Our Experience NZ Tour
Flights included. Explores both islands at a leisurely pace with 3 multiple night stays and 3 days of leisure.
Valid until sold out18 days form $4650
Product Code: 950041
Staff Details:
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Instructions for Staff:
Our ‘Discover New Zealand’ itinerary explores both islands of New Zealand at a leisurely pace with 3 multiple night stays and 3 days of leisure. This tour stays in central visitor locations using quality accommodation. Ask about getting picked up and dropped off to your front door!
Some Key Attractions visited:
- Hole in the Rock Cruise
- Sky Tower
- Waitomo Caves
- Geothermal Rotorua
- Sheep Show at Agrodome
- Maori Culture
- Napier & Nelson
- Tranz Alpline Train journey
- Queenstown
- Milford Sound
- And more.
BONUS: City tours are included in Auckland, Rotorua, Napier, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, & Dunedin.
DEPARTURES
- 01 September 2012
- 20 October 2012
TOUR INCLUSIONS:
- Return economy class air fare ex MEL, SYD, BNE – other ports on application
- Airline surcharges & taxes are not included – these are approx. $A140 per person
- Meet and Greet on arrival in New Zealand New Zealand Airport Transfers
- Your tour manager/driver will be with you throughout your itinerary with the same coach on both Islands of your tour
- Quality hotel accommodation, twin/double rooms, (single rooms available with single supplement) all with private facilities
- Cooked Breakfasts (B) and Dinners (D) where indicated on the itinerary, including 3 Special Meals: Maori Hangi and Concert – Rotorua, Walter Peak Dinner at the Colonels Homestead – Queenstown, and a Haggis Ceremony - Dunedin
- Tour Admissions as per itinerary, including 4 Scenic Boat Cruises: The Hole in the Rock, Cook Strait and Queen Charlotte Sounds, TSS Earnslaw Cruise on Lake Wakatipu and Milford Sounds Cruise
- Touring in a modern air conditioned coach and where possible we will provide a complimentary Roadside Morning Tea from the coach Complimentary Travel Kit including, Travel Bag, Travel wallet, Name Bar, Luggage Labels, and New Zealand Map
TOUR PAYMENTS PER PERSON, TWIN SHARE (AUD$)
- Land + Air: $A4,450.00
- Land Only: $A4,000.00
- Single Supplement: Extra $A1,290.00
DETAILED ITINERARY
Day 1 ARRIVE AUCKLAND (D)Welcome to New Zealand! You are met on arrival at the Auckland International Airport before being transferred to your hotel.
Day 2 AUCKLAND – BAY OF ISLANDS (BD)
Departing Auckland we travel north over the Auckland Harbour Bridge to first of all visit the Parry Kauri Park. Here we will view some fine examples of Giant Kauri Trees. Continuing we then visit the Matakohe Kauri Museum, at Otamatea. Here we will gain an insight to the early New Zealand Pioneer History, which helped form the New Zealand that we see today. Continuing our journey we reach Paihia in the beautiful Bay of Islands, where you’ll take a guided tour of the Waitangi Treaty House where New Zealand’s history began.
Today is a day of leisure. The Bay of Islands has so many options for you to discover - perhaps a day trip to the light house at Cape Reinga the most northern tip of New Zealand, followed by a safari along 90 Mile Beach on the way home. Maybe try your luck at deep-sea fishing, or take the plunge swimming with the dolphins or just take time out to relax within Paihia or Russell - New Zealand’s first Capital.
Day 4 BAY OF ISLANDS – AUCKLAND (BD)
This morning board a luxury catamaran to cruise the Bay of Islands to Cape Brett before making a passage through the Hole in the Rock. After your cruise we travel south via Whangarei to visit a Kauri Clock factory learning the manufacturing process of these beautiful clocks. Further south following the Hibiscus Coast to arrive in Auckland, whereon arrival we experience a highlights tour of Auckland, the ‘City of Sails’, exploring the lively waterfront area and the base of New Zealand’s America’s Cup Challenge. Enjoy the relaxing views along Tamaki Drive, which runs east past peaceful sheltered bays to Auckland's most expensive real estate. Next we visit the Auckland Sky Tower – at 328m tall is one of the tallest buildings in the Southern Hemisphere offering you outstanding views of the Auckland CBD and the surrounding region.
