New Zealand Highlights

We greet you at the airport, and whisk you to your central hotel, with restaurants and city sights on the doorstep. Stretch your legs on a stroll down to the harbour.

City Hotel

Exciting Auckland is a melting pot of cultures from Polynesian and European to Asian. It is surrounded by sea, extinct volcanoes, and bush-clad ranges. Top tips for sightseeing are a stroll in Aotea Square, a trip up the Sky Tower and a ferry across the harbour. For an overview of the country’s history and Maori culture, the Auckland Museum is excellent.

City Hotel

Collect your hire car and head over the Bombay Hills through rolling farmland to Matamata. This rural community is now known by another name: Hobbiton. If you haven’t seen Peter Jackson’s films, drive on to Rotorua, but Lord of the Rings fans have a treat in store on a guided visit to the original film location, complete with Bag End and the Party Tree.

Private Hotel

Rotorua forms part of the ‘Pacific Rim of Fire’ and thermal activity is everywhere! Easily accessible to the town are the bubbling mud pools and geyser at Te Puia; close by are other fascinating sites like the Buried Village, or the thermal spa at Hell’s Gate.

Rotorua is also home to Maori tribes and on a short trip like this, an evening of songs, legends and dance – including the famous haka – is a must. Enjoy a traditional hangi feast cooked in the earth by ‘free’ geothermal heat. A memorable evening!

Private Hotel

Drop off your vehicle at Rotorua airport and board a flight to South Island. On arrival at Queenstown, pick up another car and start exploring! Surrounded by mountains and set on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, the beauty and energy of Queenstown offers something for every traveller. The resort offers sophisticated bars, good restaurants and shops: it is very much a year-round destination.

Local Bed & Breakfast

Today is free for you to pack in as many activities as you wish! Perhaps a white-knuckle jet-boat ride, parasailing, a bungy jump or white-water rafting? There are 4WD tours into the wild, guided bush walks, cycle trails, horse-riding and wine-tasting. Take a gondola to Bob’s Peak for panoramic views, or a trip on a vintage steamship. Whatever your interest, we can arrange most activities in advance.

Local Bed & Breakfast

Follow the eastern shore of Lake Wakatipu through Southland countryside to Te Anau. Here, board a coach for a great day trip to Milford Sound. The route through Fiordland National Park is winding so let someone else drive! On arrival, board a cruiser to explore the steep-sided Sound clad in dense rainforest, with cascading waterfalls. A picnic lunch is included, and an expert guide explains the Sound’s natural features.

Country Hotel

Return to Queenstown and choose your route to Wanaka. One option is through Cromwell’s fruit orchards. The more challenging drive is New Zealand’s highest road over the Crown Ranges. Wanaka is where New Zealanders holiday in summer, at the gateway to Mt Aspiring National Park.

Local Bed & Breakfast

A free day and night to draw breath! Relax on a lakeside stroll, linger in a café, then catch a film at Cinema Paradiso where the quirky seats include sofas and an adapted Morris Minor.

Alternatively, take an eco boat trip to Mou Waho island in search of the flightless Buff Weka, or a self-guided walk in the Matukituki Valley. A guided ‘via ferrata’ climb, skydiving, canyoning, and – in season – skiing and snowboarding are more active options

Local Bed & Breakfast

Leave via Lake Hawea and take the Haast Pass through the Southern Alps to the Tasman Sea. Your West Coast journey reveals rainforest, bush-fringed lakes and surf-pounded beaches. On arrival, take a walk to the viewing platform to see the glacier’s terminus.

Local Bed & Breakfast

Weather permitting, there is time for a scenic flight: a helicopter ride over the glacier’s reveals amazing features and views of Aoraki/Mt Cook. Longer flights can land on snow for an even more memorable experience!

Head north to Hokitika. This former gold-mining town is home to artists and craftspeople, and is a good place to buy authentic gifts, such as greenstone (called pounami by the Maori).

Local Bed & Breakfast

Drop your rental vehicle at Greymouth railway station in time to board the famous TranzAlpine train, which takes you up and over the Southern Alps on a line carved through the mountains by railway pioneers. The 4 ½ hour scenic journey features an 8-mile tunnel, sweeping bends and viaducts.

On arrival, transfer by private car and driver from Christchurch Railway Station to your accommodation.

Local Bed & Breakfast

Discover the city once described as ‘the most English outside England’ thanks to its gothic cathedral, colonial houses and punting on the River Avon. Now brave Christchurch is re-inventing itself with exciting new buildings, pop-up bars and ethnic restaurants. We recommend a guided walk with a local to understand the city’s past, present and future.

Local Bed & Breakfast

Our driver and private vehicle transfers you to Christchurch airport for your homeward flight. We hope you will return for a longer adventure one day!