Australia and New Zealand sit three hours apart by air, yet they feel like different corners of the earth. One is red earth, reef and long coastlines; the other is lakes, fiords and mountains that seem to rise straight from the water.

We plan trips here around a small number of well-chosen bases rather than a tour of every city. In Australia that might mean Melbourne and its coast road, Port Douglas for the reef and rainforest, or Sydney and the Blue Mountains. In New Zealand it means driving: Christchurch to Queenstown through the Mackenzie Basin, or a loop from Auckland to Rotorua’s steaming valleys.

The seasons run opposite to India’s, so a December trip brings long summer evenings and a July one brings snow on the Remarkables. We time reef days against the wind, alpine days against the forecast, and help with both visas well ahead of your departure. Your days keep room to stay longer wherever you find you want to.