- • Specialist team of two highly experienced Travel Director and Driver Guide • 2 UNESCO World Heritage Sites – Great Barrier Reef, Sydney Opera House • Centrally located premium hotels
Australia and New Zealand Panorama
Trip Type: Guided HolidayNZD 14,207.00 /Person
Just how many legendary Antipodean attractions can you tick off in one journey? This comprehensive Melbourne to Auckland tour does both Australia a...
Australia and New Zealand Panorama
Just how many legendary Antipodean attractions can you tick off in one journey? This comprehensive Melbourne to Auckland tour does both Australia and New Zealand justice. There’s the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef and Wet Tropics of Queensland, Sydney Opera House, electric Melbourne lanes, Queenstown’s Remarkable Range, Rotorua’s steamy thermals and Auckland’s just-as-hot restaurants, just to name some highlights… whew!
Welcome to Melbourne
We recommend arriving early in Melbourne – there’s so much to see in the Victorian capital before you meet your fellow travel companions.
Crowne Plaza Hotel Melbourne
- Melbourne
Melbourne
Today, reach for rainbows in Melbourne’s eye-popping street art. Follow the lead of a local to discover alleys emblazoned with murals by some of the world’s greatest aerosol artists. Take note of the hidden bars and restaurants you pass – we can help you make a booking for tonight.
Crowne Plaza Hotel Melbourne
- Melbourne
Melbourne - Cairns
Koalas, birds, wallabies, crocodiles – oh my! They all live side by side at Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures in Cairns, as you’ll discover on a boat cruise you’ll with a private guide through this wilderness reserve. The Daintree Rainforest here is part of the World Heritage listed Wet Tropics of Queensland, and you’ll help protect it on a restoration project.
Hilton Hotel Cairns
- Melbourne
Great Barrier Reef
Did you know that the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef is home to 1,500 species of fish, 215 different birds, 3,000 molluscs, six of the world’s seven marine turtle species, and 30 species of dolphins and whales are residents? Get ready for an experience of a lifetime when you board a high-speed catamaran and cruise to the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef. Strap on a snorkel and mask to view this marine menagerie up close and personal.
Hilton Hotel Cairns
- Great Barrier Reef
Cairns Free Time
If you’re in the habit of getting up early now, you may wish to begin your day with a horizon-bending hot-air-balloon ride over the Atherton Tablelands. Prefer to stay grounded? Sign up for a guided walk through the Daintree Rainforest, or surround yourself with nature riding the Scenic Railway to Kuranda returning on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. Tonight, join your companions for dinner, with native ingredients highlighted at Ochre Restaurant on the waterfront.
Hilton Hotel Cairns
- Cairns
Cairns - Sydney
Fly from Cairns to Sydney. The rest of the day is yours to do as you wish. You could walk to the Art Gallery of NSW or to Mrs. Macquarie's Chair for a panoramic views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Ask your Travel Director for evening dining suggestions.
Sofitel Wentworth Hotel Sydney
- Cairns
Sydney
You might have seen the Sydney Opera House from the outside, but have you ventured within? This incredible architectural feat holds many secrets, as your local guide will reveal. Now take to the water on a Sydney Harbour sightseeing cruise, enjoying million dollar views. If there was ever a place that slipped from the pages of a fairytale, Wendy’s Secret Garden at Lavender Bay is it. Overlooking Sydney Harbour, this pocket of floral paradise is explained by a local volunteer – did you know this was once unused wasteland? Your visit provides a contribution to the ongoing maintenance of the enchanting garden.
Sofitel Wentworth Hotel Sydney
- Sydney
Sydney Free Time
You could spend weeks exploring Sydney. Months even. But you have today, so get set for a wild ride. Your agenda is completely up to you, but we have more than a few ideas. Perhaps a bird’s-eye perspective of the city on a Sydney BridgeClimb? Maybe a ferry to Manly for fish and-chips on the beach? This evening, celebrate Sydney at dinner beside the harbour.
Sofitel Wentworth Hotel Sydney
- Sydney
Sydney - Queenstown
New Zealand's adventure capital, Queenstown, awaits. Explore the alpine village and stunning Lake Wakatipu, then enjoy walkable bars and restaurants. Ask your Travel Director for tips.
Millennium Hotel, Queenstown
- Sydney
Queenstown
Flying over New Zealand, the first thing you’ll notice is that there’s a lot of farmland. It’s fitting, then, that one of the first people you’ll meet is southern girl Laura, who will introduce you to the sheep farm she was born and raised on. Think sheep mustering and whip cracking as well as the chance to feed and pet the farm animals. Then you'll think you've stepped back in time when you arrive in the former gold-mining village of Arrowtown. Come dusk, cruise across Lake Wakatipu aboard the TSS Earnslaw; the only thing more inspiring than the peaks of the Remarkables that surround is the festive atmosphere welcoming you to Walter Peak High Country Farm, where a gourmet barbecue Highlight Dinner at the Colonel’s Homestead awaits.
Millennium Hotel, Queenstown
- Queenstown
Queenstown Free Time
You could spend a long time in and around Queenstown. But on your free day, we highly recommend either venturing into the end-of-the-Earth wilderness that is Milford Sound, to cruise past sheer cliffs, white-capped peaks and waterfalls. Or blissing out on an obligatory wine tour of the Otago region. It’s a difficult decision.
Millennium Hotel, Queenstown
- Queenstown
Queenstown - Auckland
Touching down in Auckland, you’ll immediately understand why it’s known as the ‘City of Sails’ – New Zealand’s largest city has two lovely yacht-filled harbours, which you can explore at your leisure this afternoon.
Horizon by SkyCity Auckland
- Queenstown
Auckland - Rotorua
Today is set to sparkle – quite literally – as thousands of bright green and blue glowworms light up your next destination: the cavernous Waitomo Caves. This evening, explore Te Puia’s geothermal valley, and learn about Māori history and culture on this guided experience, which includes a dinner of hangi-inspired cuisine and a cultural performance in a finely carved meeting house, Te Aronui a Rua. It ends on a high at the Pohutu Geyser, where, armed with a hot chocolate you’ll view one of New Zealand’s geothermal wonderlands.
Millennium Hotel Rotorua
- Auckland
Rotorua
Cute and cuddly, NZ’s national bird, the kiwi, is also endangered. Go behind the scenes on a working kiwi nursery and hatchery to learn how breeding programs are helping the population thrive. The natural drama reaches boiling point at Whakarewarewa, a geothermal reserve and the country’s only living Māori village, home to famous Pohutu Geyser and the bubbling beauty of mud pools. Cap off your day at a Farewell Dinner with your Travel Director and companions.
Millennium Hotel Rotorua
- Rotorua
Farewell from Rotorua and Auckland
Two countries, multiple adventures, an abundance of new friends… Just how do you say goodbye to a journey like this?
- Rotorua
- From city life in Sydney to farm life in New Zealand, go behind the scenes while meeting passionate locals. How does an exclusive backstage tour of the Opera House sound?
- Say goodbye to the run-of-the-mill barbecue and have your meal prepared underground in a hangi, a traditional Indigenous experience at Mitai Maori Village.
- Operation Nest Egg may sound like it’s from a Bond movie, but it’s actually a way that the National Kiwi Hatchery is helping boost the population of kiwi birds in the wild. Your visit helps.
- Cairns is a place two World Heritage Sites meet: The Wet Tropics of Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef. Bring your sense of adventure to explore both.
Departure
Arrival
Availability
Booking Enquiry
Destination DetailsTrip Location
Melbourne (VIC), Australia
Auckland, New Zealand
Australia
New Zealand