New Zealand Expedition Cruise Silver Explorer

Description

Join us for an exciting journey around New Zealand, seeing natural marvels such as geysers, hot springs, volcanoes, fjords and mountains. During our semi-circumnavigation we will meet Maori and see the traditional and modern face of Aotearoa/New Zealand. Native wildlife and architectural jewels will round up our experiences.

Throughout the voyage, learn about the geology, wildlife and history of this spectacular area from lecture presentations offered by your knowledgeable onboard Expedition Team.

Trip Name

New Zealand Expedition Cruise Silver Explorer

Days

Overview

Vessel Type: Luxury Expedition Length: 108 metres Passenger Capacity: 144 Built / refurbished: 1989 / 2008 / 2018 Silversea’s purpose-built luxury Silver Explorer expedition cruise ship has been designed specifically for navigating waters in some of the world’s most remote destinations, including both of earth’s polar regions. A strengthened hull with a Lloyd’s Register ice-class notation (1A) for passenger vessels enables the Silver Explorer Expedition Cruise Ship to safely push through ice floes with ease. A fleet of 12 Zodiac boats allows Silversea Expedition guests to visit even the most off-the-beaten path locations and an expert Expedition Team provides insight and understanding to each unforgettable Silver Explorer luxury cruise adventure.

Itinerary

Day 1 - Day 1 AUCKLAND

Auckland is called the City of Sails, and visitors flying in will see why. On the East Coast is the Waitemata Harbour—a Māori word meaning sparkling waters—which is bordered by the Hauraki Gulf, an aquatic playground peppered with small islands where many Aucklanders can be found "mucking around in boats."Not surprisingly, Auckland has some 70,000 boats. About one in four households in Auckland has a seacraft of some kind, and there are 102 beaches within an hour's drive; during the week many are quite empty.

Day 2 - Day 2 TAURANGA (BAY OF PLENTY)

The population center of the Bay of Plenty, Tauranga is one of New Zealand's fastest-growing cities. Along with its neighbor, Whakatane, this seaside city claims to be one of the country's sunniest towns. Unlike most local towns, Tauranga doesn't grind to a halt in the off-season, because it has one of the busiest ports in the country, and the excellent waves at the neighboring beach resort of Mount Maunganui—just across Tauranga's harbor bridge—always draw surfers and holiday folk.

Day 3 - Day 3 WHITE ISLAND

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Day 4 - Day 4 NAPIER

The earthquake that struck Napier at 10:46 am on February 3, 1931, was—at 7.8 on the Richter scale—the largest quake ever recorded in New Zealand. The coastline was wrenched upward several feet. Almost all the town's brick buildings collapsed; many people were killed on the footpaths as they rushed outside. The quake triggered fires throughout town, and with water mains shattered, little could be done to stop the blazes that devoured the remaining wooden structures.

Day 5 - Day 5 SHIP COVE & PICTON

The maritime township of Picton (population 4,000) lies at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound and is the arrival point for ferries from the North Island, as well as a growing number of international cruise ships. It plays a major role in providing services and transport by water taxi to a multitude of remote communities in the vast area of islands, peninsulas, and waterways that make up the Marlborough Sounds Maritime Park. There's plenty to do in town, with crafts markets in summer, historical sights to see, and walking tracks to scenic lookouts over the sounds.

Day 6 - Day 6 DAY AT SEA

Days at sea are the perfect opportunity to relax, unwind and catch up with what you’ve been meaning to do. So whether that is whale watching from the Observatory Lounge, writing home to your loved ones or simply topping up your tan by the pool, these blue sea days are the perfect balance to busy days spent exploring shore side.

Day 7 - Day 7 CRUISING MILFORD SOUND

New Zealand fiord country along with Fiordland National Park is one of New Zealand's premier attractions. Incredibly beautiful, wild and remote, the region is an intriguing combination of rugged mountain ranges, dense rainforest, solitary alpine lakes, sparkling rivers and splashing waterfalls. Much of Fiordland is virtually unexplored wilderness and still the habitat of rare birds. As the ship cruises the beautiful Doubtful, Dusky and Milford Sounds, experience the majestic fiordland of South Island's western coast.

Day 8 - Day 8 CRUISING DUSKY SOUND

Despite being discovered by Cook more than 240 years ago, Dusky Sound is one of the few truly untouched destinations left on earth. Found on the southwest corner of New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park, Dusky Sound has the auspicious title of “titanic mason” given to it by the Maoris, as no other explanation seems to fit; it is almost impossible to comprehend the sheer breadth of geological events that created this seemingly perfect sculpture, as the sheer cliffs that rise vertically upward from the ocean dwarf the ship.

Day 9 - Day 9 THE SNARES

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Day 10 - Day 10 BLUFF

The most southernmost town in New Zealand, Bluff (or The Bluff as it is locally known) is perhaps the most European of all the settlements in the country. Called Campbelltown until 1917, the city was officially renamed after the 265 meter conical hill that towers above it. One of the farthest corners of the British Empire, the inaugural Royal Tour of New Zealand by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, concluded at Bluff in January 1954. Nowadays however, it is the Bluff oysters that are the stars of the show.

Day 11 - Day 11 DUNEDIN (SOUTH ISLAND)

Clinging to the walls of the natural amphitheater at the west end of Otago Harbour, the South Island's second-largest city is enriched with inspiring nearby seascapes and wildlife. Because Dunedin is a university town, floods of students give the city a vitality far greater than its population of 122,000 might suggest.

Day 12 - Please Note:

Expedition highlights and itinerary listed here are possible experiences only and cannot be guaranteed. Your Expedition Leader and Captain will work together to ensure opportunities for adventure and exploration are the best possible, taking into account the prevailing weather and wildlife activity. Expedition Team members scheduled for this voyage are subject to change or cancellation.

Trip Dates

Start	End	Price From	Room Type

Inclusions

Discover Tauranga (for Lake Rotorua), White Island, Napier, Ship Cove and Motuara, Fiordland, Stewart Island and Ulva Island
Learn about the Maori and Aotearoa
Explore the Art Deco capital of the world
Wildlife Watch List: Fiordland and Little Blue Penguins, Humpback whales, Minke whales, sei whales, fin whales, pilot whales, Birds of note: Albatross, mollymawks, prions, petrels, Australasian Gannets, Yellow-crowned Parakeets, Kakariki (Red-crowned Parakeets), South Island Saddlebacks, South Island Robbins, Tui, Kaka, tomtits, Grey Warblers, New Zealand Wood Pigeons, bellbirds