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April 2012 Travel
ReportOur
Australia and New Zealand Review
by Zaneta
Rochemont,
Owner, Cruise Holidays of
Clarkson
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Welcome to the April edition of Cruise Holidays of
Clarkson’s Travel Report. In March I returned from a
month-long cruise tour of Australia and New
Zealand. I traveled with a group of wonderful travel
enthusiasts who made this one of MY favourite trips.
Allow me to reminisce on this remarkable adventure, and
perhaps awake the travel bug in you.
 Australia is the world’s oldest continent. Even
though it was inhabited by the British only
224 years ago (1788), the Aborigines
first settled in Australia
60,000 years ago. What started as a colonial penal
country is now a vibrant, modern nation with a
population of 21 million people. It is a
continent, but it's also an island, which makes it a
great cruise destination for anyone looking for a
longer, more exotic cruise. Going to Australia and
NOT visiting
New
Zealand, would be an absolute crime.
This smaller island nation
also in the South Pacific
offers spectacular natural beauty and some of the
friendliest people on earth.
The land mass of Australia
equals that of United States
or the European
Continent. The landscape is like nowhere else,
dominated by the dry Outback, the Great Dividing
Range, the lushness of Tasmania, and
the coral
reef and rainforests in
the tropical north. Because of its location,
Australia is
a land of plants and animals seen nowhere else in the
world. Who doesn't think of koala
bears and
kangaroos in
connection with Australia? The
dingo was
brought to Australia by the Aborigines, and
is considered the country’s native dog. The vegetation
is like a Hollywood movie setting. Most prominent is the
“gum tree”, or the eucalyptus,
which is widely represented through its 500 varieties.
Its leaves are the only food the cuddly koala bears eat
continuously for four hours of the day—the other 20
hours they spend sleeping. There is something very
unique to the Australian
trees—most varieties shed their bark instead of their
leaves.
 The heart of the country is in the
vast Outback—one of
the oldest landscapes in the world. Its dramatic red
rocks (Uluru
being the most majestic one), ochre plains and purple
mountains are topped by brilliant blue skies. A “dinner under the
stars” at sunset and a visit to Uluru at sun
rise is a must--nowhere else will you see such dramatic
display of nature’s beauty. It is here that the
indigenous inhabitants of Australia, the
Aborigines
settled 60,000 years ago. For thousands of years they
hunted and roamed the vast Outback freely.
This nomadic way of life was interrupted when the English
settlers claimed wide plots of land. The early days
of European
colonialism proved disastrous for the Aborigines.
Thousands were killed either in hostilities or by
unfamiliar disease. During the 1850’s many of them were
confined in reserves in an attempt to overcome widespread poverty.
Nowadays, Australians are
increasingly aware of the rich heritage of the Aborigines, and
the society is trying to reconcile and make amends for
injustice committed by their ancestors over 200 years
ago. Even though the first European
settlers were convicts, and Australia is
known as a penal country, very few Australians
have true convict origin. Within only one generation of
the arrival of the First Fleet in
1788, Australia had become a nation of immigrants.
Our group adventure was made up of a one week
land tour and a seventeen day cruise on Oceania’s
Regatta. We started out in the bustling tropical
city of Cairns, the
gateway to the rainforests and the Barrier Reef.
Just north of Cairns, we
discovered the only place on earth where one can see two
World Heritage
listed sights side by side: the magnificent Great Barrier Reef
and the ancient rainforest areas of Atherton
tableland. This area is truly a tropical paradise of
beaches, islands, mountains, rivers, waterfalls and
lakes.
 A visit to the Outback
followed; here we witnessed the most dramatic landscape
dominated by Uluru. The
highlight here was the dinner under the stars
overlooking Uluru at
sunset, and the dramatic sunrise at the footsteps of Uluru, followed
by the Liru
Walk where we retraced the paths of the Liru Ancestors
through the bush land near Uluru. We then
flew to Sydney,
Australia’s largest city. Sydney embraces
its harbour, taking the sea and natural waterways to its
heart. The grand style of the Opera House has
made the city the landmark of the South Pacific.
We drove through the historic “Rocks” area
where Australia was
first founded with its maze of terrace houses, pubs and
restaurants. Here we boarded Oceania’s elegant
Regatta—our home for the next 17
days.
Melbourne
was our next port of call. We first embarked on a Savannah
Walkabout adventure for a visit to the kangaroos and
emus. We walked to the billabong and
through gum trees; and we learned how to make delicious
‘Billy
tea”—traditional tea of the Swagmen.
