AUSTRALIA
AIR SAFARI
There's nothing like having a private plane to make short work of thousands of lonely miles between Indian Ocean sunsets and lively outback barbecues. Watch Australia's cool mountains bleed into burnt desert as your Dash 8 cruises between Kakadu National Park's wetlands, Broome's beaches, and the red mass of Ayers Rock on a 14-day runaround that would take more than a month by car. When the landing gear deploys, go for a dinner cruise around the town of Darwin's Harbor and wander through the massive boulders of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, near Alice Springs. In between, you can rest in the best accommodations available, like the Cable Beach Club Resort, where chefs serve kangaroo fillets. Save room on day 12 for a bowl of crocodile stew served al fresco in the middle of nowhere. OUTFITTER: Geographic Expeditions; geoex.com PRICE: $12,775 DIFFICULTY: Easy WHEN TO GO: May–September
DIVING WITH SHARKS
After three days spent exploring the ribbon of coral along the Great Barrier Reef, you'll keep heading east, some 110 nautical miles off the northern coast of Oz, to the Coral Sea, where the currents converge and the heavies of the Pacific come out to play. That's where Osprey Reef gives way to a 3,300-foot underwater shelf swarming with barracuda, tuna, manta rays, and scads of sharks—threshers, blacktips, whitetips, hammerheads, and leopards. Take it all in on four daily dives over six days. (If the deeps start to give you the creeps, try snorkeling.) Above water, watch and learn from Undersea Explorer's resident marine biologists, who measure and tag the reef sharks in an effort to secure protection for this remote and still-pristine marine environment. Price: $1,570-$1,950 Outfitter: Undersea Explorer,
011-61-74-099-5911, www.undersea.com.au When to Go: April-December
TRAINING RIDE
Join a peloton of serious cyclists for this tough ten-day, 780-mile loop from Hobart that hits both the east and west coasts of the rugged, cycling-mad Australian state of Tasmania. Be prepared for staggering scenery—desolate white beaches braced by sheer cliffs, emerald rolling farmland—and punishing ascents with names like Bust-Me-Gall and Break-Me-Neck. The final day includes a grind to the summit of 4,166-foot Mount Wellington—followed by a 13-mile cruise back to Hobart. On the lone day of rest, you'll undergo flexibility, strength, and aerobic testing, administered by the Tasmanian Institute of Sport. If this sounds hardcore, take heart: Three sag wagons and two masseurs accompany the trip. Price: $1,310 Outfitter: Island Cycle Tours, 011-61-36234-4951, www.islandcycletours.com When to Go: March
TREK THE LARAPINTA TRAIL
"Everybody thinks there's not much out there," says James Fuss, the Aussie guide who cooked up this new trip for Wilderness Travel. "But the Larapinta is one of the best desert treks in the world." Fuss selected the most scenic sections of the historic 139-mile Larapinta Trail, in the Northern Territory, and condensed them. Guests follow the West MacDonnell Ranges, just as Aboriginal red ocher traders have done for thousands of years; gape at the massive night sky from luxurious bush camps; and eventually wind up at iconic Uluru (Ayers Rock). May 25–June 4; 11 DAYS, $6,500 wildernesstravel.com. CASH TIP: Book now, with the U.S. dollar strong, and WT will lock in a discount that could reach up to $600.
