16-Nights Australia & New Zealand: The Lands Down Under - Luxury Small Group Journeys — CALL

Abercrombie & Kent

OFFER ID 1493674

Australia & New Zealand: The Lands Down Under
Venture through stunningly diverse natural settings, from Australia’s fabled Outback and Great Barrier Reef to New Zealand’s dazzling Milford Sound, and experience cultural and culinary wonders in the region’s most stylish cities.

16 nights | Call for pricing

Itinerary

Abercrombie & Kent: Australia & New Zealand: The Lands Down Under

DAY 1 Melbourne, Australia

Arrive in Melbourne, where you are met and transferred to your luxurious hotel, with your room pre-registered by A&K for immediate check-in. Roam Melbourne’s fine arts and sporting precincts as well as its lush parklands, and view cultural and historic highlights, such as the State Library and the Royal Exhibition Building. Tonight, gather for a welcome dinner.

Park Hyatt Melbourne

Meals: Dinner

DAY 2 Melbourne

This morning, join a local expert guide as you explore the heart of Melbourne on foot, and then Ride Like a Local by tram. Take in the city’s rich and varied architectural landscape and stroll through its labyrinth of atmospheric arcades and alleyways, home to trendy cafés and eclectic boutiques, not to mention graffiti and street art. Following lunch at a local restaurant, enjoy the rest of the day at leisure.

Park Hyatt Melbourne

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 3 Cairns

Fly to Cairns, gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest, one of the oldest rainforests in the world. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel, where you dine tonight while enjoying views of the Coral Sea.

Crystalbrook Riley

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

DAY 4 Great Barrier Reef

Embark by boat on a full-day exploration of the Great Barrier Reef, a dazzling UNESCO World Heritage Site. Join on-board marine biologists for guided snorkeling expeditions of two different reef locations, and discover the marvelous aquatic wonders inhabiting each, viewing the teeming undersea life — including distinctive coral formations and colorful schools of fish — up close, before an exhilarating cruise back to port.

Crystalbrook Riley

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 5 Daintree Rainforest

Travel overland to Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas, which you explore privately with a park ranger, enjoying access to the koala and wallaby enclosures as well as the opportunity to hold a koala in your arms, on an experience designed exclusively for A&K guests. Also, visit the Wildlife Care Center for rescued wild and injured animals and explore the park at your leisure. Next, head out to a cattle station on the rich, fertile tablelands. You are personally welcomed onto this private property and into the historic homestead, which remains the family home. Built in 1878, it offers you a wonderful insight into the pioneering heritage of Australia. Following a hearty Aussie barbecue lunch on the verandah, hear a talk on cattle from the station owner and learn about the history of the station, their commercial beef cattle and the family’s sustainable land management practices. Also witness a whip cracking demonstration by the station master after which you may choose to try your hand at this venerable cattleman’s skill. Then, return to Cairns for time at leisure.

Crystalbrook Riley

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 6 Uluru

Fly to Uluru (Ayers Rock) and visit a local Aboriginal art gallery that celebrates traditional and contemporary works. Transfer to your luxury tented camp — Longitude 131° — overlooking the UNESCO World Heritage-listed wilderness of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, and enjoy lunch on site. On a Scenic Sundowner, with chilled glass and canapé in hand, witness the changing light reflected on Uluru’s surface as the sun slips below the horizon. Tonight, dine among the dunes to the sounds of an ancient indigenous culture and feast on four delicious courses complemented with premium Australian wines. Later, join your camp’s resident astronomer to observe the southerly constellations.

Longitude 131°

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 7 Uluru

Rise early and set out for Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), stopping to view sunrise over its majestic domes. In the company of your guide, walk through Walpa Gorge and learn how its stark landscapes were shaped. This afternoon, return to Uluru and journey along the Mala walk at its base, pausing to view cave paintings and sources of bush tucker. Later, see the walls of Kantju Gorge ablaze with the light of the setting sun. Sip sparkling wine and nibble on canapés, savoring the solitude of the gorge as the daylight fades.

Longitude 131°

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 8 Sydney

Fly to Sydney and settle into your hotel near the historic Rocks District, in the heart of the city’s best shopping, dining and attractions. Sydney’s appeal is wide-ranging, from its stunning harbor and iconic skyline to its fascinating museums and famed Bondi Beach. It is a world-class city that pulses with the energy of its diverse and cosmopolitan inhabitants.

