New Zealand and Australia — a bucket list journey

CHECKING something off a Bucket List is always a thrill, especially when you've waited almost 70 years.

Making it to Australia has been high on my list since I was six years old, and I first read about the platypus (more on that later). I finally made it when I took the Royal Princess cruise from Auckland, New Zealand, to Sydney, Australia. The itinerary included Tauranga, Wellington, Dunedin, and Fiordland National Park in New Zealand. It then continued to Australia, with stops in Hobart (Tasmania), Melbourne, and Sydney.

The Ship

Cruising is one of my favourite ways to travel. I found Royal Princess the easiest to navigate of the larger ocean-going ships I have sailed.

The atmosphere was calm, the decor tasteful. There is a long list of things to do on sea days, before and after excursions,  from freshwater pools and whirlpools to  The Voice of the Ocean singing competition — and not forgetting the casino or the fitness centre.

The dining options are excellent. Reservations are easy to make, and the selection of included and specialty dining is vast.

The rooms are also tastefully decorated with subdued colours and lots of storage space for your possessions. Amenities and features include user-friendly showers, spacious vanities, and improved outlet configurations.

Excursions

When choosing my activities, I usually gravitate toward culture, history, and wildlife, although I am up for anything to help me learn about another country.

I was not disappointed with the cultural piece when participating in a Māori ceremony. The indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350.

Over several centuries, these settlers developed their distinctive culture, whose language, mythology, crafts, and performing arts evolved independently from other eastern Polynesian cultures.

After the ceremony, we went to a local high school where students performed traditional dances and explained more about their heritage and what they were performing.

Later, I visited Te Papa, New Zealand's national museum in Wellington. It is renowned for being bicultural, scholarly, and innovative. Our guided tour explored the Māori culture more in-depth.

One area includes a Te Marae, a sacred communal meeting place. It is a living exhibition that interprets the meaning of the experience for visitors and showcases contemporary Māori art and design.

New Zealand also offered me historic sites, including The Dunedin Botanic Garden, which celebrated its 160th anniversary in 2023, marking its position as New Zealand's first botanic garden. It occupies 33 hectares and offers more than 6,800 plant species.

Olveston House is a short motorcoach ride away. It is like a time capsule, built for businessman, collector, and philanthropist David Theomin, his wife Marie, and their two children, Edward and Dorothy.

Intended for future generations to enjoy, both Theomin children died without heirs. Surviving the death of her father, mother, and elder brother, Dorothy Theomin lived at Olveston until she died in 1966. She willed the house and its original contents to the city.

Little has changed since the family lived here between 1906 and 1966.

Natural Wonders

As a grand goodbye to New Zealand, we sailed Fiordland National Park

The park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, spans mountain ranges, dense forests, and alpine lakes.

Early Māori visited Fiordland for hunting, fishing, and gathering takiwai (a unique form of New Zealand jade). Much later, European sealers and whalers took shelter in the coves and built a handful of small settlements, New Zealand's earliest European occupation. But, the sheer steepness of the terrain, the incredible isolation, and the wettest climate in New Zealand deterred all but the hardiest from settling in the region.

With an area of 1,254,525 hectares, it is by far the largest of the 14 national parks in New Zealand.

Our day began with rain and fog. The fiords appeared black and white until the sun came out, and beautiful greens and blues emerged. Water came crashing down, forming waterfalls.

Standing on my balcony, I admired the beauty as the ship slowly passed this natural paradise.

In Australia, my main focus was on wildlife.

My goal in Hobart, Tasmania, was to visit Bonorong, not a zoo but a sanctuary to reintroduce healthy animals into the wild.  The website explains that all animals undergo a meticulous assessment to ensure they are happy and healthy in our care, and we will never compromise on this.

I saw a gentle little Tasmanian Devil—nothing like the cartoon version—several Forester kangaroos with the run of the place and Tawny frogmouths.

During a short introduction tour, I also met a 110-year-old Sulphur-crested cockatoo. Our guide said the bird was raised from a chick, and its owner asked if the sanctuary would care for it after his death. This spry bird proves that being elderly shouldn't stop you from living to the fullest.

My next nature adventure was in Melbourne; or at least above it.

It was raining and cloudy. We took a motorcoach ride for two hours to a park high above the city known for what was to be spectacular views and gardens.

Fog prevented any view, but the gardens were lovely in their fog-shrouded dress.

Remember when I said I always wanted to see a platypus?

Sydney was the end of my cruise, but not my adventure.

After disembarking, I caught a taxi to the Grace Hotel, stored my luggage, and headed back to Circle Quay, where the ship was docked. I then caught a ferry to Taronga Zoo.

At Bonorong, I only saw some of the Australia-featured animals, so I filled in the rest of the list, including a dingo, koala, wallaby, emu, spinifex hopping mice, and, to my delight, platypus.

Perhaps, beyond the fascinating Māori culture, the beauty of the fjords, and the wonder of the platypus, I also learned I have too much to see in the future. You see, my bucket list is long.

If you go

Princess Cruises offers several New Zealand and Australian adventures from two to 29 days. For more information: www.princess.com