Australia and New Zealand - 14 days

Tour Highlights

Rialto Tower Observation Deck • Melbourne Zoo • Queen Victoria Market • Sydney Homestay • Sydney Harbor Cruise • Sydney Opera House • Fort Dennison • Point Piper • Opal Discovery Centre • Parliament House • Australia War Memorial • Embassy Row • National Gallery • Captain Scott's Hut • Original Underwater World • Maori Arts and Crafts Institute • Rainbow Springs Farm • Maori Performance • 5 Performance Opportunities

Overnights

Melbourne 4, Sydney Homestay 2, Canberra 2, Auckland 2, Rotorua 1

Itinerary

DAY 1: OVERNIGHT FLIGHT
Depart your flight to Australia!

DAY 2: OVERNIGHT FLIGHT
Cross the International Dateline enjoying meals, a few movies and a nap.

DAY 3: MELBOURNE
Welcome to Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne is Australia's second largest city with an estimated population of 3.5 million people. Melbourne is one of the world's most livable cities and has something to offer everybody. Visit Rialto Tower Observation Deck, which offers 360-degree panoramic views of Melbourne and its surrounding area. Rialto Towers is the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. Transfer to Southgate located on the south bank of the famous Yarra River. The river is lined with cafes and restaurants where you will be able to buy your own lunch. You will be able to relax and enjoy the many street performances. After sightseeing, transfer to your hotel and check in. Enjoy dinner together tonight in the hotel.

DAY 4: MELBOURNE
The day starts with breakfast in the hotel. After breakfast, it’s time to meet Australian animals with a visit to the world-famous Melbourne Zoo. You’ll be able to get your own lunch. Arrangements are made today for a rehearsal to prepare for the tour’s 5 concerts. Dinner this evening will be at one of Melbourne’s restaurants.

DAY 5: MELBOURNE
Today will be your first musical exchange and performance day. You will visit a Melbourne school for exchange activities and a combined performance. After the concert, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant.

DAY 6: MELBOURNE
Breakfast is served in the hotel. This morning, enjoy some more of the sights of Melbourne, including the Queen Victoria Market. Later today, you’ll present your second formal concert. Proposed venues include Melba Hall, Collins Street Baptist church.

DAY 7: SYDNEY HOMESTAY
After breakfast at your hotel, transfer to the Melbourne airport for your flight to Sydney. Upon arrival in Sydney, enjoy some Sydney sightseeing. There is no place in the world quite like cosmopolitan Sydney -- sophisticated, full of adventure and ever changing. It is a city that shimmers with excitement, a glorious harbor, sunny beaches, a superb climate and friendly people. Board one of Sydney Harbor’s luxury vessels for a Morning Coffee Cruise. Enjoy the magnificent sights of the Harbor Bridge, The Rocks, Sydney Opera House, Fort Dennison, Point Piper, the Heads and Pacific Ocean. Arrive at the front steps of the Sydney Opera House, Sydney's icon. This architectural masterpiece has played host to Australia's finest performers and international stars since its opening in 1973. Enjoy an informative behind the scenes guided tour of the Opera House. It’s just a short stroll to the Historical Rocks district, the Old Quarter of Sydney. You will be transported into Australia's past as you wander through narrow cobblestone alleys taking pleasure in the old buildings lovingly restored. Lunch is included today at the Sydney Tower where you’ll enjoy a delicious buffet lunch and spectacular views of Sydney at this revolving restaurant. This afternoon, visit Australia's Opal Discovery Centre. Marvel at these incredible colored rocks mainly mined in Australia. Learn how they are mined and watch as the rocks are being cut to discover the rich color within. Complete the day by transferring to the local high school to meet your host families. The evening is spent with your host families in the Sydney area. Enjoy dinner this evening with your host families.

DAY 8: SYDNEY HOMESTAY
After breakfast with your host families, the entire day is devoted to musical exchange, rehearsal and your evening double-billed performance. Proposed venues: Sydney Conservatory of Music, St. Andrews Cathedral. Enjoy dinner together with your hosting musicians this evening.

