South Australia & New Zealand

Arrive into vibrant Sydney and transfer to your hotel. After settling in, set out on a lunch cruise on Sydney Harbour, where you take in the fresh air with a glass of Australian wine in hand and view icons like the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Your evening is at leisure.

Meet your A&K guide for a leisurely walk to Circular Quay to board a ferry to Taronga Zoo. Enjoy a private, behind-the-scenes tour with an expert senior zookeeper, who introduces you to Australia's unusual wildlife and provides excellent photographic opportunities with koalas, kangaroos and echidnas. Board the ferry back to Circular Quay and visit the Sydney Opera House for a private tour of one of the city’s most iconic landmarks. The remainder of the day is at leisure.

Fly to cosmopolitan Adelaide, South Australia’s largest city. From there, proceed to the picturesque Barossa Valley, home to Australia’s finest wineries. Experience the spirit of the valley by stopping at a winery to bottle your own wine and savor an exquisite seasonal meal, and then continue to your vineyard hotel.

Your adventure takes you north into the wine region of the Clare Valley. On your way, travel through old towns with quaint cottages and historic buildings. At Clare, visit one of the fine boutique wineries in this region. The legendary lilac haze of the Flinders Ranges looms ever closer and you are now in the habitat of Australia’s famous wildlife — not only kangaroos and emus live here in abundance, but also many species of birds and reptiles. Continue through vast sheep station country into the heart of the Flinders Ranges, with an opportunity for a poignant stop at one of the ghost towns for some stories and photos.

Explore the Flinders Ranges, home to a vast number of native animals and birds, with your expert local guide. Drive through Bunyeroo and Brachina Gorges to the western side of the range. This region was once an ancient seabed and it now carries some very important early fossils; with luck, you may even catch a glimpse of the rare and endangered yellow-footed rock wallaby. Visit the historic railway town of Quorn, the home to the famous Pichi Richi steam train, which still runs on its original tracks. Follow alongside the track through the Pichi Richi Pass to spectacular views of the Spencer Gulf and Port Augusta. As you travel along the coastal road, you see the old ports and seaside towns that were so important in the development of this region. Arrive in Adelaide early in the evening.

Travel to Kangaroo Island, a world-renowned wilderness conservation and research area. Relax in your idyllic natural surroundings, with turquoise blue water, stunning white-sand beaches and lush wilderness. At Seal Bay Conservation Park, walk with your guide among Australian sea lions on a beautiful sandy beach. Visit Flinders Chase National Park home to kangaroos, wallabies, possums, goannas, echidnas, koalas and platypus as well as many birds including rare Cape Barren geese.

Transfer to the airport this morning for your flight to Auckland, New Zealand, the gateway to New Zealand’s North and South Islands and the nation’s largest city. Auckland offers the best of both worlds: a relaxed South Pacific vibe by day and a thriving nighttime pulse. Check in to your hotel and enjoy the rest of the day at leisure.

Take an afternoon drive along the waterfront to visit the quaint Victorian village of Parnell and enjoy panoramic views from the extinct volcano, Mount Eden. At the Auckland Museum, see a world-renowned collection of Polynesian artifacts, including an 80-foot war canoe built in 1836.

This morning, drive south to Rotorua. Pass through the lush pasturelands of the Waikato, stopping en route for lunch and a bush walk at the settlement of Te Aroha, whose recuperative mineral baths have drawn visitors and health-seekers for years. Hear tales of the gold mining days of Waiorongomai Valley, where fortunes were made and lost and where you can still follow old miners’ trails and discover relics of the gold rush days. Alternatively, stop in quaint Cambridge, a majestic town with a stunning range of exotic trees that add to the English town atmosphere.

Begin your second day in Rotorua with a floatplane flight over Mount Tarawera's Crater Rift, evidence of the massive destruction caused by its 1886 eruption. Continue south past the Steaming Cliffs and the hot lakes of Waimangu Volcanic Valley, returning to Rotorua over the Blue and Green Lakes, the geysers of Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve and the city itself. Return to terra firma for a guided tour of the city, including the beautiful Government Gardens. Continue to Rainbow Springs and the Kiwi Encounter, a hatchery and nursery for New Zealand’s endangered, elusive and treasured living national emblem. After lunch, visit Te Puia Thermal Reserve to observe its remarkable geysers, boiling mud and silica terraces. Stop at the nearby Arts & Crafts Institute to watch weavers and carvers at work.

Transfer to the airport to connect with your flight to Queenstown, where you are met and driven to your accommodations. With its excellent skiing and outdoor attractions, Queenstown has become a popular resort destination for Kiwis and international visitors alike.

Set out by helicopter to the UNESCO-listed Milford Sound, flying over secluded alpine lakes and lush rainforest and past rugged mountain peaks. View Lake Quill, the source of the spectacular Sutherland Falls, the second highest waterfall in the Southern Hemisphere. Weather permitting, you have a chance to land “on top of the world” and stand atop the ancient ice floes of the Fjordland Glaciers. Relax over a picnic lunch before your Dart River excursion. Your jet boat takes you into the deep upper reaches of the Dart River, revealing landscapes of snow-capped mountains, ancient native forest, waterfalls and glacial valleys frozen in time. Then hike through the Heritage Trail at Paradise, where your expert guide informs you with commentary on the flora, fauna and history of the area. A 4x4 vehicle takes you via a scenic back-road route to view scenery immortalized in many world-renowned films, including the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Today’s tour of the Wakatipu basin includes a visit to the historic gold-mining settlement of Arrowtown, local artist studios and the Lakes and District Museum, followed by the Kawarau Bridge made famous by A.J. Hackett and over a million bungy jumpers. Then, enjoy a private visit to Mount Edward winery. Founded in 1997 by Alan Brady, the godfather of Central Otago Pinot Noir, the winery grows limited quantities of premium pinot noir, single vineyard designates, and small-batch classic white varieties. Enjoy a tasting, followed by lunch at the winery. On returning to Queenstown, take the Skyline Gondola cable car ride to Bob’s Peak for spectacular views over Lake Wakatipu.

Return to the airport for your flight home.