Four Seasons Hotel Sydney

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

DAYS 9–10 Sydney

After breakfast, privately cruise Sydney Harbour, viewing the city’s inspiring highlights, including the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge. Back on shore, gather for lunch at the iconic Sydney Opera House, followed by a privately guided backstage tour. Enjoy the rest of your day at leisure. The next day is also at your leisure to explore the city until you regroup for the final dinner of your journey in Australia.

Four Seasons Hotel Sydney

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (Day 9); Breakfast, Dinner (Day 10)

DAY 11 Wellington, New Zealand

This morning, fly to Wellington, New Zealand’s trendsetting capital, where you encounter authentic “Kiwi” life. This afternoon, take in highlights of this buzzworthy center of art and cuisine. Ascend by cable car to a scenic outlook point for incredible views over Wellington Harbour and the city to cap your inspiring day.

Intercontinental Wellington

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

DAY 12 Wellington

Set out on foot to gain an insider’s understanding of the locals and a delightful Chef ’s Table experience, joining your guide for tastings of coffee, chocolate, gelato and cheeses in foodie hotspots only the locals know. After lunch, enjoy one of these Design Your Day activities.

Visit the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa to view its vast collection of cultural and indigenous treasures.

e-Bike the Wellington Waterfront, learning about key historical figures that shaped the city’s heritage as you ride.

Walk the Wellington Waterfront with a Guide who recounts local legends and stroll to a chic shopping district.

Return to your hotel.

Intercontinental Wellington

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 13 Queenstown

Fly to Queenstown, located on New Zealand’s South Island. Upon arrival, tour the city, visiting the famed bungee-jump site and the Lake Hayes area, and then enjoy lunch. Afterward, check into your luxurious hotel. Tonight, dine at a local restaurant.

Sofitel Queenstown Hotel & Spa

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 14 Queenstown

This morning, fly to Milford Sound (weather permitting), taking in the stunning alpine views along the way. Upon arrival, board a spacious vessel for a tour of the sound’s majestic scenery. Cruise New Zealand’s southern fjords amid towering cliffs, viewing sparkling waterfalls while watching for wildlife, such as seals basking on the rocks or dolphins frolicking in the water. Return by air to Queenstown for an evening at leisure.

Sofitel Queenstown Hotel & Spa

Meals: Breakfast

DAY 15 Queenstown

Today, privately visit the home and gallery of a world-renowned local artist to learn about the artist’s history and techniques. Stop at a local restaurant for a delicious lunch served with paired wines, and then proceed to a local winery for a tour of the caves, where its vintages are stored for aging, and a wine tasting.

Sofitel Queenstown Hotel & Spa

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

DAYS 16–17 Auckland

Fly to Auckland, where you visit the Auckland Museum to enjoy a cultural performance and a guided walk of He Taonga Maori Gallery. This evening, gather for a special farewell dinner. The next day, transfer to the airport and depart.

Park Hyatt Auckland

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner (Day 16); Breakfast (Day 17)

Featured Destinations

Uluru

The world's largest monolith, located 280 mi/450 km southwest of Alice Springs, is a truly stunning sight, especially at sunset when its burnt-orange glow seems to set the desert on fire. Called Uluru by the Aborigines, the sandstone rock is huge (1,140 ft/350 m high, 9 mi/13 km around) and reddish brown most of the time, taking its color from iron oxide, or rust. Its presence is made more powerful by the mostly barren plain that surrounds it and disappears into the horizon. In 1985, ownership of the rock was returned to its traditional owners. It is rarely referred to as Ayers Rock anymore.

Considered sacred by the Aborigines for thousands of years, the rock is now part of the expansive Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, one of the country's biggest tourist attractions. The park includes the Olgas/Kata Tjuta, a cluster of 36 giant domelike rock formations about 20 mi/35 km west. If you want to visit both, plan to spend at least one night. You'll want to see Uluru at both sunset and sunrise. The Olgas are equally magnificent at both times of day. (But be prepared to jockey for position at either place; tour buses disgorge hundreds of visitors laden with binoculars, cameras and video equipment.)

Start your visit to the park with a stop at the cultural center. Run by the Anangu (a local Aboriginal clan), the center is a wonderful introduction to the unusual rock formations and to the people who lived in their harsh shadows for centuries. Aboriginal artwork and artifacts are on display. You can also see re-enactments of life in the bush and watch informative videos. Most visitors explore the rock as part of a tour led by park rangers, Anangu guides or private tour companies. But you can also pick up a printed walking guide at the cultural center and set off on your own.

