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Spring has sprung and we’re thinking green!
Nothing is greener than the fair hills of the British Isles - join Wilmer Martin and co-hosts David and Joyce Eshleman as they take you to visit natural and historical sites throughout England, Scotland and Wales. Interest in this tour is strong – register today for The British Isles.

Australia and New Zealand

February 1 - 21, 2013

Sheep in New Zealand


With tour leaders Wilmer & Janet Martin
and cohosts David & Joyce Eshleman

TourMagination has been taking tour groups to Australia and New Zealand for many years and has planned a schedule that gives you many highlights in these two beautiful but different countries. Wilmer and Janet, co-owners of TourMagination, and your leaders for this tour, have led previous tours to these countries. They will take you "Down Under" to explore, learn and meet the people of Australia and New Zealand. David and Joyce Eshleman, who are experienced tour guides and leaders in their community, will co-host the tour. Join them on this unforgettable tour excursion in 2013.

Click here to read past blogs about this tour.


Friday-Sunday, February 1-3
The group will gather at the Los Angeles Airport for an evening flight to Melbourne, Australia. We will lose a day as we cross the International Date Line and will arrive on Sunday morning in Melbourne. We will walk around the large Queen Victoria Market, get our lunch and then go to Geelong where we will visit the National Wool Museum to learn about sheep and wool-making in Australia.

Lazy Harry performing for us
Lazy Harry performing for us
Monday & Tuesday, February 4 & 5
This morning we will drive to Ballarat to visit Sovereign Hill, a recreated 1850s town with homes, churches, stores, schools and costumed workers, and go down into an old gold mine. Then we will make our way to Phillip Island where we will enjoy seeing the Little Penguins on their nightly trek in from the sea to feed their young. On Tuesday morning, our drive from Philip Island takes us past Melbourne to Healesville Sanctuary where over 200 species of Australian animals are set in natural bush land. After a tour of the sanctuary, we will go to Beechworth where we will stay in homes of Australian families and hear “Lazy Harry,” an Australian folk singer, perform.

Wednesday & Thursday, February 6 & 7
You will enjoy the scenery as we travel through the Snowy Mountains. We will learn about the Snowy Mountains Electric Authority scheme and make stops at various places along the way as we travel to Cooma, our destination for the night. Thursday morning we will travel to Canberra, Australia’s capital city, where we will visit Parliament House, see exhibits about the planning of the city at the National Capital Exhibition and have a general city orientation tour including a drive by the many embassies. Then, it’s on to Sydney for two nights.

Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
Friday & Saturday, February 8 & 9
This morning we will walk through Sydney’s beautiful Botanic Gardens before taking a cruise of Sydney Harbour to see the city from the water. In the afternoon, we will enjoy a tour of the Sydney Opera House as we learn about its construction. You may want to attend an opera or concert in this impressive building in the evening (optional). Saturday morning you will have free time to explore The Rocks area (the old part of Sydney) and visit the craft market and shops there, or visit a museum. Later, we will travel on to Raymond Terrace for the night.

Sunday & Monday, February 10 & 11
Today’s highlight will be worshipping with the Mennonite Church of Hope and being hosted by them for a fellowship meal after the service. We will return to Sydney for the night as we will be flying on Monday morning from Sydney to Alice Springs in the mysterious and beautiful Northern Territory–Outback country. We will visit the School of the Air to learn how they have provided education to Outback children for over 55 years. At the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, we will hear how medical service is provided to the citizens of the Outback. You will be fascinated by these organizations and about life in this large territory.

Ayers Rock
Ayers Rock
Tuesday & Wednesday, February 12 & 13
Our driver-guide will give us much information as we travel by motorcoach through the Great Outback from Alice Springs to Ayers Rock. We will travel through many different habitats and see wild camels. Before sunset, we will visit the magnificent Ayers Rock (Uluru) which you have read about. On Wednesday morning, you may want to get up early and see the sun rising over Uluru. Visiting Red Center will give us a better understanding of the Aboriginal beliefs and way of life. We will take an early afternoon flight to Cairns.

Thursday & Friday, February 14 & 15
Thursday we will have a full day as we cruise to Green Island to enjoy a beautiful tropical paradise on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. You will have the opportunity to swim, scuba dive, snorkel and view the huge variety of tropical fish, turtles, giant clams, shells and much more. On Friday, we must leave Cairns and fly on to New Zealand to learn about this interesting country. It will be late evening when we arrive in Christchurch.

Saturday & Sunday, February 16 & 17
On Saturday, we will have a brief city tour of Christchurch as we leave the city for Dunedin at the southern end of the South Island and we will make stops along the way. Lodging for two nights in Dunedin. On Sunday morning, we will attend First Church Otago (Presbyterian) before boarding the train to ride through the Taieri River gorge, a rugged canyon of sheer schist rock cliffs and overhangs, dark peaty pools and wild whitewater. You will enjoy the spectacular scenery.

Milford Sound
Milford Sound
Monday & Tuesday, February 18 & 19
Before leaving Dunedin, we will have a general city tour including a drive up Signal Hill to overlook the city. Want a challenge? Climb up Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world. Then we will travel on to the beautiful town of Te Anau where you will have some time for relaxation or exploration of this scenic area. Tuesday will be a special day of magnificent scenery as we travel to Milford Sound for a luncheon cruise on the fjord. We will see cascading waterfalls, towering mountains and sea lions. Then, it’s on to Queenstown for the night.

Wednesday & Thursday, February 20 & 21
We will travel via Kawarau Gorge and Lake Tekapo to our afternoon destination to see Mount Cook. We hope the sun will be shining in this beautiful area so we can see Mount Cook. We will drive through the Mackinley Basin, Burkes Pass and Geraldine on our way back to Christchurch. Wednesday we will visit the Canterbury Museum and Botanic Gardens before our farewell meal. Then it will be time to go to the airport for our flight back to Los Angeles. It will be a long day, but it will give you lots of time to say goodbye to your new friends and think about the wonderful memories created on this trip.


For further information regarding the complete tour fare, please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . We would be happy to be of assistance.
 
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