Hygieneprotocol

As of December 1st 2021, you must be fully vaccinated to travel with us. Your final vaccine dose must have been administered a minimum of 15 days prior to the start of the trip. This is your second dose of Pfizer, Moderna, or Astra Zeneca, or single dose of Johnson & Johnson.  You must be able to show documented proof of vaccination on trip. Your CDC card is sufficient (we recommend saving a picture on your smart phone as a backup option), but please be aware that certain destinations may require you to fill out additional forms online.

Accommodation

Your Guided Holiday includes a range of quality accommodation for your comfort.

Meals

Enjoy an exclusive Be My Guest lunch at the Red Barn, a Waikato working dairy farm.

Guide

Experienced Travel Director and Driver Guide

Others

Māori culture is celebrated across the country, no more so than at Te Pā Tū Māori Experience. Be immersed in art, tradition, culture… and nurturing cuisine. Hear from the founder about the work being done to address biodiversity needs in the Kaikōura region, by developing a wildlife hospital and conservation centre. Help protect native birds on Pomona Island through a community-based conservation project. A limestone landscape of pancake-shaped rock formations, blowholes and surge pools sure have carved out a name for themselves. Punakaiki or Pancake Rocks are West Coasters that are known the world over.

Not included:

Flights

Flights are not included.

Insurance

Travel insurance not included

Optional

To ensure your holiday is filled with memorable experiences, we have included a range of quality Optional Excursions for you to choose from and partake in, if you wish, during your holiday. The excursions can be booked on tour through your Travel Director.

Start planning your experience

Day 1 Day 1: Welcome To Auckland
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 1: Welcome To Auckland

Auckland is the kind of place you could lose yourself in for a couple of weeks. Arrive at your leisure and explore new waterfront precincts, or just ready yourself to meet fellow travellers at dinner.
Day 2 Day 2: Auckland
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 2: Auckland

A little bit of leisure, a little bit of culture – today is one of those days. Peek behind the scenes of maritime racing history on the New Zealand Maritime Museum’s America’s Cup Tour. Your Travel Director then takes you around the city, pausing at Bastion Point for epic photo opportunities.
Day 3 Day 3: Auckland - Rotorua
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 3: Auckland - Rotorua

Leave Auckland behind and journey into the countryside for an exclusive family-style Be My Guest lunch in the Red Barn on a working dairy farm. Expect country banter and farm-to-table fare prepared with a lot of love. The next hot spot – in every sense of the word – on your NZ holiday is Rotorua. Visit Te Puia to see and support Maori artisans at work, then continue your Rotorua tour at the steamy Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve, a staggering valley where geysers pop and thermal springs jettison skywards.
Day 4 Day 4: Rotorua Free Time
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 4: Rotorua Free Time

Today, choose your own adventure. We have plenty of ideas for the paths you might follow. Tonight, dive deep into Maori culture at Te Pā Tū Māori Experience, an important hub keeping tradition, art and music alive. Oh, and exciting Māori cuisine. Enjoy forest kai horotai (seasonal canapés) and chef choice aperitif, followed by a seasonal three-course dinner.
Day 5 Day 5: Rotorua - Wellington
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 5: Rotorua - Wellington

Say goodbye to Rotorua and hello to the raging rapids of Huka Falls, where 220,000 litres of water barrel over this massive waterfall every second. Your outlook then unfolds into the dreamy landscape of Lake Taupo. Traverse the volcanic Central Plateau to NZ’s cool little capital of Wellington.
Day 6 Day 6: Wellington
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 6: Wellington

Your day in Wellington should – must – begin with a coffee. The city is known for its ubercool cafés and with coffee in hand you will head out on city sights tour to take in highlights such as its iconic cable car, parliament, and Mt. Victoria. Your tour ends at Te Papa, the national Museum of New Zealand, where you may choose to visit the groundbreaking exhibitions on offer. Later you may decide on an optional tour. Lord of the Rings fans will rejoice with a special tour and visit to Weta Workshop. Or choose to visit Zealandia’s ecosanctuary restoring 225 hectares of forest. Tonight, there are so many restaurants and bars to choose from. Ask us for recommendations or explore at your leisure.
Day 7 Day 7: Wellington - Kaikoura
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 7: Wellington - Kaikoura

This morning cruise the Cook Strait into tranquil Queen Charlotte Sound and continue to Kaikoura, a marine life haven. On arrival be treated to a biodiversity talk from Sabrina Leucht, founder of Kaikōura Wildlife Centre Trust, and learn about the work the trust is doing towards Wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, at this MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience. Tonight, dine at Hiku, which celebrates what Kaikōura is all about - kai moana and dramatic sea and mountain scapes.
Day 8 Day 8: Kaikoura - Christchurch
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 8: Kaikoura - Christchurch

