39
38
THE BIG LAP BY SEA
Living on an island, with all its islands off the islands,
leaves Australia prime for exploring by boat, so keen
seafarers take note. New for next year is Coral
Expeditions’ Tasmanian Circumnavigation, which will
take in the best and most adventurous bits of the island
state over 14 nights. Departing Hobart on 1 January on
board the Coral Discoverer, you’ll travel to Tasmania’s
UNESCO World-Heritage wilderness; the Bass Strait
islands including the rugged, produce-rich King Island
and Flinders Island with its spectacular Strezlecki
National Park; and the Tamar River to get deep into
the heart of one of Australia’s best wine regions.
And if the sound of that floats your boat, consider also
Coral Expeditions’ 35th Anniversary circumnavigation
of Australia and Indonesia’s Sulawesi Circle, also due
to set sail in 2020.SEE THE GALAPAGOS OF
THE SOUTHERN OCEAN
For those whose dream of visiting Antarctica is just
slightly out of reach, consider a trip to Macquarie
Island instead... physical or virtual! Described as the
Galapagos of the Southern Ocean, this unique
destination is designated a World Heritage Area on
account of its outstanding geological and natural
significance. Here you’ll find an abundance of fauna,
including the resident 100,000 (mainly elephant)
seals and millions of penguins. Macquarie Island has
the very Aussie nickname of ‘Macca’, and technically
it’s part of Tasmania, but geographically it’s around
halfway between Australia and Antarctica. In good
weather it takes about three days to reach from
Hobart, but tour companies like Heritage
Expeditions that include it on their epic itineraries
tend to depart from New Zealand. You could always
take a 360-degree virtual tour of the island via
antarctica.gov.au to explore the sights instead.