Spend 19 days touring the two Pacific island nations. Ride aboard vintage Kuranda steam train and Skyrail gondolas and tour Sydney on land and by harbor cruise.
Explore nature with a Great Barrier Reef excursion, and spend two nights in Mt. Cook National Park. Witness sunset at Ayers Rock and enjoy an Aboriginal “Dreamtime” experience where you will meet Walpiri tribespeople and learn about their ancient culture
Head to New Zealand and tour both Christchurch and Auckland. Cruise Milford Sound and visit Te Puia Thermal Reserve and Cultural Centre on the shores of Lake Rotorua. Experience the Maori culture with a traditional hangi dinner and Maori performance.
Days 1 & 2: Depart for Cairns, Australia
Day 3: Arrive in Cairns
This afternoon – arrive in Cairns
Transfer to the hotel
A briefing about the trip and dinner
Meals: Dinner
Day 4: Cairns / Kuranda
Orientation tour of Cairns
Board a historic railway
Explore the mountain village of Kuranda
Descend via the gondolas of Skyrail
Return to the hotel
Rest of the day at leisure
Lunch and dinner is on your own
Meals: Breakfast
Day 5: Great Barrier Reef
Day-long excursion to the Great Barrier Reef
Pull up at Michaelmas Cay
Swim, snorkel, or view the reef from a semi-submersible vessel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 6: Cairns / Alice Springs
Early morning flight to remote Alice Springs
Venture to Simpsons Gap and Standley Chasm for a picnic lunch
Visit the Alice Springs School of the Air
Dinner is on your own
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 7: Alice Springs
Embark on an Aboriginal “dreamtime” tour – meet Walpiri tribespeople and learn about their ancient culture.
Royal Flying Doctor Service
Visit the Anzac Hill Monument
Lunch is on your own
Enjoy a traditional Outback Bushman’s Dinner around a campfire.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 8: Alice Springs / Ayers Rock
Early afternoon – Ayers Rock hotel
Lunch is on your own
Visit Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 9: Ayers Rock / Sydney
Visit the base of Uluru and the interesting museum here
Lunch is on your own
Mid-day – fly to Sydney, arriving late afternoon.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 10: Sydney
The Rocks historic neighborhood: Darling Harbour, Mrs. Macquarie’s Point, Rose and Watson’s bays, and Bondi Beach
Board a catamaran for a lunch cruise around Sydney Harbour
Dinner is on your own
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 11: Sydney
Tour Featherdale Wildlife Park
Afternoon is at leisure
Enjoy dinner together at a local restaurant
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 12: Sydney / Christchurch, New Zealand
Late morning tour of the Sydney Opera House
Afternoon is free for independent exploration
Lunch is on your own
Evening – board a flight to Christchurch, New Zealand
Dinner is on your own
Meals: Breakfast
Day 13: Christchurch / Mount Cook National Park
Orientation tour of the Botanic Gardens and Cathedral Square
Board our motorcoach to Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, in the Southern Alps.
En route, stop in the town of Geraldine for lunch
See sheep dogs and a sheep shearer in action at a local farm
Continue on to Mount Cook, arriving late afternoon.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 14: Mount Cook
Tour of alpine Mount Cook Village
Visit to the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Center – 3D planetarium movie about the region.
Visit the Hillary Gallery
Lunch on our own
Afternoon is at leisure to relax amid the breathtaking scenery
Optional: take a hike, or a scenic flight (weather permitting)
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 15: Mount Cook / Queenstown
Depart for Queenstown
Stopping en route in historic Arrowtown for lunch on our own
Visit to Kawarau Bridge Bungy
Reach Queenstown mid-afternoon
Dinner at the hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 16: Milford Sound
Day-long excursion to Milford Sound
Nature cruise through the fjords
Lunch on board
Return to Queenstown
Optional: scenic flight (weather permitting)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 17: Queenstown
Today is at leisure
Lunch is on your own
Dinner is on your own
Meals: Breakfast
Day 18: Queenstown / Rotorua
Depart for the Maori center of Rotorua
Panoramic tour of this city on the shores of Lake Rotorua
In the evening, visit Te Puia Thermal Reserve and Cultural Centre
Traditional hangi dinner and Maori performance
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 19: Rotorua
Visit Rainbow Springs Nature Park
Tour the National Kiwi Trust
Lunch is on your own
Dinner is on your own
Meals: Breakfast
Day 20: Rotorua / Auckland
En route to Auckland, we stop at Ruakuri Caves
Reach Auckland late afternoon
Dinner is on your own
Meals: Breakfast
Day 21: Auckland
Half-day tour of this city
Auckland Harbour
America’s Cup Village
Visit the War Memorial Museum
Farewell dinner at the hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 22: Depart for U.S.
