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When to cruise to Australia

Month	Cruise season indicator		Month	Cruise seacon indicator
January			July	No
February			August	No
March			September
April			October
May	No		November
June	No		December

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All you Need to Know

by Travel Journalist Maria Harding

It was a tough choice – bungee-jumping, sheep-shearing or putting myself through an earthquake – and not one I expected to have to be making on a museum visit.

But Te Papa Museum is the pride and joy of Wellington, capital of New Zealand (currently one of the hottest destinations for British travellers) and it offers all those experiences and more in virtual reality.

But the greatest fun - for me, at least - was the chance to watch an expert shearer doing the real thing at a farm near Tauranga, where we experienced steaming thermal geysers and visited a Maori settlement as well as learning to tell our Border Leicesters from our Poll Dorsets during a sheep “beauty parade.

The fact is that, for those of us who don’t yet have that much time at our disposal, the best way to see this remarkable country is by cruise ship. Its compact coastline makes it possible to reach its major ports and experience its top attractions in just a couple of weeks.

Since its climate ranges from sub-Antarctic in the south to sub- tropical in the north, the effect is a little like cruising around the prettiest parts of Britain – but with Caribbean-class sunshine and Alaska-style dazzling scenery and wildlife thrown in.

A typically varied itinerary will take you from exciting Auckland and the glorious `garden city’ of Christchurch – famed for its magnificent parks and flower festivals – to Dunedin, the southern hemisphere’s equivalent to Edinburgh with its solid Victorian architecture and well-stocked woollen goods shops.

Napier’s pastel-tinted Art Deco-style architecture is just as imposing – and rather prettier – than Dunedin’s, while the crescent moon-shaped harbour of Picton is – believe me - one of the most beautiful you will ever behold.

Even more magnificent are New Zealand’s famous Sounds - fjord-like inlets of calm water bordered by tall rocky islands alive with albatross, herons, and history. Originally charted by Captain Cook in the 1770s, they are a living testament to the tribulations of his expedition.

You’ll find Cook’s adventures described in greater detail at that award-winning Te Papa Museum alongside the virtual reality bungee jump (in a terrifying contraption like a giant hamster wheel).

No doubt about it – a cruise around New Zealand is magical and nowadays it’s easier than ever to combine it with a sailing around neighbouring Australia.

Australia cruising used to be confined to visiting Sydney and a couple of other places as part of a world cruise but new itineraries are now opening up far more of its coastline and mixing well-known ports like Darwin, Brisbane, Melbourne and Fremantle with more offbeat calls at Eden, Townsville (for the Great Barrier Reef), Exmouth, Hamilton Island and the remote ports of Burnie, Launceston and Devenport on Tasmania.

DOS and DON'TS of Australasian Cruising

DO plan this holiday carefully. Unless you're cruising all the way to Australia or New Zealand, take the length of the flight and inevitable jetlag into account and ideally allow a few days to recover and explore a little of the country before starting the cruise..

DON'T think that virtual bungee jumps are as hairy as it gets. New Zealand was where the real thing was invented and now it has the only harbour bridge jump site - in Auckland. You can jump or just watch - the choice is yours.

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