“G’day, Mate!” It’s more than shrimp on the barbie, exotic animals and absolutely gorgeous scenery. This is a magnificent Down Under experience of the southern hemisphere; offering plenty to see and much to do — not to mention the friendliest, most welcoming characters to ever reside in this part of the world. The RV Vacation to a world Down Under is an exceptional experience…well beyond what most have come to expect. The Australia and New Zealand tour begins in Christchurch, a beautiful English-themed city on New Zealand’s South Island. Here, we begin with a relaxing exploration after our long journey to enjoy a city rebuilding herself after the devastating earthquakes of the past few years. We pick up our new ‘rental homes-on-wheels’ – and begin the practice of driving on the left side of the road. No worries, (as they say in New Zealand) you’ll have it down in a jiffy! We travel along the South Island’s beautiful east coast to Oamaru and then on to Dunedin – aka the Edinburgh of New Zealand due to the influence of the original Scottish settlers. It’s a short drive inland to Queenstown, located among magnificent mountain peaks and on the shores of Lake Wakatipu…one of New Zealand’s most picturesque and popular destinations. Next stop is the charming town of Wanaka, and then we cross Haast Pass to begin our drive up the rugged and beautiful west coast of the island. We stop at Franz Josef Glacier, where we can walk (or drive) right to the glacier’s base. You can also opt for a helicopter ride with amazing views of the glaciers and Mt. Cook to the east as well as the coastline to the west. We continue to move north through Westport and on to Picton, where we (and our rental rigs) board the ferry to the North Island. The ferry crossing is a trip unto itself – after driving our motorhomes on board, we head upstairs to the comfortable lounge and deck areas and enjoy sweeping scenery as we cruise the Marlborough Sounds. We disembark in Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city, and continue our journey north to Napier, located in the beautiful Hawke’s Bay region and where we find one of the purest Art Deco cities in the world. In 1931, a massive earthquake rocked the area, and most of the buildings in Napier’s commercial center were destroyed. Rebuilding began almost immediately, and much of it was completed in two years. New buildings reflected the architectural styles of the times and today, Napier’s city center has the feeling of a 1930s’ time capsule. ...we come to a LAND DOWN UNDER!
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“G’day, Mate!” It’s more than shrimp on the barbie, exotic animals and absolutely gorgeous scenery.
This is a magnifi cent Down Under experience of the southern hemisphere; off ering plenty to see and much to do — not to mention the friendliest, most welcoming characters to ever reside in this part of the world. The RV Vacation to a world Down Under is an exceptional experience…well beyond what most have come to expect.The Australia and New Zealand tour begins in Christchurch, a beautiful English-themed city on New Zealand’s South Island. Here, we begin with a relaxing exploration after our long journey to enjoy a city rebuilding herself after the devastating earthquakes of the past few years. We pick up our new ‘rental homes-on-wheels’ – and begin the practice of driving on the left side of the road. No worries, (as they say in New Zealand) you’ll have it down in a jiff y! We travel along the South Island’s beautiful east coast to Oamaru and then on to Dunedin – aka the Edinburgh of New Zealand due to the infl uence of the original Scottish settlers. It’s a short drive inland to Queenstown, located among
magnifi cent mountain peaks and on the shores of Lake Wakatipu…one of New Zealand’s most picturesque and popular destinations. Next stop is the charming town of Wanaka, and then we cross Haast Pass to begin our drive up the rugged and beautiful west coast of the island. We stop at Franz Josef Glacier, where we can walk (or drive) right to the glacier’s base. You can also opt for a helicopter ride with amazing views of the glaciers and Mt. Cook to the east as well as the coastline to the west.We continue to move north through Westport and on to Picton, where we (and our rental rigs) board the ferry to the North Island. The ferry crossing is a trip unto itself – after driving our
motorhomes on board, we head upstairs to the comfortable lounge and deck areas and enjoy sweeping scenery as we cruise the Marlborough Sounds. We disembark in Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city, and continue our journey north to Napier, located in the beautiful Hawke’s Bay region and where we fi nd one of the purest Art Deco cities in the world. In 1931, a massive earthquake rocked the area, and most of the buildings in Napier’s commercial center were destroyed. Rebuilding began almost immediately, and much of it was completed in two years. New buildings refl ected the architectural styles of the times and today, Napier’s city center has the feeling of a 1930s’ time capsule.