Very early this morning, depart for the airport for the flight to Los Angeles (via Sydney) and our return flights home
Meals: Breakfast
Please note: This trip involves full days of sightseeing and significant amounts of walking on stairs and uneven surfaces. You should be in good physical condition to enjoy the tour to its fullest.
Cindy Schipani is the Merwin H. Waterman Collegiate Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Business Law at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. She received her J.D. from the University of Chicago School of Law. She has held visiting appointments at LUISS Business School in Rome, the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the University of Sydney Faculty of Law as a Parsons Fellow and Flinders University of South Australia as a Distinguished International Visitor. Professor Schipani has also spent a year on the faculty of the University of Hawaii School of Law. She currently teaches in the MBA, WMBA, and BBA programs at the Ross School of Business, including a Global Initiatives course on Cross-Cultural Negotiations in Croatia and during the COVID pandemic, taught the course remotely with students in Argentina. She has taught international aspects of entrepreneurship in Rome and Milan. Professor Schipani’s primary research interests are in corporate governance and pathways for women to obtain positions of organizational leadership. She has published over 40 journal articles and a book and receives numerous of invitations to present her research nationally and internationally, including in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, and throughout Europe. She has earned many awards for her work including the Academy of Legal Studies in Business Career Achievement Award, the Ross School of Business Senior Faculty Award for Excellence in Research and the University of Michigan Outstanding Mentor Award. Professor Schipani’s favorite past times are travel and live music and theater.
Highlights
Spend 19 days touring the two Pacific island nations. Ride aboard vintage Kuranda steam train and Skyrail gondolas and tour Sydney on land and by harbor cruise.
Explore nature with a Great Barrier Reef excursion, and spend two nights in Mt. Cook National Park. Witness sunset at Ayers Rock and enjoy an Aboriginal “Dreamtime” experience where you will meet Walpiri tribespeople and learn about their ancient culture
Head to New Zealand and tour both Christchurch and Auckland. Cruise Milford Sound and visit Te Puia Thermal Reserve and Cultural Centre on the shores of Lake Rotorua. Experience the Maori culture with a traditional hangi dinner and Maori performance.
Itinerary
Days 1 & 2: Depart for Cairns, Australia
Day 3: Arrive in Cairns
This afternoon – arrive in Cairns
Transfer to the hotel
A briefing about the trip and dinner
Meals: Dinner
Day 4: Cairns / Kuranda
Orientation tour of Cairns
Board a historic railway
Explore the mountain village of Kuranda
Descend via the gondolas of Skyrail
Return to the hotel
Rest of the day at leisure
Lunch and dinner is on your own
Meals: Breakfast
Day 5: Great Barrier Reef
Day-long excursion to the Great Barrier Reef
Pull up at Michaelmas Cay
Swim, snorkel, or view the reef from a semi-submersible vessel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 6: Cairns / Alice Springs
Early morning flight to remote Alice Springs
Venture to Simpsons Gap and Standley Chasm for a picnic lunch
Visit the Alice Springs School of the Air
Dinner is on your own
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 7: Alice Springs
Embark on an Aboriginal “dreamtime” tour – meet Walpiri tribespeople and learn about their ancient culture.
