March 2011
Wednesday 02 Auckland – Los Angeles D
Fly Air New Zealand to Los Angeles - overnight at an airport hotel
Thurs 03 Los Angeles – Miami - Quito
Fly American Airlines to Quito. On arrival, transfer to your city hotel
Friday 04 Quito B L
Enjoy a full day city tour of this mountain city – see the various neighbourhoods – the stunning architecture, the Legislative Palace and much more. Break the day with a local lunch followed by a visit out of the city to the ‘Middle of the World’ where the Northern and Southern hemispheres meet. Quito is around 2000 metres above sea level - almost as high as our own Mt Cook.
Saturday 05 Quito – Manta
Morning transfer to the airport for the flight to Manta. On arrival transfer to
MV Discovery for the start of your cruise
Sunday 06 Manta
Manta is your gateway to Galapagos – the most complex, diverse and unique ecosystem in the world upon which celebrated naturalist Charles Darwin found evidence for his theory of evolution! An overnight stay in Manta gives you the chance to make Galapagos a part of your Voyage of Discovery
Monday 07 At Sea
Enjoy the first of your guest speaker’s fascinating talk during a day at sea
Tuesday 08 Balboa
Take a day out in vibrant, cosmopolitan Panama City. Beyond the beautiful skyline of gleaming skyscrapers, myriad pointers speak volumes about the first Spanish settlement on the Pacific Coast that fell foul to pirate Henry Morgan. The past meets the present with a sturdy dug-out canoe ride into the heart of the rainforest and a glimpse into the life of the Embera Indian tribe
Wednesday 09 Panama Canal
Discovery makes her transit of the 80-kilometre long Panama Canal. Connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’ is hailed as one of the world’s most amazing engineering marvels
Thursday 10 San Blas Islands
Strung out along the Caribbean coast, a cluster of more than 300 islands display a remarkable beauty. Forty nine of the archipelago are inhabited by Kuna Indians and stepping ashore is a stepping-stone to the past. Watch as they go about their daily business, or ride in local dugout canoes to a neighbouring island. Sands are brilliant white, seas crystalline blue and Kuna Indian crafts just as spectacular
Friday 11 Cartagena
Imposing but intimate and wrapped in high stone walls, Cartagena’s Old City has an air of cloistered cosiness. Spanish colonial buildings huddled along cobblestone streets create a palette saturated with deep blue, dusty rose, burnt orange and ochre. A city once filled with silver and gold, the New World’s collection point for loot en route to Spain was also at the centre of South America’s slave trade
Saturday 12 At Sea
A day at sea during which your guest speakers seek to enlighten you
Sunday 13 Maracaibo
With ‘Palafitos’ – simple dwellings built on stilts, local transport in the form of canoes and children with Indian features bathing in the lake, allow the Anu to live very much as their ancestors did when the first Spanish settlers arrived. From this living past, step to the present where the modern metropolis of Maracaibo focuses firmly on the lake, oil wells, towers and rigs that are its future
Monday 14 Aruba
Oranjestad is Aruba’s historic Dutch capital with traditional tall houses with carved wooden doors, typical Dutch tiles and a splash of flamboyant Caribbean colour. An infusion of indigenous and Dutch cultures gave this island gem a special charm, complementing its unique beauty of giant cacti, stranded sand dunes and weirdly twisted divi-divi trees
Tuesday 15 Curaçao
African culture beats like a proud and joyous heart throughout the island whose centuries-old, colonial buildings add a dash of European flavour. Explore Willemstad with Dutch-gabled buildings reflected in placid canals and an exotic floating market, or Hato Caves – a surreal underground world with a mystical lake and ancient Indian petroglyphs
Wednesday 16 La Guaira
La Guaira is your gateway to Caracas – a vibrant, modern metropolis nestled in the shadow of lush Avila Mountain. Take a cable car to its lofty heights and look down on an eclectic mix of soaring skyscrapers alongside sprawling shanty towns.
Follow in the footsteps of the city’s most famous son, South America’s revolutionary hero, Simon Bolivar
Thursday 17 Margarita Island
When Spanish ‘Conquistadores’ stepped ashore on Isla Margarita - the ‘island of pearls,’ Guaiqueri Indians received them with open arms, later becoming slaves to their own wealth. Forts dotting the landscape illustrate a fascinating history of notorious pirates. Porlamar is a springboard to a wealth of natural and historical treasures. Cruise the mangroves in La Restinga National Park or visit Asuncion with old cathedrals - a legacy of Spanish invaders
Friday 18 Grenada
Mountainous rainforests, lush valleys, crystalline waterfalls, fast-flowing streams, hot springs, mountain lakes and pristine white-sand beaches – Grenada, where not even a fearsome history of cannons and cannibals curb the quintessential Caribbean dream. Picturesque St George is the most appealing of capitals, a pastel rainbow of dockside warehouses and red tile roofs a delightful backdrop to the horseshoe of its ‘Carenage’
Saturday 19 Mayreau Island
Mayreau is one of the tiniest dots in the jumbled patchwork of islands and cays making up the Caribbean. Step ashore and you’ll find only one road, a handful of cars and just 300 people living in ‘The Village.’ Take a catamaran cruise to the stunning turquoise waters of the famed Tobago Cays.
Sunday 20 - 21 Bridgetown
History and tradition preserved and repeated throughout the centuries, Barbados is proud of its cultural heritage. Bridgetown is the epitome of a Caribbean colonial town. Policemen walk the beat in chipper British uniforms and judges preside in white wigs and black flowing gowns. See stately Jacobean and Georgian estates set amidst simple chattel houses.
Monday 21 Bridgetown B L
Disembark this morning and enjoy a full day tour of Barbados. See the scenic east coast, snorkel at a ship wreck, swim with turtles on the west coast and marvel on a glass-bottom boat cruise. Lunch is included. Overnight at an airport hotel
Tuesday 22 Bridgetown – Miami – Los Angeles
Early start for your flight to Miami and onto Los Angeles. On arrival transfer to Santa Monica for a two night stay
Wednesday 23 Santa Monica B D
The day is yours. There is a pedestrian area close to the hotel, plus signature department stores and of course the beach and pier. Tonight’s farewell dinner will be typically American
Thursday 24 Los Angeles – Auckland B
The morning is free. Later, transfer to the airport for your Air New Zealand flight Cross the International Date Line
Saturday 26 Auckland
Arrive Auckland early morning
• Return economy class airfares Auckland – Los Angeles – Quito // Barbados – Los Angeles - Auckland
• All pre-paid air taxes
• All transfers as outlined
• Six nights’ hotel accommodation with private facilities
• Meals as specified
• City tour of Quito
• Island tour of Barbados
• Sixteen nights on board MV Discovery in a cabin of your own choice
• All meals on board MV Discovery
• All entertainment on board MV Discovery
• Private on board cocktail party
• All on board gratuities
• All on board service charges (no % added to drinks and spa treatments
• All port charges
• Comprehensive guest speaker programme throughout the cruise
• Escorted from New Zealand (subject to 16 persons travelling)
• A non-refundable deposit of $1500 per person will secure a cabin of your choice
Full payment is due no later than 10 December 2010