Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific at sea: the back story

About Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific at sea: the back story

By the ULTIMATE the world’s cruise lines Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

From Sydney’s Circular Quay to the reef at Cairns, from Auckland and the Bay of Islands to Milford Sound, and on to Tahiti, Fiji, Hawaii, Bali and Komodo, this is cruising on the grandest scale, with ports that range from city terminals to tender landings on lagoons.

A harbour at the heart of it

Sydney sets the tone. The Overseas Passenger Terminal stands on Circular Quay West, directly across the water from the Opera House and beside the Harbour Bridge; it is New South Wales’ original international cruise terminal, and the train station at Circular Quay is a five-minute walk away. Ships that can pass beneath the bridge also berth at White Bay, in Balmain. Brisbane has a purpose-built terminal at the mouth of its river, Melbourne receives ships at Station Pier, opened in 1930, and Darwin’s terminal sits a short walk from the city’s Waterfront.

The reef and the north

From Cairns, the Great Barrier Reef is the reason to come. The reef has been on the World Heritage list since 1981 and is managed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, which has looked after it since 1975. The Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal occupies one of the port’s heritage-listed wharf sheds in the middle of the city, an easy walk from the Esplanade, with the airport ten minutes’ drive away. Further west, Darwin faces Asia, and the Kimberley coast beyond is the preserve of small expedition ships.

Few cruises begin as grandly as one that slips away from Circular Quay, between the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.

Aotearoa New Zealand

Auckland is the main hub for cruise ships to New Zealand, and ships berth at Princes or Queens Wharf in the middle of downtown. North of the city, the Bay of Islands is a tender port: ships anchor in the bay and passengers land at Waitangi Wharf, ten minutes on foot from the Treaty House where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840. In the far south-west, the ships sail into the fiords of Fiordland National Park, where Mitre Peak rises 1,692 metres straight out of Milford Sound/Piopiotahi.

The islands of Tahiti, Fiji and Hawaii

Papeete is French Polynesia’s great port, and the Port Autonome de Papeete has recently added facilities dedicated to cruise passengers. Small ships and yachts use it as a base for seven-night loops through the Society Islands, with Bora Bora, its lagoon and Mount Otemanu as the climax. Fiji’s ports at Suva and Lautoka bring the capital’s Fiji Museum within reach. In Hawaii, Honolulu Harbor has two cruise terminals at Piers 2 and 11, beside the Aloha Tower, completed in 1926 to welcome the liners; Maui’s port is Kahului.

Bali and Komodo

To the west, Indonesia offers another kind of voyage. Benoa is the main gateway for cruise ships entering Bali, on the island’s south-east coast. Further east lies Komodo National Park, between Sumbawa and Flores, home to the Komodo dragon, the largest living lizard. There is no pier: ships anchor nearby and tender passengers to the park, where rangers lead the walks.

Our advice: choose your waters before your ship. Big ships make Sydney to the South Pacific easy and good value, and New Zealand’s ports suit a premium line. For French Polynesia, Komodo and the Kimberley, a small luxury or expedition ship reaches the lagoons and anchorages the big ones cannot.

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