DEVONPORT frigate HMS Northumberland has been exercising with ships of the Royal New Zealand Navy while on passage to Sydney.

HMNZS Te Kaha and HMNZS Endeavour joined the British warship for the trip from Darwin, and en route they carried out a number of serials, including gunnery shoots, flights, replenishments and manoeuvres.

Members of the ships' companies also made visits to their counterparts to see how each navy operates.

Te Kaha is an Anzac-class frigate, a Blohm and Voss MEKO 200 design, which was launched in July 1995. Displacing 3,600 tons, Te Kaha translates as "prowess".

Endeavour is a 12,390-ton replenishment tanker, built by Hyundai in South Korea and commissioned in 1988.

Northumberland left the West Country in May for a seven-month deployment which began with a stint in the Gulf. She was relieved by sister frigate HMS Kent in September, at which point she headed east.

A short visit to Singapore allowed the ship to host a visit by schoolchildren who had been corresponding with the ship by e-mail over the past three months.

Northumberland is heading to Sydney for the Australian Fleet Review - an event which has been scaled down following the terrorist attack on the United States last month, but which still promises to attract large crowds.