Travelling south crossing the Bombay Hills through the Dairy Rich Waikato Countryside we arrive at the famous Waitomo Caves. Here a guide will take you underground to view the amazing limestone caves featuring stalagmites and stalactites, which have taken centuries to form. Continue to walk down to an underground stream to board a small boat to view the glow-worm grotto – an underground cavern featuring millions of glow-worms. From Waitomo we travel to the thermal wonderland of Rotorua, the Sulphur City. Rotorua has the most energetic thermal activity in the country with bubbling mud pools, gushing geysers, beautiful coloured hot springs and terrace formations created by mineral water. Rotorua also has a large Maori population whose cultural activities are interesting and accessible as will be witnessed tomorrow evening. On arrival we visit Rainbow Springs, specialising in New Zealand flora and fauna including Kiwi Tuatara Rainbow & Brown Trout.
Day 6 ROTORUA (BD)
This morning enjoy a Rotorua Sightseeing Tour. This morning visit Te Puia – The New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute and Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley featuring the famous Pohutu Geyser. Next visit the Agrodome sheep show. Witness a sheep shearing demonstration, participate in an exciting sheep auction, also having an opportunity to hand-milk a cow or to feed the lambs on stage followed by a demonstration by Huntaway dogs, plus our famous "Duck" dog. Lastly view a dog trial with three sheep and a "Strong Eye" dog. This afternoon is at your leisure. Your Optional Touring Booklet will give you plenty of options on how to spend your time. Tonight you will be treated to a traditional Hangi (feast) and Maori concert.
Departing Rotorua we travel via New Zealand’s largest pine tree forests to Taupo. En-route, we make a visit to the Wairakei Geothermal Steam Field. This was a world-first, generating electricity by tapping a natural steam field then channelling the steam to a nearby power generation plant. Continuing we view the mighty Huka Falls. Huka in Maori translates to “snow” as the water here has the appearance of snow falling as it is forced along from Lake Taupo through the falls on its journey along the Waikato River. This afternoon we continue to the ‘Fruit Bowl’ of New Zealand, Hawkes Bay – Napier.
Day 8 NAPIER – WELLINGTON (BD)
Before we depart Napier we take a city sights tour, featuring beautifulArt Deco buildings to give us an insight of why Napier is known as the Art Deco capital of the world. This afternoon we continue south to Wellington where we spend the rest of the day enjoying an informative sightseeing tour, including a visit to Te Papa, (Our Place) New Zealand’s national museum.
Today begins as we cruise the Wellington Harbour out onto the Cook Strait on the Interislander and through New Zealand’s only true sounds, the picturesque Marlborough Sound into Picton. The bustling port of Picton is the terminal for inter-island ferries, and gateway to the ‘Mainland’, the South Island’s self-proclaimed nickname. Reboarding our coach we continue to tour through to Pelorous Bridge. Here we can walk through the Beech and Podocarp Forest as well as view the many sculptured boulder’s in the Pelorous River. Continuing on for a tour of Nelson – this being our first city of New Zealand.
Day 10 NELSON – CHRISTCHURCH (BD)
Passing Brightwater, the birth place of Lord Rutherford, the New Zealand science pioneer who split the atom, we travel through the Golden Downs Forest to Murchison through the Maruia Forest over the Lewis Pass then into Hanmer Springs where there is time to soak in the mineral pools, (at own expense) before joining the upper reaches of the Canterbury Plains to Christchurch where we enjoy the sights of the ‘Garden City’ also known as “the most English city outside of England”, en-route to our accommodation.
