traveling outside Adelaide to sample some of Australia’s premium wines at the beautiful vineyards of the Barossa Valley.

Fly to Melbourne and enjoy a sightseeing tour including beautiful Fitzroy Gardens. Drive to Philip Island for the Penguin Parade, where every evening at dusk, the Little Penguins come home from the sea at Phillip Island. From the waves, across the beach, and to the sand dunes, the Little Penguins can almost be touched as they waddle to their burrows. It is the nightly ritual of these little flightless birds, which will enthrall you as you observe from the exclusive viewing platform.

Next, fly to Hobart, Tasmania, and enjoy an excursion to Port Arthur, where the first convicts arrived in the 1830s. In Tasmania, you also have an opportunity to see the famous Tasmanian Devil, a rare marsupial wolf, at a wildlife sanctuary. Then fly to Sydney, the largest city in Australia. In Sydney, cruise on Sydney Harbour and enjoy a guided tour that includes the Sydney Opera House, A UNESCO World Heritage Site.

After plenty of leisure time in Sydney, leave Australia and fly to Christchurch, New Zealand, for a sightseeing tour. Travel through Mount Cook National Park, named for the highest peak in New Zealand, then enjoy views of snowcapped peaks, waterfalls, and rugged mountain scenery as you head to Queenstown. Visit Fiordland National Park, New Zealand’s largest national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Park. Enjoy extraordinary scenic beauty as you cruise on Milford Sound and witness the sheer rock walls rising thousands of feet from the water’s depths.

After leisure time in Queenstown, fly to Rotorua, the center of the Maori culture in the heart of New Zealand’s geothermal wonderland. See Rainbow Springs to view native bush and wildlife, and experience Maori culture at a traditional Hangi dinner and Maori concert. Also visit Te Puia, Rotorua’s most prominent thermal area with New Zealand’s largest geyser, boiling mud pools, and silica terraces.

Travel from Rotorua to Auckland and stop at the Waitomo Glowworm Caves to enjoy the serene atmosphere as you glide quietly beneath the lights of thousands of glowworms suspended from the cave ceiling. In Auckland, a guided sightseeing tour includes Mount Eden for magnificent views—the perfect ending to your unforgettable Australia and New Zealand vacation.