New Zealand & Australia
The term Down Under is a colloquialism differently construed to refer to Australia and New Zealand, or the Pacific island countries collectively.
The Crystal Harmony Got The Trip Off To A Great Start!
We decided to go south on this vacation... see things other than Asia, Europe, and Alaska! New Zealand and Australia have always been a place we wanted to visit. We thought New Zealand and Australia might be a lot of fun... we were right!!!
We were off to New Zealand on November 13th on New Zealand Airlines... and we lost the 14th of November forever! Arriving in Auckland at 7 am, we began 4 days of touring the city.
We sailed on the Crystal Harmony around New Zealand then over to Australia where we visited several cities and completed the vacation with a journey to the outback... Alice Springs!
New Zealand
Did You Know? - New Zealand (Aotearoa in Māori) is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island) and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some 1,500 kilometers (900 mi) east of Australia across the Tasmania Sea, and roughly 1,000 kilometers (600 mi) south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga.
Due to its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long isolation New Zealand developed a distinctive fauna dominated by birds, many of which became extinct after the arrival of humans and introduced mammals.
With a mild maritime climate, the land was mostly covered in forest. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks owe much to the uplift of land and volcanic eruptions caused by the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates clashing underfoot.
Australia
Did You Know? - Australia (play /əˈstreɪljə/), officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Neighboring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the northeast and New Zealand to the southeast.
For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of roughly 250 language groups.
After discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Britain in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales, where formal possession of the land had been taken on 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the continent was explored and an additional five self-governing Crown Colonies were established.
On 1 January 1901, the six colonies became a federation and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. Since Federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and is a Commonwealth realm.
The population is approximately 22.6 million, with approximately 60 per cent concentrated in and around the mainland state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. The nation's capital city is Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. Approximately 57 per cent of Australia's population live in either Victoria or New South Wales, and approximately 79 per cent live in the eastern states of Australia. >
Tokyo Japan
We spent a week in Japan which included taking the Bullet Train and visiting the sights. After a week we were ready to go home so we flew to Hawaii and stayed there a week!
Hawaii
We spend several days in Hawaii on the way back!
