Down Under specialist Bridge & Wickers has introduced an even greater selection of itineraries and experiences within Australia, New Zealand and the South Sea islands.
Among the new crop of highlights, which fall into one of seven broad themes (Style, Scenery, Explore, Taste, Family, Active and Beach) are:
Private Houses
Unlike villas on the Med, relatively few holiday homes in Australia or New Zealand have been available on the UK market. However, Bridge & Wickers has sourced a good selection, all spectacularly located, surprisingly affordable and ideal for families or friends travelling together. Te Kowhai Landing, for example, an architecturally distinctive house on the shores of NZ’s Lake Taupo which comes with its own rowing boat, costs from £556pp for three nights, including breakfast.
Family Travels
Responding to the huge demand from families wanting to travel Down Under, Bridge & Wickers has added a new dedicated itinerary. It’s an enthralling mix of cities and scenery, beaches and wildlife, with lots of family-friendly accommodation (most with self-catering facilities, ideal for those wanting to help keep the costs down). In two weeks it takes in Melbourne, a drive along the Great Ocean Road, Kangaroo Island, Adelaide, Perth and the stunning beaches of the Margaret River. From £912pp, based on a family of four sharing.
Top Spas
The western hemisphere holds no monopoly on state-of-the art-spas. As well as a full menu of conventional treatments, spas Down Under also incorporate traditional Aboriginal therapies as well as ancient rituals from the South Sea islands. The Silky Oaks Lodge in Daintree, North Queensland for example, uses flower and plant essences of the rainforest, tribal recipes and ingredients from Li’tya, a natural Aboriginal product range. From £380 pp for 3 nights’ half board.
Remote in Style
Travelling Down Under no longer entails the slightest compromise on creature comforts. But apart from finding super chic elegance in towns and cities, what really leaves a lasting impression on first time travellers is the abundance of ultra stylish accommodation in the vast middle of nowhere, on remote Outback stations, the heart of ancient rainforests and on castaway islands. There are six new options that combine pampered living with the vastness of the Outback. Sample price: two nights at the million plus acre Wrotham Park in Far North Queensland, including flights from Cairns and all meals, from £582 pp.
Focus on Wine
New World wines are driving not only our drinking habits at home but helping to shape visitors’ itineraries. Bridge & Wickers has designed mini itineraries around each of the area’s popular wine districts, including the Margaret River, Yarra Valley, Clare Valley, Hunter and Barossa in Australia, and Hawkes Bay, Martinborough, Marlborough and the up and coming Waipara districts in New Zealand. Sample 5-night package in the Vineyards of South Australia, including Adelaide, the Barossa, Clare Valley and McLaren Vale, costs from £590 pp.
Afloat Down Under
With a million Brits a year now choosing to cruise, the option to explore aboard small, luxury cruise ships is being given much more prominence in this 2006-7 brochure. Itineraries include the remote coastline, river valleys and islands of the Kimberley, the islands of the Great Barrier Reef and the entire coastline of New Zealand, from the Bay of Islands in the North to the deep fiord inlets and sounds of the South.
Also offered are luxury sailing yachts and voyages by mail boat to the Marquesas, the islands that Gauguin fell in love with after leaving Tahiti. From £565pp for three nights with Coral Princess cruises along the Great Barrier Reef, including all meals.
For a brochure or further information contact Bridge & Wickers
Tel 020 7483 6555 or visit www.bridgeandwickers.co.uk
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