DAY 9: CANBERRA
Breakfast is with your host families. Continue to Australia’s capital city – Canberra. Not only is Canberra the capital city of Australia, with many of this country's most important public buildings, art works and institutions, it's also a great place to start if you want to get an idea of the Aussie lifestyle. Lunch is at own arrangements en route. After checking into your hotel, enjoy dinner at your hotel restaurant.

DAY 10: CANBERRA
Breakfast served in the hotel. This morning, explore Canberra and it’s many sights including Parliament House. Visit all of Canberra’s major attractions on both sides of beautiful Lake Burley Griffin. See magnificent public buildings and the unique architectural styles of many foreign embassies. Highlights include Australian War Memorial, Embassy Row, National Gallery and a visit to Mt. Ainslie Lookout for panoramic views. Enjoy free time for lunch on your own. Today’s highlight is your concert performance.

DAY 11: AUCKLAND
After Breakfast, transfer to Sydney airport for your flight to New Zealand. Arrive in Auckland. Regarded as a World in miniature, New Zealand is second to none in its complete contrast of scenic wonders. Here can be found the majesty of the Swiss Alps and Glaciers, the grandeur of the Norwegian Fiords, the beaches and tropical rain forests of the South Sea Islands and the thermal regions as effervescent as Yellowstone National Park in the USA. Depart the airport for a sightseeing tour of Auckland, including Mt Eden with panoramic views of the city. Visit Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter and Underwater World - a complete marine and southern ocean experience. Begin with a step back in time to Captain Scott's hut in 1911. Then board your train for an exciting ride through the simulated Antarctic terrain to Scott Base before entering the Original Underwater World. Here you travel on a moving walkway through an acrylic tunnel under the sea. View some of the 1500 species of marine life both big and small - sharks, stingrays and giant eels - a truly unique experience. Transfer to the hotel and check in. Dinner tonight will be at the hotel.

DAY 12: ROTORUA
After breakfast at your hotel check out and depart for Rotorua. As you enter Rotorua, you will notice that there is a scent of sulfur in the air. This is because Rotorua is the center of intense thermal activity. The real highlight is the nearby geothermal hotspots, with spouting geysers, boiling mud pools and warm geothermal springs. Silica terraces are naturally decorated with a kaleidoscope of colors. Rotorua is also the heartland of New Zealand Maori culture. There are about 35 Marae (meeting grounds) in the Rotorua district. Your first stop is the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute at Wakarewarewa. Set amidst a landscape of erupting geysers, hot thermal springs and bubbling mud pools, young Maoris are taught ancient Maori weaving and wood carving techniques and visitors are given a commentary as to how these skills fashion the end product. Then travel to the magical place of Rainbow Springs where over 2 million liters of pure, fresh spring water wells up naturally into the spring each day. Surrounded by New Zealand native bush, witness wild Rainbow Trout from Lake Rotorua swim up the stream to Rainbow Springs every winter to spawn. Check out the prehistoric reptile the Tuatara, native birds such as Kea, Kaka, Weka and of course Kiwi. On Rainbow Springs Farm you will have a chance to experience milking a cow, bottle feeding a baby lamb and handling new shorn wool. Enjoy free time for lunch on your own. Transfer to your hotel for check-in before this evening’s traditional hangi feast, where the food is cooked below the ground in earthen ovens, whilst enjoying a Maori cultural performance where stories are relayed through beautiful song and dance. Transfer to your hotel for the overnight.

DAY 13: AUCKLAND
After breakfast at your hotel, check out and continue to Auckland. Transfer to the performance venue. After setting up for rehearsal, there is time for hotel check in and lunch on your own. There will be time for rehearsal and sound check before your final performance, organized in conjunction with the US Embassy in New Zealand. Proposed venue: Bruce Mason Centre After a great day and performance, enjoy a farewell dinner in one of Auckland’s restaurants.

DAY 14: RETURN TO THE USA
Enjoy breakfast in the hotel. Check out of the hotel and transfer to the Auckland airport. Time to fly back home taking wonderful memories of the Land Down Under.