Australia and New Zealand

Australia: The largest island in the world revolves around a surf and sea culture that surrounds a vast desert landscape populated only by kangaroos, reptiles, snakes, wallabies, bats, and rodents. The cities of Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, and Darwin are each spectacular in their own unique way with all offering wild, outback experiences just a short jaunt outside of the city. Gold Coast in Queensland is a party mecca with beautiful beaches, excellent surf, and great whale watching. The Great Barrier Reef is a must-see of course and best accessed from Cairns which also boasts magnificent beaches and dense, steamy rainforests. Tazmania is a country all on its own with one of the best hikes on the planet up Cradle Mountain that provide expansive views over the jungle forests blanketing the island.

New Zealand: The land of the Kiwis and the Kiwi bird is spread out over two distinct islands in the South Pacific Ocean that provide some of the most beautiful natural scenery on the planet with a well-developed tourist infrastructure that makes accessing all of the highlights a breeze. On the north island, the Bay of Islands is a great place to go whale watching and kayak from one secluded beach to another while the Lake Taupo region offers the awe-inspiring Tongariro Crossing Trek, a wicked mountain bike journey in the 42nd traverse, as well as geysers, mud pools, and demonic caves. The south island is dominated by the Southern Alps mountain range providing challenging climbs, glacial treks, kayaking through fjords, and the adventure capital of the world in Queenstown where jet boating, bungee jumping, rock climbing, abseiling, whitewater rafting, hiking, skydiving, snowboarding, skiing, and helicopter tours are just a few of the activities offered.