- • Specialist team of two highly experienced Travel Director and Driver Guide • 1 UNESCO World Heritage Sites – Fiordland National Park • Comfortable accommodation with easy access to city centres • National Park entrance fees
New Zealand Marvel
Trip Type: Guided HolidayNZD 6,705.00 /Person
One country, two islands, two weeks, countless highs… this could well be the ultimate New Zealand guided tour. Standouts include gem-like Franz Jos...
New Zealand Marvel
One country, two islands, two weeks, countless highs… this could well be the ultimate New Zealand guided tour. Standouts include gem-like Franz Josef Glacier/Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere, cruise through World Heritage listed Milford Sound/Piopiotahi, Waitomo Caves tours to spot glowworms, and expeditions across turquoise lakes. We haven’t even mentioned the atmospheric towns and cities yet – tours in Queenstown, Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin and Christchurch all beckon.
Welcome to Christchurch
There are plenty of reasons to arrive in New Zealand’s ‘Garden City’ early, among them the astonishing transformation that has reinvigorated streets since the devastating 2010/11 earthquakes. Meet your Travel Director and travelling companions at a Welcome Reception tonight.
Ibis Hotel Christchurch
- Christchurch
Christchurch - Franz Josef/Waiau
Jump aboard the TranzAlpine train bound for Christchurch, with panoramic views of snow-capped peaks, gorges and river valleys. Visit the small town of Hokitika, the heritage and cultural centre of the West Coast well-known for its jade. Around the corner is the town of Franz Josef, gateway to Franz Josef Glacier/Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere. Get some perspective on an optional scenic flight.
Scenic Hotel Franz Josef Glacier
- Christchurch
Franz Josef/Waiau - Queenstown
Over the Haast Pass, alpine scenery of the Southern Lakes spreads before you. First up there’s lovely Lake Wanaka, with its Instagrammable shoreline of poplars and willows. Then Lake Hawea – the colour of an Ice Mint – and Lake Dunstan, where you’ll pause to refuel on flavour-packed stone fruits. As tempting as it is to linger in Arrowtown’s movie-set-like streets, Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables await in Queenstown.
Copthorne Hotel and Resort
- Franz Josef
Queenstown Free Time
Today, choose your own adventure – there are plenty to be had. Feel the wind in your hair on the high-octane jet boat ride, perhaps. Or discover some of New Zealand’s feathered friends at a wildlife centre. Wine aficionado? Sip your way through surrounding vineyards. Wherever you wander, make sure you’re back in time to glide across Lake Wakatipu aboard the historic TSS Earnslaw to Walter Peak High Country Farm for a gourmet barbecue dinner
Copthorne Hotel and Resort
- Queenstown
Queenstown - Te Anau
Your route from the Mirror Lakes through the Cleddau Valley is the entrée to Milford Sound/Piopiotahi, a cavernous wonderland where waterfalls thunder from ancient escarpments into inky water. You’ll likely spot them on your Milford Sound/Piopiotahi cruise. It’s all part of World Heritage listed Fiordland National Park, an intoxicating union of beech forests, alluvial flats, meadows and gin-clear rivers, carving up the countryside. This is your backdrop all the way to Te Anau.
Distinction Luxmore Hotel
- Queenstown
Te Anau - Dunedin
Swap the forested slopes of Fiordland for the rolling green hills of the Edinburgh of the South. Welcome to Dunedin, a beguiling union of both Māori and Scottish heritage. While away the afternoon in atmospheric art-lined alleys or sipping a lager or two in Speight’s Brewery (a national institution), or visit grand Larnach Castle, the only one of its kind in the country. You could venture further afield to discover the wildlife that thrives in this pretty pocket of the country – fur seals, anyone?
Scenic Hotel Dunedin City
- Te Anau
Dunedin - Omarama
Time is on your side this morning. Sleep in or take a stroll. Visit Oamaru, known for its stately tree-lined streets and limestone buildings.
