Australia and New Zealand

• Itinerary
• Prices & Information

1 & 2. Overnight Flight
We depart from MSP for our overnight flight to Melbourne, Australia.  Sit back, relax and enjoy your flight.  As you cross the International Dateline you will loose one day.  Your R & J Tour Director is there to assist you throughout your flight.
Included Meals: Inflight Meals

3. Arrive in Melbourne
Touchdown in the Victorian capital of Melbourne where your
hotel awaits.  Arrive in the centre of Melbourne for a sightseeing
tour that features a cruise on the Yarra River.  Your elegant dinner is served aboard the vintage Colonial Tramcar Restaurant which moves around the city.  Enjoy the sights of Melbourne as you dine in grand style!  Your hotel is in the heart of Melbourne.
Included Meals: Dinner
Hotel: Hilton on the Park

4. Melbourne
This gracious city, with 19th century architecture, offers delightful
sightseeing on our city tour.   See Captain Cook¹s Cottage, Queen Victoria
Market, Fitzroy Gardens, and visit the historic Shrine of Remembrance.
This afternoon enjoy some leisure time in this delightful city.
Dinner is on your own this evening to choose from the many
restaurants of Melbourne.
Included Meals: Breakfast

5. Melbourne
After breakfast at the hotel and a free morning we depart for Warrock
Farm, a working cattle property, and enjoy  the opportunity to feed
kangaroos and other farm animals.  Enjoy an Aussie lunch at the farm before we continue to Phillip Island.  Visit the Koala Conservation Centre and see koalas along an elevated boardwalk.  View the Nobbies and one of Australia¹s largest fur seal populations.  We stop at the charming seaside town of Cowes with time to enjoy dinner on your own.  At dusk, enjoy the little penguin parade and see penguins make their way to their burrows.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

6. Melbourne to Alice Springs
Fly to Alice Springs. Enjoy a town tour of Alice Springs, including a visit to the Royal Flying Doctors Service and School of the Air which brings medical and education services to the people living throughout the vast outback  Tonight experience a bushman’s barbeque dinner under the Outback stars.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

7. Alice Springs to Ayers Rock
Today we travel to Ayers Rock. This evening will hang on the walls of your memory forever. Experience the Sounds of Silence as you dine under the canopy of the desert night, while your very own storyteller shares tales as told in the stars.  Spend four magical hours under the sparkling outback sky.  The setting is a lone sand dune with an uninterrupted, three hundred and sixty degree view of this vast landscape. In front of you is the fabled Uluru; behind you are the domes of Kata Tjuta and, possibly the most spectacular sunset you have ever seen. Here you enjoy sparkling wine and a selection of delectable canapés.  As the sun sets, you feast on a buffet of authentic Australian delicacies.  Then the attention turns to some of the world’s best stargazing, as our resident astronomer takes you on a tour of the spectacular southern night sky.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Hotel: Ayers Rock Resort

8.  Ayers Rock to Cairns
Rise early to watch the sun’s first rays strike Uluru.  Watch the sunrise as it strikes the rock and turns orange. Return to the hotel for breakfast. Some may want to take an optional camel ride through the desert.  Today we fly to Cairns, located in Australia’s tropical north, Cairns is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.  Perhaps take a short walk to The Esplanade and wander around the night markets.
Included Meals: Breakfast
Hotel: Tradewinds Cairns – Deluxe Waterview

9. Cairns to Dunk Island
This morning experience a wildlife cruise on Lake Barrine, formed by volcanic processes and surrounded by identical rainforest.  Take a short walk to Millaa Falls and marvel at the unusual Curtain Fig Tree.  Travel to Mission Beach and catch a cruise to beautiful Dunk Island.  Enjoy time at leisure on the Island.  Dunk Island is Australia’s most beautiful tropical rainforest island. This island of peace and plenty offers an amazing variety of activities, facilities and experiences.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Hotel: Dunk Island Resort Beachfront Rooms

10. Dunk Island
This morning we board a cruise for a day on the Great Barrier Reef. Quickcat will take you to Beaver Cay where you will experience first hand the magic of what is the Great Barrier Reef. Enjoy viewing the reef and you have a chance to snorkel to get a closer look. Return to your lovely resort on Dunk Island perfectly set in the Great Barrier Reef.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

11.  Dunk Island to Sydney
Transfer to the mainland and fly to Sydney.  Your hotel is the lovely Sofitel Wentworth Hotel in the heart of lovely Sydney.  This evening enjoy an unforgettable sunset dinner cruise.  Enjoy sweeping views as you gaze at the millions of lights of Sydney twinkling across one of the most splendid harbors in the world, with sweeping views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. 
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Hotel: Sofitel Wentworth Hotel

12. Sydney
Tour Sydney, the splendid capital of New South Wales.  Explore the Rocks, built by convicts for Australia¹s first settlers.  Capture the essence of Sydney, discovering the major Sydney highlights including the Botanic Gardens before wandering along Bondi Beach.  See the city¹s downtown, vibrant Kings Cross, sandy white eastern beaches and affluent harbourside suburbs.  This afternoon tour the Sydney Opera House and go behind the sails of one of the world¹s architectural masterpieces.
Included Meals: Breakfast

