Cruise Port Guide
The bucket-list things to do — and the private, expert-led way to do each.
Here’s the bucket list for your day ashore: the most extraordinary thing to do at each stop, and the private, small-group, or expert-led way to make it yours — your own pace, real access, none of the crowd.
Glide across the largest inland waterway system in Australia aboard a private sailing vessel. Gippsland Lakes' mirror-still waters, remote sand spits, and untouched eucalypt shorelines make this the definitive bucket-list way to experience this UNESCO-recognised wetland.
Cruise the wild southern tip of mainland Australia, where granite headlands plunge into teal Southern Ocean and colonies of fur seals, dolphins, and rare seabirds put on a show. Wilsons Promontory is one of Victoria's most protected and spectacular national parks — seen best from the water.
Commission a private motorboat charter from the charming village of Metung, weaving through the reed-lined channels, hidden beaches, and Aboriginal cultural landscapes of one of Australia's most serene lake systems. This is Gippsland at its most personal and unhurried.
Take the short passenger ferry from Paynesville to Raymond Island, home to one of Victoria's most accessible wild koala colonies. Ancient scribbly gums shelter dozens of sleepy koalas at eye level — no zoo, no guide ropes, just wild Australia at its most endearing.
Watch the world-famous Little Penguin Parade at Phillip Island as hundreds of the world's smallest penguins waddle ashore at sunset, then move on to a curated tasting of cool-climate Gippsland wines. This is quintessential coastal Victoria, distilled into one extraordinary evening.
Venture into the ancient limestone caves of Buchan, where spectacular stalactite chambers rival the world's great cave systems, then wind through the temperate rainforest of Snowy River country. This is a journey into a Gippsland that most visitors never reach — raw, ancient, and breathtaking.
⚓ Your bucket-list concierge
Tell us your sailing and we'll send the bucket list for every port — the most extraordinary thing to do at each, and the private, expert-led way to make it yours.
No spam. The honest plan, even when it says skip the ship’s tour.