Arrive Auckland

Upon arrival, collect your rental vehicle and self-drive to your accommodation.  

Kia Ora! Auckland is New Zealand's largest city, set between two harbours with gentle sandy shores on the east and black sand, wild surf beaches on the west. Home to sheltered, sparkling blue waters dotted with beautiful emerald islands, we recommend getting out on the water when you are here.

Optional Attraction: Auckland Sky Tower without Transfers 

(Flight should be Arrive before 1400 HRS)

View Auckland City from 328 metres high above street level in the iconic Sky Tower. This is a great introduction to the city as it provides panoramic 360 degree views up to 80km in every direction 

Optional Attraction: Auckland Harbour Dinner Cruise // Admission without Transfers 

Immerse yourself in Auckland Harbour setting and unwind with a three-course meal on the water. Set sail and take in Auckland spectacular scenery as the sun lowers in the sky.Enjoy canapés and a welcome drink as you set sail onto the Waitemata Harbour. For the main course choose between dining in the downstairs cabin or on deck to take in the iconic sights of the Auckland Harbour. To finish the evening off, savour your dessert course as we leisurely sail back to Aucklandvibrant Viaduct Harbour. Includes: 2.5 hour sailing experience on Auckland Waitemata Harbour Welcome drink of your choice served on arrival Enjoy a three-course meal on board served by our crew Informative commentary from our knowledgeable crew about the harbour and its history Fully licensed bar is available on board for additional drinks Children must be 5 years and older for this cruise 

Duration: 2.5 hours. Includes a welcome drink and a three course meal.

Overnight: Auckland

Meals: NA

Auckland - Waitomo - Hobbiton - Rotoru

Auckland-Waitomo: 195km (approx 2hrs, 30mins)

Waitomo-Matamata: 102km (approx 1hr, 20mins)

Matamata-Rotorua: 67km (approx 55mins)

Journey through the rolling green hills of Waitomo and enjoy a tour through an underground wonderland of caves decorated with galaxies of glowworms. Continue to Matamata for a charming tour of unique, character Hobbit homes, gardens and the watering hole just as you see in the movies. Finishing off a visually fulfilling day, continue Rotorua, a bubbling and steaming destination like nowhere else.   

Overnight: Rotorua

Meals: Breakfast

Rotorua

Rotorua is surrounded by a fascinating geothermal landscape with its unique steam vents, spouting geysers and bubbling mud pool set alongside freshwater lakes and majestic native forests. It is also a region immersed in fascinating Maori myths and legends. Today you'll visit one of the local geothermal attractions before a sensory evening display in the forest. 

Overnight: Rotorua

Meals: Breakfast 

Rotorua - Christchurch (Domestic Flight Not Included)

Depart on your domestic flight to Christchurch.  (Airfare is not included in the final cost)

Flight Time Rotorua to Christchurch is approx. 2 hours

Christchurch is set between the deep blue Pacific Ocean and the mighty snow-capped Southern Alps. This is a vibrant, ever-changing city with inner city parks and gardens delightfully interwoven by the meandering Avon River.

Optional Attraction: Christchurch Tram Dinner

The Tramway Restaurant offers you a unique way to experience Christchurch. Dine in style in an air-conditioned vintage tram and be treated to fine service, cuisine and beverages. Incorporate some fabulous dining with the central city sights of Christchurch's passing right by your window. The Tramway Restaurant offers a great experience of inner city vibrancy and heritage ideal for celebrating special occasions, romantic date nights or simply to see Christchurch from a different perspective.

Overnight: Christchurch

Meals: Breakfast

Christchurch - Glacier Region

Depart across the Canterbury Plains, a fertile patchwork made with every shade of green, through the spectacular scenery of Arthurs Pass National Park and on to the West Coast.  New Zealand's rugged West Coast is a wild and untamed place known for its rivers, rainforests, glaciers and geological treasures.  Here, mighty rivers of solid white ice, relics of the world's last ice-age, tumble down the rocky valleys.   

Christchurch - Glacier Region: 240-380km (approx. 3.5-5hrs)

Overnight: Glacier Region

Meals: Breakfast

Glacier Region

A temperate climate at a low altitude make Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers among the most convenient to visit in the world.  Steep valleys bear scars from where glaciers have retreated and advanced over millennia and here, the ice age is still underway.  

Today is a free day to add your preferred activity. Make a visit to Punakaki's Pancake Rocks or, for an absolute bucket list experience, take to the air on a scenic flight with a glacier landing and a thrilling hike across the icy wonderland.  

Optional Attraction: Franz Josef Glacier Heli-Hike

WEST COAST & GLACIER COUNTRY

The Franz Josef Glacier Heli Hike is a once in a lifetime experience not to be missed. Your experienced and highly trained helicopter pilot will whisk you up and over jaw dropping landscape. After a thrilling scenic flight, high above ice-falls and rugged terrain, you will land high up on the glacier. Equipped with glacier boots and crampons your highly trained and friendly guide will take you on a two hour journey through some of the most pristine and awe-inspiring glacier scenery in the world. Your guide will choose your route carefully as you go and, with an eye for the most spectacular ice formations, you'll soon be making your way through an extraordinary landscape of towering peaks and glistening blue ice. The truly incredible features in the glacier such as ice caves and tunnels are constantly changing and evolving so no two days are ever the same. Duration: 4 hours

Overnight: Glacier Region

Meals: Breakfast

Glacier Region - Queenstown

Travel through wilderness towns, waterfalls and river scenery on today's scenic journey to Queenstown.  We recommend stopping for a break, and to stretch the legs, at Makarora's Blue Pools.  