Only one trail leads to the top of the rock, and it's fairly steep—those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, asthma, fear of heights or the like should remain earthbound. The Anangu prefer you walk around—not on—the rock because of its spiritual importance. If you do decide to climb it, allow two to three hours and take along a snack and plenty of water. The view from the top is spectacular, but hiking around the base is more educational and less strenuous. We suggest taking one or more of the shorter walks that pass water holes and rock paintings, allowing you to observe the rock's many faces at a leisurely pace. (Walking around the entire base of the rock takes about three hours.)

Allow at least an afternoon to visit the Olgas/Kata Tjuta. A frequent debate among visitors is whether the Olgas outshine the rock. It's a close call—the Olgas are taller, reaching 1,790 ft/545 m at the highest point. Made of conglomerate (pebbles and boulders cemented together by mud and sand), they are off-limits to climbers, but you can explore some of the valleys and chasms between the rocks.

Most visitors fly to Uluru or drive from Alice Springs. About the only place to stay in the area is the Ayers Rock Resort, or Yulara, whose five hotels and a campground can accommodate visitors in all price ranges. Longitude 131 is a magnificent safari camp with 15 luxury tents. Dozens of tours leave from Ayers Rock Resort, including sunrise camel rides around the rock, sunset champagne dinners in the desert, Aboriginal culture tours and stargazing. You can also rent a car there and explore on your own.

Because of the excessive heat in summer, the best time to visit is April-November (winter in Australia). Always take along plenty of drinking water. If you are flying to the Outback, we suggest going overland one way from Alice Springs (four to five hours) but flying the other way—the desert drive is scenic, but it can be tedious the second time around. http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/uluru.

Auckland

Queenstown

Wellington

Sydney

Sydney

Soak up Sydney’s gorgeous harbour, seductive outdoor lifestyle and great natural beauty. Kayak under the Sydney Harbour Bridge or wave at the Opera House as you ride a ferry across the harbour to Manly. Learn to surf at Bondi Beach or swim in the calm waters of Coogee. Lose yourself in the cobblestone cul-de-sacs of The Rocks or in the markets, boutiques, cafes and pubs of Paddington. As well as a world-famous harbour and more than 70 sparkling beaches, Sydney offers fabulous food, festivals and 24-7 fun.

Five Sydney Experiences Not to Miss:

1. Explore the historic Rocks

Discover Sydney’s colorful convict history in the harbourside quarter where it all began. Just five minutes from Circular Quay, you can hear stories of hangings and hauntings on a ghost tour, wander the weekend markets or climb the span of the Harbour Bridge. In amongst the maze of sandstone lanes and courtyards, you’ll find historic workman’s cottages and elegant terraces, art galleries, hotels with harbour views and Sydney’s oldest pubs. See people spill out of them onto a party on the cobblestone streets when The Rocks celebrates Australia Day on January 26th, Anzac Day on April 25th and New Years Eve.

2. Hit the world-famous harbour

Sail past the Opera House on a chartered yacht or paddle from Rose Bay in a kayak. Take a scenic cruise from Circular Quay or Darling Harbour, past waterfront mansions, national parks and Shark, Clark, Rodd and Goat islands. Tour historic Fort Denison or learn about the life of Sydney’s first inhabitants, the Gadigal people, on an Aboriginal cultural cruise. Watch the harbour glitter from the green parklands of the Royal Botanic Gardens, which curves around its edge. Or take in the view from a waterfront restaurant in Mosman, on the northern side of the bridge, or Watsons Bay at South Head. Walk from Rose Bay to Vaucluse or Cremorne Point to Mosman Bay, on just some of the 16 spectacular routes hugging the harbour foreshore.

3. Visit Manly on the ferry

Travel across Sydney Harbour on a ferry to Manly, which sits between beaches of ocean surf and tranquil inner harbour. Wander through native bushland on the scenic Manly to Spit Bridge walk, learn to scuba-dive at Cabbage Tree Bay or ride a bike to Fairy Bower. Picnic at Shelly Beach on the ocean and sail or kayak from Manly Wharf round the harbour. Hire a scooter and do a round trip of northern beaches such as Narrabeen and Palm Beach. Explore the shops, bars and cafes along the bustling pine tree-lined Corso and dine at world-class restaurants with water views.

4. Enjoy café culture and top shopping in Paddington

Meander through the Saturday markets, browse fashion boutiques on bustling Oxford Street or discover the antique shops and art galleries in upmarket Woollahra. Visit the 1840s Victoria Barracks Army base, open to the public once a week, and see restored Victorian terraces on wide, leafy streets. Ride or roller-blade in huge Centennial Park, then stop for coffee and lunch on Oxford St or in the mini-village of Five Ways. Catch a movie at an art-house cinema or leaf through a novel at midnight in one of the huge bookstores. Crawl between the lively, historic pubs. They hum even more after a game at the nearby stadium or a race day, when girls and guys arrive in their crumpled trackside finery.