13. Sydney
Breakfast is served at your leisure this morning.  R & J Tours has arranged for you to enjoy a free day in Sydney, one of the world’s most beautiful cities!  There is much to do in this exciting city and your hotel location is a perfect starting point for the day.
Included Meals: Breakfast

14.  Sydney to Christchurch
Fly to New Zealand¹s South Island to the charming town of Christchurch, also known as the Garden City.   Enjoy an orientation tour before we arrive at your delightful hotel overlooking Victoria Square and the tranquil Avon River.
This evening enjoy dinner at a magnificently restored mansion, The Sign Of the Takahe.  Enjoy storytelling with your delicious dinner.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Hotel: Copthorne Central Hotel

15. Christchurch to Mount Cook
Today we board the award winning Tranz Alpine Train, voted one of the most beautiful rail journeys in the world. View magnificent scenery before disembarking at Arthurs Pass. Journey into New Zealand’s highland and Mt Cook National Park, which was awarded World Heritage status in recognition of its qualities and rare beauty.  Your home for the evening is the iconic Hermitage Hotel with sweeping views of Mt. Cook. Take time to visit the Edmund Hillary Centre at the resort this evening.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Hotel: The Hermitage Mount Cook Lodge

16. Mount Cook to Queenstown
This morning enjoy a spectacular Glacier Tour.  Experience the Tasman Glacier Terminal Lake and its icebergs in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park. An unique guided experience of beautiful Tasman Valley followed by a gentle alpine walk. Board a boat, and explore the glacier lake, where you will discover the ever-changing ice face of it and the icebergs, making each trip different from the last due to changing winds and currents  Later continue to the charming alpine village of Queenstown nestled among snow-capped peaks. Check into your beautiful lakefront hotel featuring lakeview rooms.  Queenstown is a year-round alpine resort town and we have arranged for you to spend three relaxing nights here.
Meals: Breakfast
Hotel: Lakeland Queenstown – Deluxe Lakeview Rooms

17.  Queenstown
Enjoy some free time in this alpine resort.  Today you will have a selection of activites for you to choose from including an exhilarating jetboat ride on the Shotover River at your own expense.  Tonight you are guests on a leisure cruise on Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak for a carvery dinner at the Colonel¹s homestead.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

18. Queenstown
Today will be a day you will long remember as we embark on a spectacular journey to Milford Sound.  We make our way through rugged countryside to Te Anau, the gateway to Fjordland National Park.  We¹ll enjoy morning tea here before we wind through Homer Tunnel and on to amazing Milford Sound which boasts some of the most spectacular scenery in the world!  This unique area is honored by belonging to the World Heritage Parks and today you¹ll know why!  Cruise on the quiet waters of the fjord along sheer rock cliffs, cascading waterfalls, and the occasional sight of a basking seal.  Return to Queenstown for a restful evening.
Included Meals: Breakfast

19. Queenstown to Rotorua
Fly to Rotorua today, a city built on an area of geothermal activity and an important centre for North Island Maori Culture. This evening immerse yourself in culture as you enjoy a Maori Hangi Feast and cultural performance of traditional dances accompanied by song.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Hotel – Heritage Hotel Rotorua

20.  Rotorua
Experience a full day at the attractions of Rotorua including the Te Puia Thermal Reserve, New Zealand¹s major geyser field. The area has over 500 hot springs and most forms of geothermal activity, including steaming
ground, boiling mud pools, hot springs and impressive geysers. Visit the Agrodome to enjoy an entertaining sheep and farm show and learn about New Zealand¹s important sheep industry.
Included Meals: Breakfast

21. Rotorua to Auckland
Today we visit the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves. We will board flat-bottomed boats and quietly glide along this underground river through the caves until we come to glowing caves, alive with thousands of tiny glow worms hanging from the cave¹s ceilings.  Arrive in Auckland, an attractive city set between two harbors of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean.  As you descend upon the city, enjoy sweeping views of Mt. Eden and city below.  Your hotel is perfectly located in downtown Auckland.  Join us this evening for a farewell dinner celebration at Harbourside Restaurant.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Hotel: Mercure Auckland Hotel

22. Auckland to Home
Tour the City of Sails with the Skytower-the tallest building in the southern hemisphere.  Capture stunning views from atop Mount Eden as Auckland and Rangitoto Island, a dormant volcano, towers in the distance.  Visit Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World, for a fish-eye view of the sea.  Later board the Devonport Ferry across the Waitamata Harbour to Auckland¹s North Shore.  Devonport is Auckland¹s oldest area, with many of the original shops and homesteads still existing.  Browse the shops and have dinner on your own at one of the unique restaurants before we catch our flight for home.
Included Meals: Breakfast

Fiji Paradise Stopover Optional Extension: April 5-7, 2009

1. Auckland to Fiji