Auckland - Rotorua

Your driver/guide meets you at your city hotel. Drive south in to the lush dairy farmlands of Waikato through to the rolling farmlands of Rotorua. We then “go bush” driving to the Blue Lake (Tikitapu), and the Green Lake (Rotokakahi). Above Lake Tarawera relax over an exclusive lunch at Pounamu Lodge with our hosts David and Karen. Karen has stories to tell of her ancestor Guide Sophia who lead visitors to safety when the Pink and White Terraces were destroyed when Mt Tarawera erupted in 1886. After lunch we learn about Maori culture with a personal experience at Ohinemutu Village before finishing the day at Rotorua’s exceptional Museum. This evening you will be touched by the warmth of a Maori concert – the traditional welcome to visitors – and a dinner that includes hangi food steamed in an earth oven.

Rotorua - Napier (B)

Explore our favourite geothermal hideaway, Orakei Korako, crossing the lake to a wonderland of silica terraces, bubbling mud pools and an enchanting Aladdin’s Cave, Ruatapu. See the turbulent Huka Falls and from Taupo the three active volcanoes – Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu are visible across the lake.

The road winds over the ranges to Napier. Renowned for its Art Deco architecture, Napier was rebuilt in this style after an earthquake in 1931. Wine taste at a premier vineyard in this acclaimed wine region before a guide joins our coach to take us on a tour of the Art Deco buildings. 

Wellington - Cook Strait - Picton - Blenheim - Kaikoura (B)

We catch the Interislander ferry to cruise for three hours across Cook Strait into Tory Channel and up beautiful Queen Charlotte Sound to Picton. With our feet firmly planted on “Te Waka a Maui”, the South Island, we tour Marlborough’s premier wine and food region renowned for sauvignon blanc.

Leaving behind the dry hills of Marlborough we drive south to Kaikoura, a small hamlet beside the ocean and beneath the towering Kaikoura mountains. We stay right on the waterfront. Seafood, especially crayfish, is a specialty in this ocean side town.

Kaikoura - Akaunui Farm homestead - Aoraki/Mt Cook (B, L)

The highway continues down the coast and winds inland over the Hunderlee Hills to the Canterbury Plains.

Our special lunch destination is Akaunui Farm homestead where we enjoy the warm hospitality of Di and Ian Mackenzie – a resounding favourite on this small group New Zealand tour.

After lunch sweeping vistas of tussock lands and mountains open up ahead. The small church on the edge of aquamarine Lake Tekapo and a statue celebrating the high country sheep dog make irresistible photo stops. 

Queenstown - Milford Sound - Nature Cruise - Scenic Flight - Queenstown (B)

We travel alongside Lake Wakatipu to Te Anau and Milford Sound deep in the heart of Fiordland National Park. The Milford Road is a panorama of high mountains and deep valleys studded with glaciers, waterfalls and mirror lakes.

On arrival at Milford we board a boat with an onboard nature guide to cruise down Milford Sound, a majestic fiord lined with waterfalls and dominated by iconic Mitre Peak. Where the sound reaches the Tasman Sea seal colonies lounge on the rocks. We return to Queenstown on a stunning scenic flight over the Southern Alps and Lake Wakatipu.

Queenstown - Cardrona Valley - Wanaka (B, L)

Our first destination is the leafy village of Arrowtown where gold mining history comes alive beside the Arrow River.

The road climbs over the tussock country of the Crown Range with expansive views of the Gibbston Valley. We call into the Cardrona Hotel, its history also traced back to the goldmining era, then continue on to your private lunch at a Wanaka homestead.

After lunch there’s free time to explore this fast-growing town. Your hotel is lakeside in Wanaka beside the bike trail and walkway.

Franz Josef - Okarito Lagoon - Franz Josef (B)

We drive out to the coast to the tiny settlement of Okarito nestled between the Tasman Sea and Okarito Lagoon. Depending on your preference, select a gentle kayak or boat cruise on the shallow waters of the lagoon. The lagoon is a feeding ground of the rare white heron (kotuku) which breeds in the nearby Waitangi Roto Nature Reserve. 

Enjoy the tranquility of this remote World Heritage Park. Perhaps take a a helihike on the glacier or an optional flight over the Alps to Aoraki/Mt Cook and land on a glacier. Or kick back and soak in hot pools fed by pure glacier water.

Punakaiki - Arthur's Pass - Christchurch (B)

Retracing our steps down the coast we drive up the Otira Gorge on a spectacular cantilevered road through towering mountains to Arthur’s Pass National Park. At the summit we stop at the lookout for the views and to watch the mischievous antics of the keas (mountain parrots).

Stretch your legs in the beech forests at Arthur’s Pass village and later on at the limestone rocks rising out of bare pasture at Castle Hill. We descend Porter’s Pass to the Canterbury Plains reaching Christchurch, New Zealand’s second largest city, and your hotel in the late afternoon.