From Christchurch we traverse the Southern Alps aboard the famous Tranz-Alpine rail journey to Arthurs Pass. From your carriage you’ll see the fields of the Canterbury Plains and farmland, followed by the spectacular gorges and river valleys of the Waimakariri River. Your train then climbs into the Southern Alps. Once we have crossed into the Southern Alps we are met at the Village of Arthurs Pass by our coach for us to continue our journey to the West Coast – or the Coast as locals call it, stopping in Hokitika where a visit is made to the Greenstone and Glass Blowing factories. Further south we tour the Westland National Park, the home of Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. On arrival, time is available for optional scenic flights, before continuing onto our accommodation for the night.
Day 12 FOX GLACIER – QUEENSTOWN (B)
Driving towards the southern end of the South Island’s West Coast Road, there is a strong sense of entering a primeval land, and a feeling of total isolation. Arriving at Haast, you are surrounded by a landscape of rainforest, wetlands, sand dunes and surf-pounded shingle beaches. This wilderness forms part of the South West New Zealand World Heritage Area, so designated because South Westland and Fiordland have some of the most dramatic forest and mountain scenery and natural resources in the world. From the Westland National Park we travel through the Haast River valleys and over the Haast Pass to Makaroa and onto the upper reaches of Lake Wanaka. Travelling past Lake Hawea we reach the popular Lake Wanaka, the starting point of the mighty Clutha River. This afternoon we travel via Cromwell following the Kawerau Gorge Road into Queenstown. Tonight is free for you to explore the local restaurants, cafes and bars.
Today is at leisure. Visit the Remarkable’s or Coronet Peak. Experience the thrill of a jet-boat ride along the Shotover or Kawerau Rivers. Perhaps a scenic 4 wheel drive excursion through Skippers Canyon, it’s up to you. This evening we take a cruise across Lake Wakatipu on the steamer TSS Earnslaw to Walter Peak Station to dine at the Colonel’s Homestead.
Day 14 QUEENSTOWN – MILFORD SOUNDS – TE ANAU (BD)
Leaving Queenstown we skirt the shores of Lake Wakatipu, New Zealand’s third largest lake travelling via Te Anau we reach the beautiful Eglinton Valley climbing to Homer Tunnel before descending through the spectacular Cleddau Canyon to reach Milford Sound where we enjoy a cruise of the Sound. The Sound is dominated by the grandeur of Mitre Peak and the Bowen Falls. Returning to Te Anau we reach our overnight accommodation.
Departing Te Anau we travel across country through some of New Zealand’s most populated sheep country to Lumsden then south to New Zealand’s Southern most city. On arrival we enjoy a sightseeing tour of Invercargill then time out for lunch before heading north to Gore then onto Dunedin – the Edinburgh of the South. Tonight we dine with a decidedly Scottish air enjoying the Haggis presentation and dinner at the hotel.
Day 16 DUNEDIN – OMARAMA (BD)
This morning we visit Olveston House – an impressive turn-of-the-century house that is still home to all the lavish furnishings and art collections that have been collected from all corners of the world. We continue to then take in the sights of this old Scottish City. Then onto Oamaru where we have time to look at the ‘White Stone City’. The old buildings have been constructed with local limestone. It was from Oamaru that New Zealand’s first frozen meat was shipped in 1882 taking over three months to reach England, and thus began New Zealand’s most important export industry. Travelling inland through Benmore and Otematata, through Sailors Cutting we arrive at Omarama.
A day for spectacular sights. We head north to skirt the shore of Lake Pukaki to Mount Cook, New Zealand’s highest mountain. Time is available to enjoy an optional scenic flight over the ancient rivers of ice and the West Coast Glaciers (weather permitting – a highly recommended option). Travelling to Tekapo we witness the magnificent blue waters of Lake Tekapo. Here we visit the Church of the Good Shepherd and the statue of the Collie dog, before travelling the vast Mackenzie Basin, over Burke’s Pass through Fairlie, Geraldine, Ashburton and across the Canterbury Plains into Christchurch.
Day 18 CHRISTCHURCH – HOME PORT (B)
Farewell from New Zealand, today you will be transferred from the hotel to Christchurch International Airport for your flight home.
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