...we come to a LAND DOWN UNDER!
We head inland to New Zealand’s largest lake, Taupo, where we begin to see geothermal activities. There’s much more of that in store when we arrive in Rotorua, our next stop. Rotorua, New Zealand’s ‘coolest hot spot’ has countless volcanic crater lakes, spouting geysers, bubbling mud pools and hissing fumaroles — all of which have drawn visitors to the area since the early 1800s’. This small country’s wonders never cease, as our next stop is the Waitomo Caves, featuring not only stalagmites and stalactites, but a glowworm grotto (lit like a clear night in the mountains). We drive further north where we enjoy a more tropical climate, stopping in the magnificent Orewa Beach and here we learn, experience and partake in the native Maori culture of Pahia.Our New Zealand adventure ends in the nation’s largest city — Auckland, where we move to a first-class hotel, bidding goodbye to our rental rigs and catching a flight to Cairns, Australia – home to astonishing sandy beaches, welcoming warm weather and of course, the magnificent Great Barrier Reef…the world’s largest coral reef! We have opportunities to snorkel or just enjoy the beauty
of this underwater paradise (from inside a glass walled boat). After two nights in this tropical wonderland, we fly to Brisbane where we pick up our Australian RV rentals on our way to Steve Irwin’s famous Australia Zoo--
inhabited by koalas, wombats, kangaroos and other native birds, animals and amphibians — and of course those oh-so-famous crocodiles! We drive south enjoying the legendary beaches of Australia’s Gold
Coast, stop to cuddle a koala, interact with a dingo and feed a kangaroo at the Currumbim Wildlife Sanctuary. Then we turn inland to Blackheath, located in Australia’s magnificent Blue Mountains where we ride both a gondola and an incline railroad train for an incredible experience along with exceptional views. We move on to Sydney, return our rental rigs and spend three
But wait – there’s more! ...the “Real” Outback!
first class nights in a hotel. Here, in Australia’s largest city, we enjoy a harbor cruise, tour the iconic Sydney Opera House, take a guided tour of the city and of course enjoy Fantasy’s traditional farewell dinner before saying goodbye to this land Down Under.
AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND
For those who wish to continue the venture further in Australia, Fantasy has an Add-On tour to Ayers Rock and Uluru National Park – the real Australian Outback! Fly from Sydney to Alice Springs for two nights, learning more about the Aboriginal culture and traditions. Then it’s on to Ayers Rock – one of the most impressive landmarks in the world and situated in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. The rock itself goes by the Aboriginal name of Uluru. It juts up nearly 1150 feet, but even more impressive is that it extends even further than this amount below the ground. We have two nights at this World Heritage site before
returning to Alice Springs, a true Ozzie outback town. Here, we tour the township, and spend some time at the Royal Flying Doctor Service, (RFDS) which always has a doctor on call and where a patient can be reached within two hours in 80% of this massive country. The original radio network was powered by another great Australian innovation – Alfred Traeger’s pedal-powered radio.It’s definitely a different way of life in the outback, and in 1948 the RFDS used their radio communications to begin broadcasting school lessons to outback children and the School of the Air was born. Up
until that time, children who lived in these remote areas had to either leave their families and attend boarding school or complete their lessons by mail – often falling behind due to mail delivery delays. We return to Sydney for another night and then board our flights home.The 2018 Australia/New Zealand Fantasy Tour departs on March 27, 2018 and is for FMCA members only. At this time, it has already sold out. But not to worry mate, we’re accepting reservations for 2019, running from March 26 through May 3. Obviously, this popular itinerary fills up early.
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