NZ Uncovered Tour

Touring Highlights in New Zealand

• New Zealand Maritime Museum – America’s Cup Tour
• Te Puia – Geothermal Valley & Maori Arts and Crafts Institute
• Hosted farm lunch
• Monteith’s Distillery Tour
• Hosted afternoon tea in Tekapo
• Milford Sound Nature Cruise
• Evening cruise onboard TSS Earnslaw to Walter Peak – High Country Farm and BBQ dinner
• Journey on the TranzAlpine Train through the Southern Alps – one of the worlds great scenic rail journeys

Day 1: Welcome to Auckland, New Zealand

Welcome to Auckland, often referred to as the ‘City of Sails’. Your flight must arrive prior to 4.00pm. Tonight, meet your group and enjoy a welcome dinner.

Day 2: Auckland

Enjoy a relaxed start to the day before heading to the New Zealand Maritime Museum for an exclusive America’s Cup tour  highlighting Auckland’s heritage of boat-building, and offering a glimpse of one of the world’s only replicas of the America’s Cup. Then travel around Auckland’s waterfront from the central city to Mission Bay stopping at Bastion Point and the Michael Joseph Savage Memorial for scenic views across Auckland, the North Shore and the Waitemata Harbour. This afternoon is at your leisure.

Day 3: Auckland to Rotorua

Travel south today, along the way enjoy you will be hosted for lunch in the home a kiwi couple on a working dairy farm in the Waikato region. After lunch travel to Rotorua. Visit Te Puia to see 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: Rotorua

Today choose from a range of optional sightseeing experiences (excursions optional, additional expense). You could take a guided tour through the long galleries and lofty chambers of the world-famous Waitomo Glow worm Caves. Or explore Rotorua and its three lakes in an amphibious WWII era Duck.

Day 5: Rotorua to Wellington

Say Haere Ra (goodbye) to Rotorua this morning and journey through pine forests and farmland to the turquoise torrent of rapids known as Huka Falls. The road ahead unfolds in a broad panorama of Lake Taupo, New Zealand’s largest lake. The stunningly blue fresh water of Lake Taupo is home to some of the best Trout fishing in the world. Journey south over the Central Plateau, New Zealand’s main volcanic area, and along the Kapiti Coast to New Zealand’s cool little capital city Wellington.

Day 6: Wellington

Your day in Wellington should (must) begin with a coffee. The city is known for its 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. (Please note: There is an entry fee for Te Papa, this must be paid at the guests own expense.) Later you may decide on an optional tour (additional expense). 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.

Day 7: Wellington to Kaikoura

This morning cruise Cook Strait across tranquil Queen Charlotte Sound to Picton in the South Island. Continue to Kaikoura, where Sperm Whales, dolphins and fur seals can often be seen not far from shore. On arrival you will be treated to a biodiversity talk from the founder of Kaikoura Wildlife Centre Trust, Wildlife rescue and rehabilitation is a critical conservation tool, providing treatment to injured and ill animals, ensuring at-risk native species have a chance at recovery and return to the wild. Tonight, you’ll dine together on local food celebrating what Kaikōura is all about – kai moana, fresh produce, marine life, and dramatic sea and mountainscapes.

Day 8: Kaikoura to Christchurch

Enjoy a relaxed start this morning or sign up for one of several local wildlife experiences available (optional, additional expense). Choose from an optional scenic flight over dramatic beaches framed by turquoise ocean where whales are regularly spotted, or perhaps you’d prefer a cruise to site pods of dolphin which are prolific in the area, or a kayaking tour of the coast to get up close and personal with seals basking on the rocks.  Follow the Pacific Ocean coast and Canterbury Plains to Christchurch, home to some of the country’s most innovative architecture, art institutions and restaurants.

Day 9: Christchurch to Twizel

From its eye-popping, cardboard-crafted Cathedral to its gold-clad central library, Christchurch has rebuilt itself since the 2010/11 earthquakes, setting the bar high for architecture and design across the country. On your Christchurch tour you will discover that despite this cosmopolitan culture, South Island locals cherish a simple life. Prepare yourself for plenty of country swagger over afternoon tea hosted by Lake Tekapo locals in their home overlooking the emerald lake.

Day 10: Twizel to Dunedin

Your day starts with a journey along the Waitaki River through to the township of Oamaru, with its tree-lined streets and famous white limestone buildings. As well as shipping limestone to other cities for construction, Oamaru locals made sure that their own town represented the best in limestone building the mid-late 1800’s had to offer.