 After a
day at sea, we docked in Hobart, the capital city of Tasmania. We
immediately headed towards Port Arthur,
undoubtedly the most historic and somber landmark of Australia’s
penal past. This open air museum exhib its many of the prison’s original
facilities. After cruising the Tasman Sea for
two days, we reached the western coast of New Zealand’s South
Island and sailed along the fjords of Milford Sound.
Our first port of call was Dunedin—New Zealand’s
oldest city well known for its Victorian and
Edwardian architecture. Next, we called on Wellington, New
Zealand’s capital city and most northern port in the
South
Island. Apart from the stunning bays and botanical
gardens, Wellington is
the home to Te
Papa-- New
Zealand’s national museum. The museum is famous for
its amazing display of Maori heritage,
and its interactive exhibitions. We then sailed to the
North Island and called on Napier, nestled
in Hawke’s
Bay, for an introduction to New Zealand’s most
popular wine region with over 70 wineries. Bursting with
taste sensations, Hawke’s Bay is
one of New Zealand’s leading food and wine destinations.
Tauranga was our next port of call. Here we visited the Elms Mission House
(the oldest European heritage site in the Bay of
Plenty), and we stopped at the Kiwi360 for a
tour of the kiwi fruit orchard. Our cruise journey ended
in Auckland,
New Zealand’s largest city, home to over 600 dormant
volcanoes, the most significant being the youngest
volcano of Rangitoto Island.
There are a number of cruise lines that offer
cruises of Australia and New
Zealand. If you are planning to visit Downunder,
call our agency at 905.855.1700;
we will be happy to go over the itinerary details and
suggest the best option for
you.
Stay tuned for Cruise Holidays of
Clarkson’s May Travel Report. Joe is
currently on tour with a group of Classical 96.3
listeners accompanied by their on-air host Bill Anderson.
They are touring Slovenia and
its picturesque country side, cruising on the Danube and
admiring elegant Prague. In the
mean-time, have a wonderful month of April and a Happy Easter.
Stop by our office at 1739 Lakeshore Road
West in the Clarkson Village, or send us an e-mail
at info@clarksontravel.ca. If you have made arrangements for your 2012
holiday, now is the time to start planning your 2013
vacation, especially if you are thinking of a river
cruise. Most river cruise companies are sold out for the
rest of 2012 and are now booking their 2013 itineraries.
Don’t wait--the time to travel is
now.
Cruise Holidays of Clarkson’s 2012-2013 Travel
Picks:
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12 Jun 2012
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AmaWaterways
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20 Jun 2012
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Regent Seven Seas
Cruises
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03 Jul 2012
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Regent Seven Seas
Cruises
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12 Jul 2012
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Oceania
Cruises
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06 Sep 2012
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Regent Seven Seas
Cruises
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12 Sep 2012
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AmaWaterways
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Black Sea: Istanbul
to Vienna (River) LIMITED
SPACE
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07 Sep
2012
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AmaWaterways
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16 Sep 2012
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Regent Seven Seas
Cruises
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16 Sep
2012
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AmaWaterways
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29 Sep
2012
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AmaWaterways
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14 Oct 2012
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Oceania
Cruises
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22 Oct 2012
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Silversea
Cruises
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24 Oct 2012
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Regent Seven Seas
Cruises
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29 Oct 2012
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Silversea
Cruises
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02 Nov 2012
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Cruise Holidays of
Clarkson
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14 Nov 2012
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Regent Seven Seas
Cruises
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26 Nov 2012
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Regent Seven Seas
Cruises
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04 Dec 2012
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Oceania
Cruises
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29 Dec 2012
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Disney Cruise
Line
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05 Jan 2013
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Oceania
Cruises
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12 Jan 2013
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Paul Gauguin
Cruises
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16 Jan 2013
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Oceania
Cruises
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25 Jan 2013
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Silversea
Cruises
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23 Feb 2013
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Crystal
Cruises
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28 Mar 2013
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Oceania
Cruises
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01 Apr 2013
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Regent Seven Seas
Cruises
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22 Apr 2013
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Regent Seven Seas
Cruises
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16 May 2013
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Silversea
Cruises
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18 May 2013
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Crystal
Cruises
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15 Jun 2013
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Crystal
Cruises
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Best
regards,
Zaneta Rochemont
President,
Cruise Holidays of
Clarkson
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