Royal Flying Doctor Service
Visit the Anzac Hill Monument
Lunch is on your own
Enjoy a traditional Outback Bushman’s Dinner around a campfire.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 8: Alice Springs / Ayers Rock
Early afternoon – Ayers Rock hotel
Lunch is on your own
Visit Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 9: Ayers Rock / Sydney
Visit the base of Uluru and the interesting museum here
Lunch is on your own
Mid-day – fly to Sydney, arriving late afternoon.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 10: Sydney
The Rocks historic neighborhood: Darling Harbour, Mrs. Macquarie’s Point, Rose and Watson’s bays, and Bondi Beach
Board a catamaran for a lunch cruise around Sydney Harbour
Dinner is on your own
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 11: Sydney
Tour Featherdale Wildlife Park
Afternoon is at leisure
Enjoy dinner together at a local restaurant
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 12: Sydney / Christchurch, New Zealand
Late morning tour of the Sydney Opera House
Afternoon is free for independent exploration
Lunch is on your own
Evening – board a flight to Christchurch, New Zealand
Dinner is on your own
Meals: Breakfast
Day 13: Christchurch / Mount Cook National Park
Orientation tour of the Botanic Gardens and Cathedral Square
Board our motorcoach to Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, in the Southern Alps.
En route, stop in the town of Geraldine for lunch
See sheep dogs and a sheep shearer in action at a local farm
Continue on to Mount Cook, arriving late afternoon.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 14: Mount Cook
Tour of alpine Mount Cook Village
Visit to the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Center – 3D planetarium movie about the region.
Visit the Hillary Gallery
Lunch on our own
Afternoon is at leisure to relax amid the breathtaking scenery
Optional: take a hike, or a scenic flight (weather permitting)
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 15: Mount Cook / Queenstown
Depart for Queenstown
Stopping en route in historic Arrowtown for lunch on our own
Visit to Kawarau Bridge Bungy
Reach Queenstown mid-afternoon
Dinner at the hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 16: Milford Sound
Day-long excursion to Milford Sound
Nature cruise through the fjords
Lunch on board
Return to Queenstown
Optional: scenic flight (weather permitting)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 17: Queenstown
Today is at leisure
Lunch is on your own
Dinner is on your own
Meals: Breakfast
Day 18: Queenstown / Rotorua
Depart for the Maori center of Rotorua
Panoramic tour of this city on the shores of Lake Rotorua
In the evening, visit Te Puia Thermal Reserve and Cultural Centre
Traditional hangi dinner and Maori performance
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 19: Rotorua
Visit Rainbow Springs Nature Park
Tour the National Kiwi Trust
Lunch is on your own
Dinner is on your own
Meals: Breakfast
Day 20: Rotorua / Auckland
En route to Auckland, we stop at Ruakuri Caves
Reach Auckland late afternoon
Dinner is on your own
Meals: Breakfast
Day 21: Auckland
Half-day tour of this city
Auckland Harbour
America’s Cup Village
Visit the War Memorial Museum
Farewell dinner at the hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 22: Depart for U.S.
Very early this morning, depart for the airport for the flight to Los Angeles (via Sydney) and our return flights home
Meals: Breakfast
Please note: This trip involves full days of sightseeing and significant amounts of walking on stairs and uneven surfaces. You should be in good physical condition to enjoy the tour to its fullest.
Journey
Host
Cindy Schipani is the Merwin H. Waterman Collegiate Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Business Law at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. She received her J.D. from the University of Chicago School of Law. She has held visiting appointments at LUISS Business School in Rome, the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the University of Sydney Faculty of Law as a Parsons Fellow and Flinders University of South Australia as a Distinguished International Visitor. Professor Schipani has also spent a year on the faculty of the University of Hawaii School of Law. She currently teaches in the MBA, WMBA, and BBA programs at the Ross School of Business, including a Global Initiatives course on Cross-Cultural Negotiations in Croatia and during the COVID pandemic, taught the course remotely with students in Argentina. She has taught international aspects of entrepreneurship in Rome and Milan. Professor Schipani’s primary research interests are in corporate governance and pathways for women to obtain positions of organizational leadership. She has published over 40 journal articles and a book and receives numerous of invitations to present her research nationally and internationally, including in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, and throughout Europe. She has earned many awards for her work including the Academy of Legal Studies in Business Career Achievement Award, the Ross School of Business Senior Faculty Award for Excellence in Research and the University of Michigan Outstanding Mentor Award. Professor Schipani’s favorite past times are travel and live music and theater.
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