This afternoon make your way down to the Southernmost New Zealand city, Dunedin. Also known as the ‘Edinburgh of the South’. You have a free afternoon when you may wish to see more of the region with an optional experience. Perhaps take a Wildlife Cruise out to Otago Peninsula, visit the Speights Brewery – a New Zealand institution or journey out to the gorgeous Larnach Castle – New Zealand’s only castle (excursions additional expense).

Day 11: Dunedin to Te Anau

This morning travel through farm land, the rolling hills and heavily forested, rugged mountains and you make your way to Fiordland National Park and the South Island’s largest lake and the town of Te Anau.

Enjoy the thrill of jet boating down the majestic trout filled Waiau River to the serene Lake Manapouri, home to Pomana Island where native birds are under threat. Your visit helps protect them through a community-based conservation project that is also helping to restore native flora.  Stop in some quiet, tranquil spots, soak up the amazing surrounds, spot a few trout and learn about the unique environment and fascinating history of this unique location among Fiordland National Park.

Day 12: Te Anau to Milford Sound and Queenstown

Today is a day to have your camera battery charged. After leaving Te Anau, take a scenic journey through the Fiordland National Park to Milford Sound. Travel through native rainforests, beech forests, alluvial flats and meadows. You will stop at Mirror Lakes where, as you can enjoy stunning mountain scenery reflected in the lakes. Drive through Homer Tunnel, and on to one of the world’s most dramatic alpine drives through the Cleddau Valley. At Milford Sound, cruise the waters of this natural wonder taking in Bowen and Stirling Falls as they plummet from glacial hanging valleys sharply into the sea, and the sheer pinnacle of Mitre Peak, rising from the deep waters of the fiord. From spectacular Milford Sound, you travel on to the beautiful adventure capital of Queenstown.

Day 13: Queenstown Free Time

Explore Queenstown your way, choose from a range of optional sightseeing experiences (excursions additional expense). You could choose to ride the Shotover Jet, take a gondola to Bob’s Peak or tour vineyards and spectacular scenery on a boutique wine tour.

This evening, enjoy a peaceful evening cruise across Lake Wakatipu aboard the TSS Earnslaw to Walter Peak High Country Farm for a gourmet barbecue dinner at the Colonel’s Homestead and glimpse into high-country farm life.

Day 14: Queenstown to Franz Josef

This morning, begin the passage through Central Otago to the west coast.  Visit the restored gold mining settlement of Arrowtown with its tree-lined avenues, gleaming lakes, alpine scenery and rainforest along the West Coast of New Zealand. Welcome to your Franz Josef Glacier/Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere tour, the massif ideally explored on a helicopter flight – subject to weather conditions (optional experience, additional expense) you may even be able to land and walk across the ice-fall. A birdseye view reveals the immensity of this gem-like mound of ice.

Day 15: Franz Josef to Punakaiki

Sleep in or take the morning to explore the small but lively Franz Josef/Waiau village – perhaps visiting the West Coast Wildlife Centre – before venturing to Hokitika, home of the native jade greenstone. From natural jewellery to natural surroundings, you’re off to Punakaiki to view the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. Stand at the edge of the water and take in these eroded limestone foundations that began forming 30 million years ago. Imagine the water and wind forming this pancake-like stack of limestone but be sure to listen closely, when you hear a ‘whoosh’ of water, you can be sure a burst of sea spray is coming through the blowholes. After a spectacular day, spend the night at the eco-friendly waterfront dining on local specialties.

Day 16: Punakaiki to Christchurch

Venture into the Ponaumu Pathway. Delve into the history and culture of the local Maori (Poutini Ngai Tahu) and the Mawhera Pa settlement. Embark on a unique self-guided journey as you make your way through this extraordinary storytelling experience born from a collaboration with the Weta Workshop. An inspiring and unforgettable cultural experience. Enjoy lunch at legendary Monteith’s Brewery before boarding for the scenic TranzAlpine train back to Christchurch. Travel through tunnels and over viaducts with panoramic views of snow-capped peaks, icy rivers, beech forests, gorges and river valleys. This evening join your group for a farewell dinner in Christchurch.

Day 16: Farewell Christchurch

Your tour concludes this morning after breakfast. Your flights can depart any time today and you will be transferred to Christchurch Airport. Meals included: Breakfast

Add Flights to your New Zealand Tour:

Note: Flights referred to in the itinerary are not included in the tour price and you may need to ensure your flights arrive before/after certain times to take this tour.  Please ask your Downunder Travel Destination Specialist to book your flights to New Zealand (additional cost).