Southern SAILING

Windstar Cruises' debut Down Under proves one of the best ways to sail Australia's southern seas, writes Kirstie Bedford.

- Kirstie Bedford

“It never ceases to amaze me how miners found their way through this rugged territory,” John, our driver, tells us. He’s a fourth-generation Tasmanian and although he has been taking travellers to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park for decades, it’s still magical to him. You can hear it in his voice. See it in the shake of his head as he speaks. It’s his first time back since the pandemic, and he’s driving a busload of us from Burnie, where our ship, Windstar Cruises’ Star Breeze is docked. It’s also the ship’s first time in Australia: Sydney then Melbourne, before crossing the Bass Strait to Tasmania.