FRENCH POLYNESIA
SEA-KAYAKING RAIVAVAE
Want to find out what Bora Bora was like in the days before tourism took over? Set out on a 13-day paddling recon mission to Raivavae (Ri-VA-vi), one of five time-forgotten archipelagos in the Austral chain, 2,244 miles northeast of New Zealand in French Polynesia. On this, one of the first outfitted kayaking trips from the island, you'll hop from motu to motu (tiny uninhabited islands) in the outer reef in the mornings, set up camp for the night, and head to the lagoons on an underwater hunt to spear grouper for dinner. (Don't worry, other provisions will be provided if you come up empty-handed.) Keep an eye out for blue whales—the reef's horseshoe shape brings the deep-dwellers of the Pacific right up to the shoreline. Price: $4,775 Outfitter: Explorers' Corner, 510-559-8099, www.explorerscorner.com
When to Go: July
SURFING THE TUAMOTUS
This is the ultimate surf safari in one of the world's last great undiscovered wave frontiers—the mostly uninhabited, low-lying 78-island Tuamotu Archipelago, 200 miles northeast of Tahiti. Spend seven to 11 days riding clean, hollow three- to ten-foot barrels as you shuttle from one heartbreakingly flawless break to another aboard the 64-foot Cascade, a five-cabin power cruiser equipped with surf-forecasting technology. When surf's down, fish for abundant black marlin and reef fish, kitesurf, sea-kayak, snorkel the jewel-like lagoons, and scuba-dive the deep "shark alley" passes, where hundreds of reef sharks ride the currents at feeding time. Evenings are reserved for surf videos, surf magazines, Hinano beer, and fresh sashimi and sushi. High Point: You and your nine surf brahs will have these waves all to yourselves. Low Point: If you hit it right, the waves can be so consistent you may actually start to get bored. Snap out of it! Travel Advisory: No need to bring your own surfboard; the Cascade travels with a diverse quiver of more than 60 boards. Price: $2,300—$4,717 Outfitter: Wavehunters Surf Travel, 888-899-8823, www.wavehunters.com When to Go: Year-round
MICRONESIA
SNORKELING YAP, ULITHI, AND PALAU
Twelve days of shallow-water bliss begin on the island of Yap, where you'll see tide-driven manta rays passing beneath you in the channels. A short flight north takes you to rarely dived Ulithi, a former U.S. military base opened to tourism within the past few years, where a huge population of giant turtles can darken the water and coral walls plunge just 400 feet from shore. The final five days are spent among the green, tuffetlike isles of Palau, famous for landlocked saltwater Jellyfish Lake, where you'll snorkel among thick, drifting clouds of harmless, if somewhat spooky, pale-pink Mastigias jellyfish. Price: $3,890 (airfare from Honolulu included)
Outfitter: Oceanic Society, 800-326-7491, www.oceanic-society.org
When to Go: April, June
NEW ZEALAND
HELI-FISHING
A year ago, this trip would have cost about $2,000 more. With New Zealand's top guides, you and your partners ride a chopper from Auckland to the private Poronui Ranch, a safari-style camp on the North Island, 16 miles away from the nearest road. Catch your fill of piggish trout on the Mohaka River, then fly to the South Island, where you'll set up shop at a hut in the Minaret Peaks. Spend your days choppering between alpine streams where the water is vodka-clear and the browns are football-size. Trips run between October and March; 11 DAYS, $4,475 exclusivelynz.com. CASH TIP: Four-day heli-fishing trips cost $2,680.
TREK/CYCLE/KAYAK
"This is a really punchy trip," says Andrew Fairfax, owner of Active New Zealand. "Punchy" is a Kiwi-ism for packing your days with adrenaline. To wit: On this whirlwind, called Tui Multisport, guests hike the Franz Josef Glacier, a World Heritage site; cycle Hollyford Valley; sea-kayak Milford Sound; and take a scenic flight to the Siberia Hut, one of the South Island's many isolated mountain lodges. Departures between October and April; 8 DAYS, $2,300 activenewzealand.com.
HELI-BIKING THE SOUTH ISLAND SINGLESTRACK
If the thought of riding the South Island tip to tail on century-old logging roads makes your heart pound, add this: You'll take a helicopter ride over the Roaring Meg River, get dropped in the Pisa Range, and descend 20 miles through high country overlooking the Southern Alps. Sacred Rides' new South Pacific Singletrack trip has everything: steep canyon descents, mountain traverses, and undulating cross-country pedaling. On a rest day, don crampons and pick your way through eight-mile-long Fox Glacier. End the day sipping local Monteith's ale at a bed-and-breakfast. Departures in December, February and March; 4 DAYS, $2,200 sacredrides.com.
