Review, Luxury Family Australia & New Zealand Trip, Kangaroo Island, Koala Sanctuary, Rotorua, Queenstown, Wine Tours, Thermal Cave

There were so many!

in Australia, Kangaroo Island was the consensus favorite in our family. The travel company arranged for us to stay with a couple in their stunningly beautiful beach house, and they hired a private chef to cook us dinner! The husband, took us out into the shallow water in the evening and we caught (and then threw back) shovel-nosed rays, eagle rays, squid, and other fish, which was really fun. We also cuddled a koala at a sanctuary, and saw numerous kangaroos, koalas, and wallabies in the wild. Our tour of Kangaroo Island (Grant was amazing!) was also so much fun, and we could have spend all day at the "remarkable rocks". We also saw so many beautiful beaches--we're definitely planning to come back someday! The Phillip Island "penguin parade" was also a dream come true--as part of the "ultimate penguin experience" (which I recommend), a small group of 10 of us got to sit on a private beach at sunset and watch the adorable Faerie penguins come out of the water after fishing all day to make their way back to their individual boroughs where they were born.

In New Zealand, the highlight was Queenstown--just so beautiful--and our overnight on the Milford Mariner in Mildford Sound. We also really enjoyed seeing the glow worm caves in Rotorua and the "Hell's Gate" thermal baths. The tour of Waiheke island was also a highlight; we had great fun despite the rainy day!

We did wine tours in both countries (two in New Zealand and two in Australia) and we really enjoyed getting to learn about local wines and wine makers!