The Essential New Zealand

Welcome to the land of the “long white cloud.” New Zealand is a country like no other: soaring alps, glacier-fed rivers, lush green valleys dotted with sheep combined with a relaxed, easy-going lifestyle that harkens back to a simpler time. On arrival, we are met and transferred to our hotel.

Auckland is one amazing city, boasting three harbours, two mountain ranges, 48 volcanic cones and more than 50 islands. With a population of approximately 1.3 million, it has one-third of the country's entire population. Our afternoon is at leisure. Tonight we enjoy a “Welcome to New Zealand” Dinner at the Harbourside Restaurant only a short stroll from our hotel.

We spend the day discovering the “City of Sails.” From touring the downtown core to the scenic harbourfront and over the Harbour Bridge to the North Shore, Auckland is a city of ocean views
interrupted by more ocean views! After our city touring, we head out to the Waitakere Ranges for spectacular views of both the ocean and rainforest. We will visit the black sand beach and take a short walk amongst tree ferns, kauri trees and waterfalls. A delightful picnic lunch is included today.

An early start today as we board our coach for our journey south. Our sightseeing today will include an underground tour of the famous Waitomo Caves. Set beneath the rugged hillside, these enormous limestone caverns feature cathedral caverns, stalagmites and stalactites as well as the famous glow worm grottos…and all this natural wonder viewed from a small boat travelling across an underground lake! The ceilings of the caves are dotted with millions of small glow worms, each one providing its own small light to attract the insects they feed on. After our tour, we continue south to the world-famous Hobbiton where many scenes from both the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies were filmed. Our private, exclusive tour will show us the rolling hills of ‘the Shire’ while our private guide recounts fascinating details on how the movie set was created and used.

From here it is on to the thermal city of Rotorua. New Zealand is a country located on the “Ring of Fire” where the earth is always in a state of upheaval. This phenomenon is no more evident than in Rotorua on New Zealand's volcanic plateau where geothermal activity is pronounced including erupting geysers, steaming fumaroles, mud pools and hot geothermal springs.

We arrive at our hotel in the late afternoon where we have time to relax before experiencing a traditional Maori Hangi (feast) and cultural evening.

After a hearty breakfast, we take a short drive to visit Te Puia, New Zealand’s most colourful geothermal attraction where the landscape has been sculptured over thousands of years by volcanic activity. We have time to view the bubbling mud, thermal geysers and silica terraces with our knowledgeable guide. From here we head to the Agrodome to learn more about all those sheep we have been seeing and then on to our final stop at Rainbow Springs to view the elusive Kiwi Bird and have a stroll through the lush gardens of the complex. Our afternoon is free to explore Rotorua on our own.

We transfer to the airport this morning for our flight across the Cook Strait to New Zealand’s South Island and the resort town of Queenstown. On arrival, we are transferred to our hotel for the evening.

We are up early today for our full-day excursion by road into Fiordland National Park and a cruise on the famous Milford Sound. A journey by road into Milford is an awe-inspiring trip through deep-cut valleys with sheer rock cliffs rising on each side, lush, green meadows and forests dotted with rivers and lakes and, looming over it all, hanging valleys and mighty mountain peaks. Our lunch cruise will take us up and down the Sound getting close to waterfalls and rock walls and, if we are lucky, we may even see a penguin or two. After our cruise, we join our coach for the trip back to Queenstown returning to our hotel in the early evening. 

A free day to enjoy all that Queenstown has to offer: jet boating, bungy jumping, white water rafting, lake cruising, golfing, nature walking or join the Safari of the Scenes Tour.

We board our coach this morning for our scenic journey across the Southern Alps and over the Canterbury Plains to Christchurch. En route, we stop to visit the historic Church of the Good Shepherd overlooking the crystal blue waters of Lake Tekapo. On arrival in Christchurch, we head to our hotel for the evening. Tonight we will enjoy our “farewell dinner” at our hotel.

This morning we tour the sights of Christchurch and get a glimpse of how the city is rebuilding after the devastating earthquakes. After our tour we transfer to the airport to connect to our flights home.