Distinction Heritage Gateway Hotel
- Dunedin
Omarama - Christchurch
Your outlook this morning is the Canterbury Plains. Your Indoor Dark Sky Astronomy Experience at Tekapo, hosted by passionate guides, will forever change the way you see the night sky. You'll see for yourself it may be one of the quietest spots on the planet, yet it has one of the busiest skies in the universe. Back on earth, it’s time to become reacquainted with Christchurch, your in-the-know guide pointing out the city’s miraculous transformation.
Ibis Hotel Christchurch
- Omarama
Christchurch - Picton
There aren’t many beaches more dramatic than the sands of Kaikoura. Bonus points if you spot a sea lion or sperm whale frolicking offshore, Kaikoura is the marine wildlife centre of New Zealand.
Picton Yacht Club
- Christchurch
Picton - Wellington
Cruising through Queen Charlotte Sound, up the Tory Channel and across Cook Strait is a journey as scenic as it is serene. Today’s chariot, the Interislander, transports you from the South Island to the North, navigating a maze of arms and inlets into Wellington. Bring your stamina to explore Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand. Ask your Travel Director for tips on where to sip wine and coffee tonight – this city is known for its uber-cool cafés, restaurants and bars.
Travelodge Wellington
- Picton
Wellington - Rotorua
The road ahead unfolds in a broad panorama of Lake Taupo, the largest of its kind in the country. It’s a landscape almost as otherworldly as Rotorua, where mud pops and jettisons from bubbling geysers, and steam rushes skywards from cracks in the Earth. This evening, explore Te Puia’s geothermal valley, and learn about Māori history and culture on this guided experience, which includes a dinner of hangi-inspired cuisine and a cultural performance in a finely carved meeting house, Te Aronui a Rua. It ends on a high at the Pohutu Geyser, where, armed with a hot chocolate you’ll view one of New Zealand’s geothermal wonderlands.
Ibis Rotorua Hotel
- Wellington
Rotorua Free Time
Sometimes, the best adventures are those that you have when you least expect them. Like wandering into Rotorua’s Wai Araki Hot Springs & Spa and falling into a few hours of bliss while soaking in steamy thermal springs. And then there’s Hobbiton. These beautiful landscapes are not only a bucket list tour for Hobbit fans, but a gorgeous countryside getaway.
Ibis Rotorua Hotel
- Rotorua
Rotorua - Auckland
Before you reach your final destination, get set to glow through the Waitomo Caves. While cruising cavernous limestone waterways, your route is cast in a magical light by thousands of glowworms. Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, appears on the horizon, dazzling with not one, but two harbours.
Holiday Inn Express Auckland City Centre
- Rotorua
Farewell from Auckland
The ‘City of Sails’ flutters as if waving goodbye as you make your way home.
- From helicopter jaunts to jet-boat rides, winery expeditions and Hobbiton tours, your Travel Director is ready to organise optional experiences across Rotorua and Queenstown.
- Waterfalls, ancient escarpments and dolphins await in Fiordland National Park’s Milford Sound/Piopiotahi. This World Heritage Site is as humbling as it is immense.
- Dark Sky Project is committed to preserving our night skies by connecting manuhiri (visitors) to the relevance of the night sky via scientific and cultural experiences.
- From snow-tipped mountains to a wild and dramatic coastline and turquoise alpine lakes, the Southern Lakes region is one of NZ’s most diverse and distinctive wilderness areas.
- Specialist team of two highly experienced Travel Director and Driver Guide 1 UNESCO World Heritage Sites – Fiordland National Park Comfortable accommodation with easy access to city centres National Park entrance fees
- Comfortable walking shoes Sunglasses, sunscreen and hat Water bottle Warm layers in cooler months Camera
- Flights to and from the start/end of your trip are not included in the trip price. Day 1 – flights to arrive prior to 4.00pm into Christchurch AirportDay 14 – flights to depart any time from Auckland Airport
- Low level of fitness required
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Destination DetailsTrip Location
Christchurch (Nz), New Zealand
Auckland, New Zealand
New Zealand