CYCLING SOUTH ISLAND
You'll have to pick up your jaw several times on Bicycle Adventures' new South Island Budget Tour. The 600-mile trip starts in Christchurch, on the island's east coast, and ends ten days later in Queenstown. In between, guests cover about 45 miles of rolling country roads per day, from emerald-green Lord of the Rings country to craggy beaches to lush vineyards. Your steed: a smooth Jamis road bike. Your digs: rustic country lodges. (Bicycle Adventures trimmed $775 off the price by cutting out four-star hotels.) Your recovery: optional massages, visits to hot springs, and a jet-boat ride beneath Mount Aspiring National Park's misty mountaintops. Departures in January and March 2011; US$3,475; bicycleadventures.com
CYCLE-NAVIGATING THE SOUTH ISLAND
During Active New Zealand founder Andrew Fairfax's 2,700-mile cycling expedition from Istanbul to London in 2003, he thought, Why aren't we doing this at home? The result of that epiphany is the Weka, a 13-day supported bike trip circling the South Island. It hits all the top spots, like the majestic peaks and gushing waterfalls of Milford Sound and the blue ice of the Franz Josef Glacier, while staying off most of the main routes, worn thin by tourist traffic. You'll log roughly 400 miles on Specialized hybrids that can handle gravel farm paths and other classic Kiwi obstacles like cow dung and stubborn sheep. Typical day: Pull off the Central Otago Rail Trail, ditch your gear in a renovated millhouse that serves as home for the night, and head to a tiny rural-outpost pub for a Speight's with the locals. Price: $2,999 Outfitter: Active New Zealand, 800-661-9073, www.activenewzealand.com
When to Go: October-April
OCEANIA
DIVE INTO PALAU'S SHARK WEEK
Reef sharks in the midst of mating season are the headliners at Shark Week, the Micronesian Shark Foundation's annual conservation-oriented celebration of these cartilaginous creatures. Expect cameos from silvertip, tiger, and hammerhead sharks, among others, as you explore the reefs and walls of underwater Palau on this ten-day, resort-based expedition. By day, a 28-foot boat will take you to dive sites, many of which are open only during this event; the nights are enhanced by lectures from experts on sharks and preservation. OUTFITTER: Oceanic Society Natural History Expeditions, 800-326-7491, oceanic-society.org; PRICE: $2,990–$3,490; DIFFICULTY: Moderate; WHEN TO GO: March
SOLOMAN ISLANDS
SEA-KAYAKING JOURNEY
Spend 18 days exploring the remote string of jungly, Eden-like islands of the nation's Western Province. You'll paddle translucent blue lagoons and cool, dark, vine-strung rivers, hike high volcanic ridges, snorkel a shallow-water WWII plane wreck, and discover shrines built partially of skulls—remnants of the headhunters who lived on these Ring of Fire islands about a century ago. Transfers between islands are by motorized canoes piloted by native guides; most nights are spent camping on empty sand beaches.Price: $3,790 Outfitter: Mountain Travel Sobek, 888-687-6235, www.mtsobek.com When to Go: November to December
SOUTH PACIFIC
SECLUDED-ISLE HOPPING
In 1790, the mutineers of the HMS Bounty selected Pitcairn Island, some 1,200 miles southeast of Tahiti, to live with their Tahitian brides because it was so far away and nearly an impossible place for their pursuers to anchor safely. Today, their 50-some descendants see few visitors for the very same reasons. Get a feel for their isolationist way of life by spending a week hiking craggy hills, helping the residents maintain their longboats, and hearing tales of life on a forgotten island. That's just the headliner of this three-week South Pacific voyage, most of which you'll see from the comfort of a 60-foot luxury sailboat. You'll also snorkel reefs teeming with tropical fish, hike the goat paths of Mangareva (a "floating mountain" in the Gambier Islands, 320 miles west of Pitcairn), and learn to trim the mainsails en route to uninhabited sand spits like Henderson and Oeno islands, where you can pretend you're starring in your own episode of Lost. Price: $5,950 Outfitter: Ocean Voyages, 800-299-4444, www.oceanvoyages.com When to Go: July-October
