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Heading Down Under

By Sergio Ortiz
April 5, 2011

“There has never been a better time to take a small ship cruise to Australia
or New Zealand,” says Todd Smith, director of AdventureSmith
Explorations, based in Northern California’s Tahoe City. “There has
been no long-term impact in the operations of Australia and New Zealand
cruises, and we’ve seen little impact on our overall sales.”
AdventureSmith specializes in adventure-cruise vacations and is a
highly regarded firm that manages to combine the comforts of a small
cruise with adventure travel to remote areas. According to Smith, his
award-winning company “matches guests with the top names in small
ship cruising, as well as with intimate, boutique ships that otherwise
may not show on the radar of most travelers.”
He adds that despite the disasters that struck the region, small ship
cruising in Australia is up, “and 2011 promises to be a banner year.
According to Tourism Australia, the country continues to be one of
the hottest destinations in the world. The number of visitors last year
increased 6 percent over 2009. And small ship cruising is one of the
hottest trends. Australia small ship cruise business has increased an
impressive 30 percent for the past two years and an even larger increase
is expected in 2011,” Smith says.
AdventureSmith offers an 8-day Great Barrier Reef cruise aboard the
Coral Princess (approximately $2,900 pp dbl, land only) that combines
the lore of Captain Cook’s adventures with the intrigue of the reef. The
year-round cruise has weekly departures from Cairns or Townsville and
ventures into the reef where, according to Smith, “guests rub elbows
with marine biologists and can snorkel and dive nearly at whim.”
Travelers wishing more exotic adventures may book an exciting 11-
day AdventureSmith cruise (from approximately $6,950 pp dbl, land
only) on board Coral Princess II or Oceanic Discoverer. The tour ventures
deep into the Kimberley, a northwest Australian region abutting
the Indian Ocean. The adventure begins in either Darwin or Broome and
includes extensive forays into the fabled Australian Outback.