Australia & New Zealand by train and luxury cruise

This morning you’ll board your vessel at the jetty to start a full-day tour of Rottnest Island. After cruising to the island you’ll disembark and collect your bike, the perfect way to explore the 11 km-long island as you please. You’ll have the chance to spot wildlife as you travel around the island and enjoy lunch in town before boarding the ferry to depart the island.

You have the day to explore Perth at your own pace. We suggest visiting the Art Gallery of Western Australia to view regional and local Noongar (Aboriginal) art, experiencing a gentle cruise along the Swan River, or visiting Fremantle for its food and drink scene.

Board the Indian Pacific this afternoon and get to know the other explorers on your train. You'll pull away from Perth, leave the Indian Ocean behind, and cruise toward the Pacific. Tonight, dinner is served on board, featuring contemporary Australian cuisine with seasonal and regional tastes.

Awake to see the sunrise unfold across Australia's largest Outback town, Kalgoorlie. This morning you'll delve into this mining town's fascinating past and present, visiting the region's gold-rush era, now modern-day 'super pit' mine. Decide how you would like to explore Kalgoorlie from your choice of off-train experiences, including morning refreshments. Re-boarding the train for brunch, the remainder of the day is spent on board at your leisure. Sit back and enjoy the hospitality as you take in the spectacular views of the seemingly endless expanse of the Nullarbar Plain. You'll cross borders and time zones, entering South Australia before dinner. Late evening, the train will pull into the almost-ghost-town of Cook for a nightcap, late-night bonfire and stargazing experience.

Crossing another border during the night, you'll wake up in Broken Hill. Enjoy a hearty breakfast, ready for the day's activities in the Silver City. You'll have a choice of off-train experiences, including guided history, art, and culture that showcase the highlights of Australia's first heritage-listed city. Returning to the train for lunch, admire the scenery as the Indian Pacific travels through regional New South Wales. Tonight, dinner is served on board as you make the most of your final night exploring Australia by train.

Spend the morning moving through the pastoral lands and communities of remote South Australia as the train cruises past the Flinders Range, Spencer Gulf, and the Adelaide Plains. Breakfast and lunch are both served on board. Mid-afternoon, the train pulls into Two Wells, where you'll disembark and transfer by comfortable coach for a short stop at the world-renowned wine region of the Barossa Valley. You'll spend the evening at Seppeltsfield Winery, delighting in a signature dining experience in the vintage cellar. After dinner, you'll return to the Indian Pacific, continuing your rail journey through the night.

The Blue Mountains is known for its soaring sandstone ridges wrapped in native flora and marks your final stop before arriving in Sydney. Say goodbye to the Indian Pacific after breakfast, to travel deep into the mountains for this afternoon's off-train experience. Complete your journey on the chartered New South Wales rail service (fully hosted by the Indian Pacific crew) into Sydney Central Station. Make your own way to your Sydney accommodation, where you'll have the evening to relax.

Today you will embark on a Sydney Harbour cruise for lunch. Explore the food scene in this city as you stop at different restaurants along the waterfront, viewing Sydney's sights from a different perspective.

This morning you'll make your way to the Sydney Opera House, where you'll embark on a backstage tour. You'll have exclusive access to areas normally reserved for the stars and their crew, such as the dressing rooms and orchestra pit. Once the tour concludes, you'll enjoy breakfast as a small group in the Green Room. The rest of the day is yours to travel around Sydney. We recommend venturing to Hyde Park Barracks, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to learn about the history of the city.

Start the day with your onward flight to Melbourne. Once you've landed and collected your luggage, take a taxi to your accommodation. The day is yours to explore the city, and we suggest visiting Southbank for its dining and entertainment options, or visiting the Royal Botanic Gardens, where you can meander across broad lawns that slope down to the Yarra River.