Enjoy a relaxed start this morning or sign up for one of several local wildlife experiences available. Sign up for a scenic flight for a bird’s-eye view, get up close to dolphins by boat or kayak (both own expense), or sample tasty crayfish at waterside fish-and-chip shops. Follow the coast and Canterbury Plains to Christchurch, home to innovative architecture, art institutions and restaurants.
Day 9 Day 9: Christchurch - Twizel
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 9: Christchurch - Twizel

From its cardboard-crafted Cathedral to its gold-clad central library, Christchurch has well and truly rebuilt itself since the 2010/11 earthquakes. But South Island locals still cherish a simple life, as you’ll discover over a Be My Guest afternoon tea with retired farmers Angie and Stan Taylor at their home Morelea on the edge of Lake Tekapo.
Day 10 Day 10: Twizel - Dunedin
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 10: Twizel - Dunedin

Oamaru has a rich history and proud heritage, enriched by passionate and perhaps quirky locals. Explore the shops, galleries and traditional crafts within some of the Southern Hemisphere’s most complete Victorian streetscapes, before landing in Dunedin.
Day 11 Day 11: Dunedin - Te Anau
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 11: Dunedin - Te Anau

From sheep farms to rugged mountains, today is one of contrasts. Venture into Fiordland National Park toward the South Island’s largest lake and the lakeside town of Te Anau. You’ll experience the thrill of jet boating on scenic Lake Manapouri, home to Pomona Island, where native birds are under threat - and this MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience is helping to protect them through a community-based conservation project.
Day 12 Day 12: Te Anau - Queenstown
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 12: Te Anau - Queenstown

Your journey towards Milford Sound/Piopiotahi traverses native rainforest, alluvial flats and meadows, with mirrored lakes, thundering waterfalls, dramatic rocky ranges and millennia-old valleys. Your Milford Sound/Piopiotahi boat tour, cruising through this wild expanse, provides enough drama for an entire travel year – you still have the streets of Queenstown to explore.
Day 13 Day 13: Queenstown Free Time
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 13: Queenstown Free Time

Adrenaline-junkies may wish to get some perspective on a tour of the gorges of Skippers Canyon. Gourmand at heart? Perhaps a Central Otago wine tour? (Both own expense). Your day ends on a dreamy TSS Earnslaw cruise across Lake Wakatipu, landing at Walter Peak High Country Farm for a gourmet barbecue Highlight Dinner at the Colonel’s Homestead.
Day 14 Day 14: Queenstown - Franz Josef
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 14: Queenstown - Franz Josef

From Arrowtown’s tree-lined avenues (where you’ve been visiting a bygone time) to Central Otago’s gleaming lakes, nature rules. Alpine scenery tiers into rainforest along the West Coast, where Thunder Creek Falls and the glacier-studded Mt. Hooker steal the scene. Welcome to the town of Franz Josef, home to Franz Josef Glacier/Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere, which is ideally explored on an optional helicopter flight – you may be able to land and walk across the ice-fall.
Day 15 Day 15: Franz Josef Glacier - Punakaiki
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 15: Franz Josef Glacier - Punakaiki

Explore the small but lively Franz Josef/Waiau village before venturing to Hokitika, home of New Zealand’s native jade greenstone. Then steel yourself for the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes of Punakaiki, a sliver of South Island geology that is as humbling as it is awe-inspiring. After a spectacular day, spend the night at an eco-friendly, waterfront resort.
Day 16 Day 16: Punakaiki - Christchurch
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 16: Punakaiki - Christchurch

We’ve got you sorted on a morning tour of legendary Monteith’s Brewery, which is followed by lunch. The best is yet to come – all aboard for the scenic TranzAlpine train back to Christchurch, through tunnels and over viaducts, with panoramic views of snow-capped peaks, icy rivers, beech forests, gorges and river valleys.
Day 17 Day 17: Farewell From Christchurch
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 17: Farewell From Christchurch

How many travel highs can you pack into a holiday? This itinerary has certainly pushed the boundaries. Now all you have to do is go home and sort through all those photos.

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17 days tour

New Zealand Uncovered (17 Days)

This tour includes:

Not included:

Start planning your experience

Itinerary of your trip New Zealand Uncovered (17 Days)

Day 1: Welcome To Auckland

Day 2: Auckland

Day 3: Auckland - Rotorua

Day 4: Rotorua Free Time

Day 5: Rotorua - Wellington

Day 6: Wellington

Day 7: Wellington - Kaikoura

Day 8: Kaikoura - Christchurch

Day 9: Christchurch - Twizel

Day 10: Twizel - Dunedin

Day 11: Dunedin - Te Anau

Day 12: Te Anau - Queenstown

Day 13: Queenstown Free Time

Day 14: Queenstown - Franz Josef

Day 15: Franz Josef Glacier - Punakaiki

Day 16: Punakaiki - Christchurch

Day 17: Farewell From Christchurch

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