Nowhere in the world does the Great Outdoors as spectacularly as Australia and New Zealand. You’ll find all the diversity you could wish for in glorious, unexploited abundance and as a result, the region is home to some of the most fascinating animals, beautiful plants and rarest birds on the planet. A holiday in this part of the world offers some of nature’s most amazing opportunities to see and interact with its unique wildlife.
New Zealand is home to a wide variety of sealife, harmless reptiles and a collection of rare native birds (including of course, the Kiwi).
Share the ocean off Kaikoura with scores of Dusky dolphins, swim with the seals and, in season, watch the migrating Sperm Whales too. See albatross, sea lions and rare penguin varieties on the Otago peninsula; and explore the Waitomo labyrinth of underground limestone caves by the light of the resident glow worms. The wild West Coast – a place of towering rainforests, pristine seacoast and beautiful wetlands, are home to an abundance of birdlife. The nearby Monro Beach is one of the best places to see the Fiordland crested penguins and colonies of fur seals.
However, perhaps the greatest abundance of native wildlife, including the elusive kiwi, as well as a wide variety of sea birds, pigeons and penguins is to be found on Stewart Island.
The North Island’s flora is no less impressive, with stands of ancient giant Kauri Trees in Northland standing up to 60m in height and Pohutukawa Tree lined coasts in blossom over the Christmas period.
Nature was inspired when it created Australia. Animals you'll see nowhere else, plants that will amaze you and scenery you will never forget. So strange are the creatures that hop, burrow and slither across its countryside that until the last century it was believed that the continent's animals had a different evolutionary starting point from the rest of Earth's species.
Whilst it’s not often that you will see kangaroos hopping down the street, there are numerous golf courses around the country where they happily graze the fairways and at Eaglereach Wilderness Retreat they will be only too happy to share the vista from your mountain top spa.
Nearly every corner of this fascinating continent has a unique wildlife tale to tell; from the nightly penguin parade on Philip Island to the Jurassic Wollemi Pine in the Blue Mountains. Swim with the world’s largest fish – the friendly whale sharks – off Western Australia’s Ningaloo Reef or hand feed the dolphins and dive with giant rays and sea turtles at Monkey Mia. Marvel at the menagerie of native animals: koalas, wallabies, kangaroos, possums, echidnas, penguins and sealions – who make South Australia’s Kangaroo Island their home.
Far North Queensland showcases a tremendous variety of wildlife; from the brightly coloured corals and tropical fish of the Great Barrier Reef to the iridescent green tree frogs and beautiful Ulysees birdwing butterflies of the prehistoric Daintree Rainforest. See giant saltwater crocodiles as you cruise the world heritage listed Kakadu wetlands – home to more than one third of Australia’s bird species. Surround yourself in the living museum of wildlife, birds and ancient wilderness that is Tasmania. … And for visitors short on time, Sydney’s Taronga Zoo showcases a wide variety of native animals and some of the city’s best harbour and skyline views.
Across the Islands of the Pacific, the breezes are filled with the sweet scent of tropical flowers, the beaches fanned by coconut palms and the turquoise lagoons are teaming with brightly coloured tropical fish and corals. Many of these islands also have their unique wildlife encounters to share such as swimming with the humpback whales in Tonga (August to October) or playing with the dolphins in Moorea’s lagoonarium.