Melbourne is yours to explore this morning. You might like to wander the city’s laneways — a warren of street art, independent coffee shops, and artisan boutiques — or take the tram out to St Kilda’s to walk along the coast. In the afternoon, make your way to board your ship. After settling into your suite, you can start getting your bearings in your new home-from-home, perhaps enjoying an apéritif in the Dusk Bar — all food and drinks, including fine wines, are included on your cruise.

The first full day of your cruise is spent at sea. This is an opportunity to ease into life on board. Your specialist will share their insider tips for the best spots around the ship to enjoy a drink with a view or to hole away with a book (there’s a comprehensive library). Keep a lookout for blue whales as you cruise en route to Tasmania.

Your ship makes its first port of call in Hobart, Tasmania’s capital and gateway to the island state, this morning, and your cruise offers a choice of ways to experience the region. You’ll then visit nearby Richmond, a town with Georgian architecture and a convict backstory.

After docking overnight in Hobart, you have another day to explore Tasmania. There are several options, and your specialist will help you select the activities that most appeal to you. You might like to kayak in Hobart Harbour, taste oysters and regional wines, or board a short scenic flight to take in the island’s mountainous wilderness from the air.

Your journey across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand is underway, as you spend the first of three days at sea. Your suite comes with butler service, and you can also choose to dine privately in your suite (we think there’s something particularly peaceful about waking up to breakfast on your balcony). The ship has an array of dining options, too, from Japanese kaiseki and French fine dining to fresh pizza.

Today could be given over to simply relaxing. You can swim in the open-air pools, kick back on the pool deck or in the Panorama Lounge, or take a yoga class (your ship has a timetable of exercise classes). You could also try a treatment at the Otium Spa.

To help you make the most of your time in New Zealand, the ship runs a series of talks and lectures. You can expect a selection of topics, covering subjects like New Zealand’s birdlife or its volcanic geology. If you’re culinary-minded, you could also take part in a cooking workshop or watch live demonstrations by the ship’s chefs in the S.A.L.T. Lab. Come evening, there’s live music and theater in the Venetian Lounge.

You wake up in New Zealand, in Scottish-influenced Dunedin on the South Island. The town’s castle and Caledonian heritage give it a personality of its own, and it makes a pleasant place to wander around, but we suggest escaping the city on a small-boat, small-group wildlife cruise of the Otago Peninsula. Your naturalist guide will help you spot rare New Zealand native birds such as yellow-eyed penguins. You’ll also pass close to an albatross breeding colony.

You’re docked this morning at Lyttelton, on the outskirts of Christchurch. You can visit the city on a small-group tour, seeing first-hand how it’s continuing to reinvent itself after the 2011 earthquake through cutting-edge architectural innovation. Or, take a catamaran trip around Lyttelton Harbour, where your skipper will take you in search of Hector’s dolphins, a small, rare species. From the water, you’ll also see historic Māori sites such as pas (earthwork fortresses).

New Zealand’s capital is today’s port of call. In the city, you have the chance to explore Te Papa, New Zealand’s national museum, which has a particularly impressive collection of Māori cloaks and weaponry, or take part in one of the trips offered by your ship. We like the small-group trip to Wellington’s easternmost point, where you can drink in the views along the Storm Coast, including small villages, bays, and lighthouses. Alternatively, there’s Zealandia, an eco-sanctuary that shelters kiwis and other rare native species.

Napier’s a rewarding stop, small enough to get a feel for in a day but also a leaping-off point for some of New Zealand’s best winelands, as well as wildlife hubs such as the Australasian gannet colony at Cape Kidnappers. You might observe hatching gannet chicks on a small-group guided experience, sample the wares of New Zealand’s oldest winery, or take in Napier’s distinct Art Deco buildings and public art on a guided, step-free tour of the city.

Today is your final day at sea as your ship sails to Auckland. It’s a chance to decompress after a series of busy days in port. The route takes you around New Zealand’s Coromandel Peninsula, as you hug the coastline on the way to Auckland. Your crew will point out any coastal features visible from the ship. You can keep a lookout for local marine life, too.

Disembark in Auckland this morning before making your own way to the airport to begin your journey home.