The world’s biggest, happiest island is a true land of discoveries, even now. Traveling around Australia by sea remains an incredible adventure, one of the greatest of the South Pacific cruises. Australian waters are a vast range of environments, and the Australian coast is still an enigma from offshore.

Modern sea travel in Australian waters
The huge cruise liners are a bit different from the battered sailing ships which first discovered, then colonized and supplied Australia in the early days. The 5 star resorts aren’t quite the same as the totally alien world the first colonists encountered. But ancient, diverse Australia is still a magical place. The fact is that Australia, hundreds of years later, is still a place where you can have an experience like no other, in a place like no other.

Most cruise ships travel the east coast, stopping at Sydney and Brisbane and following Captain Cook’s hard won passage up the Queensland coast. In that one comparatively short cruise you move from the subtropical waters to the tropical, and follow the maze of beauty of the Great Barrier Reef.

The first thing you’ll notice about the Australian coast when seen from the sea is that outside the big cities it still looks alien, and sometimes forbidding. The huge rock faces of the south and along the east coast look like castle walls. These are rocks as old as the Earth, often with big rock platforms from long vanished volcanoes, or huge sandstone boulders. The bush behind them can

This is a real journey through a wonderland, in any season. Even off season in Australia is quite beautiful, and the winter weather, by foreign standards, isn’t extreme. Many foreigners come to Australia specifically to avoid their own northern summer heat, and get better prices for their holidays.

Australia by land and sea
Most cruises around Australia combine with land tours. The strange thing about traveling Australia, however you do it, is that it eventually dawns on you that after perhaps a month of travel, you’re still in the same country, looking at such unusual, quite different things. The Australian coast is many different things, depending where you are.

There are rain forests, deserts, jungle, highlands and big and the infinitely subtle, mysterious Australian bushland, always with some unique or utterly unexpected features. Nothing is ever dull or predictable about the Australian land tours. A few weeks traveling by sea and exploring by land is like discovering a new planet all by yourself.

The Kiwi connection by sea
A bit of research can find you a true jackpot in cruise options. Many cruise lines also incorporate New Zealand into Australian cruises, one of the other true gems of modern Pacific cruises. New Zealand is an astonishing place, utterly unique in terms of its culture and stunningly beautiful scenery. The contrast between the two countries, from Australia’s tropical reefs to New Zealand’s cool forests and snow capped mountains.

If you’re looking for a real cruise, the Australian cruises are what you need.