The wine in this region — and particularly on New Zealand’s South Island — is among its many splendors. The delightful vintages are reason enough for a visit, but the breathtaking beauty of the wine regions add an entire other dimension to your experience.

Queenstown: We’ll visit Gibbston’s Winery, enjoying an opportunity to immerse ourselves in wine culture while sampling wine. On this excursion, we’ll also get a chance to admire the region’s beauty, as we pass vast fields of vineyards in the Central Otago wine region amidst dramatic slopes.

• Cruise to the Outer Great Barrier Reef aboard a wave-piercing catamaran
• Visit the lush rainforests of Daintree National Park, in Queensland

• Visit the world-famous Sydney Opera House, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Take a walk through the historic rocks area of downtown Sydney
• Visit the Auckland War Memorial Museum in New Zealand, one of the country’s most important museums and war memorials.
• Attend a marine biologist presentation on the Great Barrier Reef during your Australian vacation
• Visit Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, known informally as Uluru or Ayers Rock, to experience its breathtaking size and appreciate its sacred place in the Aboriginal culture

The long, harrowing histories of the Aboriginal and Maori peoples have shaped the regional culture on this adventure. Your sojourn across Australia and New Zealand will explore the history and traditions of these indigenous groups, as well as offer eye-opening connections with locals. Here’s how:

• At Bastion Point, overlooking the blue waters of Waitemata Harbor, we pay a visit to the site of the 1970s Maori protests
• At the Auckland War Memorial Museum, we’ll discover Maori tradition and custom during a Maori concert
• We’ll meet Queenstown locals and visit their families for a home-cooked meal and conversation
• Embark on a guided tour of the world-famous Sydney Opera House
• Learn about opal, Australia’s natural gemstone, at the Altmann + Cherny
• At Daintree National Park, attend a guided “Dreamtime” walk with a local Aborigine, visiting important cultural sites and learning about the special relationship between the Kuku Yalanji people and the Daintree region

Bring an extra memory card — the scenery you’ll encounter on this trek through Australia and New Zealand will keep your camera quite busy. Here’s a sampling of what to expect:

• The spectacular landscapes of Milford Sound, Southern Hemisphere’s longest fjord 
• Snap memories of a lively Maori concert, in Auckland
• Capture the soaring sights over Bob’s Peak
• Take some video footage of your 90-minute wave-piercing catamaran cruise to the Outer Great Barrier Reef, a less frequently visited stretch of the 1,500-mile-long living organism. Tip: If you’re a snorkeler or diver, the Outer Great Barrier Reef will be a highlight, and you’ll have a chance to do some snorkeling from the boat. You may want to invest in an underwater camera or investigate cheaper alternatives, such as plastic cases for phones and cameras, that work just as well
• Don’t forget to photograph your home-cooked meal at a local family home in Queenstown!

There’s never a bad time to visit Australia and New Zealand for birdwatching — the summers may lure more migrants, but the winters offer comfortable temperatures to stay outdoors longer. Whatever time of the year you go, here are a few birdwatching highlights to pursue:

• Discover Daintree National Park, where the birdlife is comprised of more than 430 species, including cassowary, Australian brush turkey, orange-footed scrub fowl, barred cuckoo-shrike, silvereye, leaden flycatcher, and more
• Using your day of leisure in Cairns, check out more than 400 species, including the tooth-billed bowerbird, golden bowerbird, Victoria’s riflebird, sooty owl, bridled and Macleay’s honeyeaters, fernwren, and more
• In New Zealand’s Milford Sound, be on the lookout for the once-extinct South Island takahē

Whether you’re biking in Queenstown or snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, this active adventure will leave you breathless with awe. While your regular itinerary offers plenty of activities and options for getting in a little more exercise, there’s even more adventure to be found in Australia and New Zealand. Here are a few suggestions:

• On your visit to the Great Barrier Reef, ditch swimming and snorkeling for scuba diving or even a walk along the ocean floor
• Queenstown, the “adrenaline capital of the world,” offers plenty of options for jet boating and bungee jumping in your free time. There are also opportunities for walking, trekking, and a quick visit to the nearby ski resorts
• The popular Queenstown Trail links a series of biking paths from Queenstown Bay to the historic gold-mining town of Arrowtown to the Gibbston wine region, while Sydney offers flat, dedicated paths in the Centennial Park

Your adventure has been enhanced with special features catering to independent travelers, including:

• Solo-friendly social activities, including a Solo Connection mixer to get to know your fellow travelers
• Explore and make more intimate discoveries in a small group of just 24 or fewer likeminded travelers
• The services of a complimentary worldwide Concierge to enhance your adventure with added sightseeing excursions, hotel stays, restaurant reservations, and much more

Customize your adventure Down Under with these top Concierge suggestions:

• Excursion to Phillip Island from Melbourne  
• Walter Peak High Country Farm Tour & Cruise on the TSS Earnslaw from Queenstown
• Visit the New Cairns Aquarium