Get your Melbourne bearings on a city tour, but make sure you’re wearing comfy shoes for when you hit the streets to explore hidden alleys covered in eye-popping murals. The afternoon is yours to indulge.

Crowne Plaza Hotel Melbourne

Breakfast

There are endless reasons to linger in Melbourne. But if you feel like exploring further afield, talk to us about a road trip along the Great Ocean Road (it deserves its name) or to Phillip Island. The penguins waddling from the ocean up the sand to their burrows is the cutest thing you’ll ever see.

Crowne Plaza Hotel Melbourne

Breakfast

Some parts of Australia are so remote that the only way kids can get an education is remotely via the School of the Air. Your next stop is the birthplace of the Alice Springs township, the historic Telegraph Station. Being this far flung also means there’s no light pollution from cars or skyscrapers. The result? Unrivalled stargazing (and a BBQ feast) with the Falzon family at their eco-oriented Earth Sanctuary World Nature Centre.

Mercure Alice Springs Resort

Breakfast, Dinner

The rusty red landscapes of Uluru beckon as you leave Alice Springs for Ayers Rock Resort, your backdrop this afternoon is the world’s largest rock monolith. Follow your guide to the perfect perch to capture Uluru as the last of the day disappears, glass of bubbles in hand (of course).

Desert Gardens

Breakfast

The only reason to get out of bed before dawn? For a magical Uluru sunrise. It’s a spiritual place with stories of the Anangu, caretakers of this remote arid landscape revealed while you tour the base. The red desert follows you to Kata Tjuta, where nature humbles as you walk through the towering domes of this ancient rock formation. Cheers to the end of another amazing day.

Desert Gardens

Breakfast

So the other reason to rise in the dark is to witness Bruce Munro’s Field of Light, an installation of 50,000 orbs blanketing the outback. This is the countryside that First Nations artists immortalise in their paintings – try your hand at creating one during an intro to Western Desert Art. Head to your next stop in sunny Cairns.

Hilton Hotel Cairns

Breakfast

Cruising with crocs, a scenic railway ride into World Heritage listed rainforest, a wander along the Cairns Esplanade? Today the choice is yours. Celebrate the end of an incredible day at dinner on Cairns’ waterfront at Salt House for regional seafood plucked straight from the ocean, highlighting fresh, local ingredients, and prepared on their custom-built Argentinian wood fired grill.

Hilton Hotel Cairns

Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

The world’s largest living organism, the Great Barrier Reef, never fails to dazzle. Set out on a catamaran to explore a kaleidoscope of colour: over 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. Strap on a snorkel or visit an underwater observatory and semi-submersible craft to take in the menagerie without getting your hair wet.

Hilton Hotel Cairns

Breakfast, Lunch

Touch down in Australia’s largest city, with a harbour you could gaze at all day long. And all night. Freshen up, and do just that – at your leisure.

InterContinental Hotel Sydney

Breakfast

Bring your stamina: today is one of innumerable highlights. Go behind the scenes at the Sydney Opera House, discovering its architectural and performance secrets. If these sails could talk. Then see the city from the water on a Sydney Harbour Highlight Lunch Cruise enjoying a menu focusing on local food and wine. One icon to another: The world’s most famous beach beckons this afternoon, with your chance to pad along the sand at Bondi with Sydney’s beautiful people.

InterContinental Hotel Sydney

Breakfast, Lunch

Now you’ve found your bearings in Sydney, why not linger around the harbour – perhaps it’s time to glimpse it from above on a Sydney Bridge Climb? Tonight, enjoy dinner back in the shadow of the Opera House at Midden restaurant.

InterContinental Hotel Sydney

Breakfast, Dinner

All you have to do today is sit back and enjoy the view as you cross the Tasman to embark on your next adventure.

The Grand by SkyCity

Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

We’ll take you out to Mission Bay and Bastion Point – have your camera poised – and then leave you to your own devices in the afternoon.

The Grand by SkyCity

Breakfast

Get up close with NZ’s national bird, the endangered kiwi, at a working nursery and hatchery. See how breeding programs help sustain the population. Then, immerse yourself in the Te Pā Tū Māori Experience, celebrating Māori history, traditions and future aspirations celebrated over forest kai horotai (seasonal canapes) with chef choice aperitif, and a delicious three-course meal.

Millennium Hotel, Rotorua

Breakfast, Dinner

You’re invited to an exclusive morning tea at the Red Barn on a working dairy farm in the Waikato district. Expect country banter and have a go at the forgotten art of butter churning.

Millennium Hotel, Queenstown

Breakfast, Morning Tea

Sheer cliffs, thundering waterfalls, glaciers and rainforest – if there’s a destination more inspiring than Milford Sound/Piopiotahi in Fiordland National Park, we’re yet to find it. After a cruise here, we’re sure you’ll agree.

Millennium Hotel, Queenstown

Breakfast, Lunch

Today is all yours. Regroup for dinner at the historic Postmasters Cottage.

Millennium Hotel, Queenstown

Breakfast, Dinner

Arrowtown, known for its charm, and Cromwell, for its stone fruit. Arriving at Lake Tekapo, you’re far from anywhere. Which practically guarantees dazzling stargazing in the UNESCO Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve.

Peppers Bluewater Resort

Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

Get an early start to watch the sun rise over the lake or sleep in before heading north through South Canterbury to Christchurch. Take in the sights of a city coming back to life in a whole new way.

Distinction Christchurch Hotel

Breakfast

Travel to Hurunui Hills, a hill-country farm in North Canterbury. Enjoy warm Kiwi hospitality with the Bamford Family. Soak up the stunning scenery while you enjoy morning tea, meet the farm animals, and discover what it is like to live off the land on this unique experience. Then visit a local vineyard, Waipara Springs Winery, where it’s time to relax over a platter-style lunch among the vines. A big day leads to a big evening, joining your Travel Director for with a celebratory Farewell Dinner.

Distinction Christchurch Hotel

Morning Tea, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

How did three weeks disappear like that? Re-live all the memorable moments on your way home.

Breakfast