5. Walk from Bondi to Coogee

Take in breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean as you walk the winding, sea-sculpted sandstone cliffs between Bondi and Coogee. Swim in the famous Bondi Icebergs rock pool or just watch the swimmers with a sunset cocktail from the restaurant above. See wild waves in Tamarama, nicknamed Glamarama for the beautiful people who lie on its golden sand. From mid-October to November, the stretch from here to Bondi is transformed into an outdoor gallery for the Sculptures by the Sea exhibition. You can surf, picnic on the grass or stop for a coffee at family-friendly Bronte. Or swim, snorkel or scuba dive in Clovelly and tranquil Gordon’s Bay. See the graves of poets Henry Lawson, Dorothea Mackellar and aviator Lawrence Hargrave in Waverley Cemetery, on the edge of the cliffs. Finish your tour in the scenic, backpacker haven of Coogee.

Cairns

Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is a maze of hidden laneways, opulent bars, exclusive restaurants and off-the-beaten-track boutiques. Here you can soak up culture, hit the sporting grounds, taste the dynamic food and wine scene, dance til dawn or wander the parks and leafy boulevards. Visit Federation Square, the city's landmark cultural space, and enjoy a sunset beer on the St Kilda promenade. Shop till you drop on funky Brunswick Street or upmarket Chapel Street. Wander Southbank's cafes, bistros and bars and get a world tour of cuisines in Carlton, Richmond and Fitzroy. Take an Aboriginal Heritage Walk through the Royal Botanic Gardens and cheer with a capacity crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Five Must-Have Melbourne Experiences:

1. Shop till you drop

Bag a bargain at the Rose Street Artist's Market and browse the funky boutiques on Brunswick Street. Buy designer labels such as Akira Isogawa and Zimmerman on Chapel Street in Prahran or in the historic Melbourne General Post Office, which covers an entire city block. For everything from fashion to furnishings at fantastic value, visit Bridge Road in Richmond. Melbourne is a shopper's haven, offering eclectic boutiques, high-end fashion, funky homeware stores and European style piazzas in the city's arcades and hidden laneways.

2. Bar hop and dance till dawn

Sip a cocktail in a converted sea container in Chinatown, enjoy a sunset beer in a St Kilda pub or listen to cabaret in lush retro surroundings in jazz bars in the city. Linger over exquisite tapas and exotic wine in a Little Collins Street bar and mingle in a pink parlour with fake grass in Bourke Street. You can party from dusk in the bars of Brunswick Street. Or dance till dawn in bars in the city's lantern-lit laneways, secret apart from the spill of coloured light under heavy brass doors.

3. Get into the gourmet goodness

Let the aroma of good coffee waft over you in Melbourne's gothic European laneways. The city is famous for its coffee and old-world café culture but there's so much more to explore. Once you've downed a 'short black' or taken an afternoon aperitif, try tea in a nineteenth-century hotel or salivate over your silver spoon in acclaimed restaurants like Nobu, Botanical and Becco. Pick up fresh fruits, vegetables and seafood at the Queen Victoria Market on a Saturday, known for its bustling crowds and buskers. Try out the restaurants, cafes, bistros and bars in Southbank or Federation Square. Make your way around Melbourne's multicultural cosmos of cuisines: Carlton for Italian classics, Richmond for budget-friendly Vietnamese and Fitzroy for Spanish tapas.

4. Fill up on culture

See a performance by the Australian Ballet, which is based here in Australia's cultural capital. Or enjoy a dazzling musical at the Princess Theatre. Browse the Southern Hemisphere's best collection of international art at the National Gallery of Victoria. Or visit the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Federation Square, a landmark cultural 'space' for Melbournians. Challenge yourself with the creative collections in the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in Southbank. To learn more about Melbourne's Aboriginal cultural heritage, see contemporary and dreamtime art or take an Aboriginal Heritage Walk through the Royal Botanic Gardens.

5. Go sports mad

Cheer for an Australian Rules Football game with a capacity crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground over winter. Go cricket mad in summer, when the city hosts the Ashes and one day internationals. Or join the huge crowds watching the Australian Tennis Open at Melbourne Park. Rev heads head to Melbourne in March for the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix in Albert Park. And whether you are a racing fan or just a casual punter, you won't want to miss the Melbourne Cup - the world's richest horse race on the first Tuesday in November.