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Australasia

A guide to the cruise ports of call of Australia and New Zealand.

Adelaide

Southern Australia’s most graceful city lies nestled along the coastal plain between the Gulf St. Vincent and the Adelaide Hills. The city was designed from the very beginning with wide streets and numerous town squares, marvellous Victorian and Edwardian architecture, parks and wide-open spaces. The city preserved many of its unique stone houses built by the original settlers, as well as the more grand historic public buildings constructed during the Gold Rush years.

Auckland

Sited on a splendid and hilly isthmus, this is New Zealand’s largest and most vibrant city. The newly redeveloped pierside offers intimate bars and splendid restaurants, while the harbour is a constantly shifting panorama of yachts that has earned the city its nick-name, the City of Sails. Travel south to experience the mighty geysers and plopping mud pools of Rotorua, or go underground in Waitomo and walk through grottoes illuminated by a million glow-worms. Auckland’s highest point, Mount Eden (643ft), offers incredible city views, reinforcing the claim that its twin harbors are among the most beautiful in the world.

Barrier Reef

The largest living thing on earth, the 1,232 mile long Great Barrier Reef is entirely composed of tiny corals - over 300 types have been counted here. The reef is populated with technicolour fish and rare bird species. Its ethereal combinations of white surf, azure and lapis lazuli waters and cloudless skies add up to a day of wondrous beauty which you will remember forever.

Brisbane

The capital of Queensland, Brisbane is Australia’s third city. Notable buildings include the Observatory (built by convicts), Parliament House and the extensive stadia and pavilions built for the 1982 Commonwealth Games. Naturally, you can count on sampling fine wines here - but one delicacy you’ll never have heard of is delicious Moreton Bay Bugs, halfway between a crayfish and a lobster.

Cairns

A cosmopolitan city flanked by pristine rainforests and golden beaches, Cairns is the gateway to destinations such as the Great Barrier Reef, Kuranda, and the Daintree, a World Heritage protected area. Cairns Esplanade features an excellent facility incorporating an outdoor amphitheatre, a large sandy swimming lagoon, grassy picnic areas, walking tracks, free public barbeques, children’s playground, shops and restaurants and an environmental interpretation center.

Cooktown

Australia’s first non-indigenous settlement, discovered and settled by Captain Cook and his crew in 1770. A small frontier town located at the far north end of North Queensland, it boasts a unique character born from its years of geographic isolation and hard living. It was not until the current North Queensland tourist boom that it began to achieve a level of success comparable with the Palmer Fiver Gold Ruish years of 1870s and 1880s.

Darwin

A rollicking town with a frontier spirit, and named after its most famous visitor, Darwin is the capital of Australia’s Northern Territory. Surrounded by rain forests and acres of sugar cane, Darwin itself is surprisingly modern, largely due to the fact that the city has been rebuilt following typhoon damage. For spectacular scenery and abundant wildlife, head out of town to the wide open spaces of Kakadu National Park.

Fremantle/Perth

‘Freo’ as the locals call it is a charming city with a profusion of Victorian pubs, hotels and shops to divert you. Six miles inland is Perth, the wealthiest city in the Antipodes and home to many millionaires. Its also the most remote major city on earth. Tour its leafy suburbs with their fabulous homes, consider the exhibits in the Western Australia Museum, or shop in the city centre in a half-timbered mall.

Hobart

Tasmania’s remoteness from the continent of Australia means that is has retained superb and substantial echoes of its stately colonial past in the form of elegant mansions, picturesque villages and towns rich in Georgian architecture. Here you’ll also find wombats and the elusive Tasmanian Devil haunting a nearby wildlife park.

Melbourne

The second largest Australian city after Sydney, there’s no way that Melbourne is a runner up. Instead, its a vibrant and gracious metropolis, boasting sweeping parks, revered universities and splendid theatres. Sports lovers will be more than familiar with the famous cricket ground and the race track. Melburnians are convinced that, unlike Sydney, the reason for their city’s dignity is that it was founded by free men - not convicts. The city is notable for its mix of Victorian, Gothic and contemporary architecture, its extensive tram network and beautiful Victorian parks and gardens.

Sydney

This is a city with a breezy and invigorating attitude that will prove infectious. In the historic ‘Rocks’, you’ll see where it all started when the first convicts founded the city. You’ll have seen both the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge as you docked, but you can tour the former and cross the latter. Dining ashore is tempting, with literally hundreds of restaurants to choose from. Shopping, too, is rewarding. How about a Drizabone raincoat or necklace of sparkling local opals?  Located just west of Sydney are the magnificent Blue Mountains, and on a north shore promontory is the acclaimed Taronga Zoo, with a distinct emphasis on an open, natural environment for the animals.