Auckland to Sydney Cruise

NOTE: You may choose this exclusive shore event, credit toward a customized Virtuoso on-shore event, credit toward a Virtuoso Discovery pre/post hotel stay or shipboard credit. Ask us for complete option details. Credit amount may vary based on stateroom category booked. Credit may not be offered in all categories.

Exclusive Shore Event: Wellington | City Highlights, Botanical Gardens and Lunch

Only 3 miles from downtown Wellington lies a unique treasure; 12 acres of botanic gardens created for the collection and preservation of New Zealand's native plants nestled against the largest block of natural forest on the Wellington peninsula to survive initial settlement. 

We begin our day by taking in magnificent views over the city skyline and surroundings from Mt. Victoria with many buildings easily recognizable such as Te Papa Tongarewa - an unusual, modern museum housing interactive exhibitions about the history of New Zealand, the Michael Fowler Events Center and the Westpac Stadium, also known as the "cake tin" because of its shape.

Wellington's iconic cable car connects Lambton Quay the main shopping precinct - with the Botanical Gardens. See New Zealand's Parliament Buildings which include the aptly named "Beehive" and Old St Paul's Cathedral, one of the oldest wooden churches in New Zealand.

We will then be transferred to Logan Brown, where an exclusive lunch and culinary delight in stunning surroundings awaits.  Enjoy a

welcome glass of bubbles followed by an exquisite 3-course set menu lunch and drinks.

After lunch we will enjoy a one hour guided tour of Otari Wilton's Bush.  The botanic gardens at the reserve were originally covered with dense podocarp broadleaf forest. Maori used the forest for hunting leading to its current name Otari' -  'place of snares'. Some of Wellington's oldest trees are here, including an 800-year-old rimu. Following European colonisation, some of the large trees were removed for timber and others were burnt off for farmland. But one of the early landowners, Job Wilton, preserved 17 acres of the original forest and fenced it off. This became known as Wilton's Bush. Today, Otari-Wilton's Bush is celebrated as the only botanic garden dedicated to the cultivation of New Zealand's unique flora. It has been registered as a Garden of National Significance by the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture.

The gardens were the brainchild of the eminent botanist, Dr Leonard Cockayne. Developed since 1926 with a focus on amassing as large a representation of New Zealand flora - common and rare - as possible, the gardens now boast 1200 species collected from as far afield as the Sub Antarctic Islands in the south to Cape Reinga at the northern tip of New Zealand.  Otari staff & volunteers tend 19 distinct collections including North Auckland plants, an alpine garden, a fernery, hebe and flax cultivars and a magnificent rock garden.

A 250-foot long Canopy Walkway entices you from the Information Center entrance to the main plant collections area. The walkway, 700 feet above the forest floor, provides a unique chance to view life in, and from, the top level of trees such as mature tawa, rewarewa and hinau. The tree tops are the domain of wildlife such as the gardens' resident kereru (native wood pigeons) and tui, which can often be spied feeding or whooshing past on their search for food.  Take time to explore and enjoy the intricate network of paths that meander through this unique environment.

After our visit, we will return back to the pier.

Approximate Length: Five hours 30 minutes

Suggested Attire: Casual attire with comfortable walking shoes. Moderate walking through the gardens.