Glacier Region - Queenstown: 350km (approx 4hrs, 35mins)

Optional Attraction: Skyline Gondola Ride

The Skyline Gondola base is situated a short five minute walk from central Queenstown. Take in the stunning views as you ride the Skyline Gondola cable car high above Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu to the top of Bob's Peak. The best views in the region are found here, spread out in a spectacular 220 degree panorama with breath taking views of Coronet Peak, The Remarkables mountain range and across Lake Wakatipu to Cecil and Walter Peak.

Overnight: Queenstown

Meals: Breakfast

Queenstown

Magnificent vistas and majestic mountains dominate this compact alpine resort town and with such an expansive natural physical environment it is not surprising that Queenstown has been described as the Adventure Capital of the World

Today is a free day to add some of the endless optional activities on offer. 

Optional Attraction: Shotover Jetboat Ride   

World famous as the ultimate jet boat experience. A unique combination of beauty and power, this 25 minute experience is like no other, blending pristine natural landscape with wall to wall canyon action from start to finish. Journey deep into the Shotover River Canyon as your expert driver whips your jet boat skilfully through the dramatic and narrow canyons, past rocky outcrops and around crags and boulders. Reach speeds of up to 85kph while skimming the surface of crystal clear waters and feel the spray in the 360 degree spins that are guaranteed to get your heart pumping. The Shotover Jet River Base is a 7km drive from central Queenstown. Complimentary shuttle from the Queenstown depot on select jet boat departures.

Optional Attraction: Nevis Bungy - 134m

Welcome to the best thing you have ever done. Go full throttle with our 134m Bungy (the highest in New Zealand). Free fall for 8.5 seconds in a blitz of pure fear and adrenaline. Don't say we didn't warn you, because this will definitely put the cement in your coffee.

Optional Attraction: Walter Peak High Country Farm Excursion

Farming in the New Zealand high country is a way of life - and its one you can get up close to at Walter Peak. Departing from Steamer Wharf central Queenstown, the vintage steamship TSS Earnslaw will transport you on a scenic cruise across Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak High Country Farm. Here you will be taken to the amphitheatre to watch the remarkable skill with which the farm dogs round up sheep from the paddocks. A guided walking tour of the farmyard visits the holding pens, where you can help feed the sheep and deer and even get up close to the Scottish Highland Cattle. Then a stroll to the charming old woolshed for morning or afternoon tea. There may also be time to stroll through the lakeside gardens before re-boarding the TSS Earnslaw for the cruise back to Queenstown.

Duration: 3.5 hours

Note: The TSS Earnslaw is closed for maintenance for six weeks mid-winter each year

Overnight: Queenstown

Meals: Breakfast

Queenstown - Milford Sound - Queenstown

Fiordland is one of the world's last great wildernesses.  Today's stunning tour takes you past mirror lakes and waterfalls into Milford Sound, carved by ice age glaciers and famously described as the eighth wonder of the world. On arrival, board your vessel for a cruise of the fiord surrounded by towering mountains and cliffs that plunge into the sea.  Feel the refreshing spray of a waterfall as you cruise close to sheer rock faces before returning to shore.  After a big day out, reflect on memories of a lifetime on the coach as you return to downtown.

Queenstown - Milford: 287km (approx 3hrs, 50mins) each way

Overnight: Queenstown

Meals: Breakfast 

Queenstown - Mt Cook/Tekapo

Today's journey takes you to a scenic wonderland with golden tussocks, snow-capped mountains and turquoise lakes.  Hug the shores of beautiful Lake Pukaki to a rugged land of ice and rock, home to Aoraki Mt Cook, New Zealand's highest mountain.

Queenstown - Tekapo/Mt Cook: 256-266km (approx 3hrs, 15mins)

Overnight: Tekapo 

Meals: Breakfast

Tekapo/Mt Cook - Christchurch

Be sure to stop for a while at Lake Tekapo where the 'Church of the Good Shepherd' takes pride of place against the backdrop of a vivid blue glacier-fed lake.  Then continue north east where braided rivers and familiar plains will signal your arrival back into Christchurch

Tekapo/Mt Cook - Christchurch: 230-230km (approx 3-4hrs)

Overnight: Christchurch

Meals: Breakfast

Depart Christchurch

Arrangements conclude today with a departure transfer to Christchurch Airport

Meals: Breakfast (Depending on the onward flight)

Do spare a few minutes to share your feedback with our representative or via email - as your valued suggestions will be most appreciated. Arrive home with pleasant memories of your overseas tour, which we are sure you will treasure for a lifetime.