The Way the World Should Be: New Zealand Rediscovered

Welcome to the land of the “long white cloud.” New Zealand is a country like no other: soaring alps, glacier fed rivers, lush green valleys dotted with sheep combined with a relaxed, easy-going lifestyle that harkens back to a simpler time. On arrival, we are met and transferred to our hotel where our rooms will be ready for our early morning arrival.

Auckland is one amazing city, boasting three harbours, two mountain ranges, 48 volcanic cones and more than 50 islands. With a population of approximately 1.3 million, it has one third of the country's entire population. This afternoon we will enjoy a short orientation tour on the way to our ‘welcome’ dinner at Meredith’s restaurant at the foot of Mt Eden.

We spend the day discovering the “City of Sails.” From touring the downtown core to the scenic harbour front and over the Harbour Bridge to the North Shore, Auckland is a city of ocean views
interrupted by more ocean views! And what better way to get a sense of this city than from the ocean – our lunch today is on a deluxe yacht cruising Auckland Harbour. Our afternoon is at leisure to explore Auckland on your own.

An early start today as we board our luxury coach for our journey south. Our sightseeing today will include an underground tour of the Ruakuri Caves that form part of the greater Waitomo Cave complex. Set beneath the rugged hillside, these enormous limestone caverns feature cathedral caverns, stalagmites and stalactites as well as the famous glow worm grottos…and all this natural wonder viewed from a small boat travelling across an underground lake! The ceilings of the caves are dotted with millions of small glow worms, each one providing its own small light to attract the insects they feed on. After our tour, we continue south to world-famous Hobbiton where many scenes from both the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies were filmed. Our private, exclusive tour will show us the rolling hills of ‘the Shire’ while our private guide recounts fascinating details on how the movie was created and used. Our tour ends at the Shires Rest Café where a delicious BBQ lunch will be served.

From here it is on to the thermal city of Rotorua. New Zealand is a country located on the “Ring of Fire” where the earth is always in a state of upheaval. This phenomenon is no more evident than in Rotorua on New Zealand's volcanic plateau where geothermal activity is pronounced including erupting geysers, steaming fumaroles, mud pools and hot geothermal springs.

We arrive at our luxurious lakeside resort in the late afternoon where we have time to relax before enjoying a sumptuous dinner at the Wai Ora Mokoia restaurant in the hotel. Mokoia Restaurant is the only Rotorua restaurant that specializes in the use of indigenous New Zealand herbs and spices together with local quality produce that will tempt and satisfy any "Foodie" with the fine-dining Pacific-Rim-Style Infusion Cuisine.

Accommodation: The Wai Ora Lakeside Spa Resort

After a leisurely breakfast, we take a short drive to visit the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, New Zealand’s most colourful geothermal attraction where the landscape has been sculptured over thousands of years by volcanic activity. We have time to walk at our own pace following clearly defined tracks and take in the steaming ground, huge volcanic craters, hot and cold coloured pools, sinter terrace formations and expansive vistas. Watch your clocks because at 10:15am daily the Lady Knox Geyser erupts - a sight not to be missed! At the end of our visit our coach will transfer us back to the hotel where we have the rest of the afternoon and evening at leisure.

Optional Spa treatment at the Resort
Treatments are based on the healing traditions and techniques of the New Zealand Maori including thermal mud therapies using Rotorua geothermal mud as well as the signature massage therapy the "Traditional Wai Ora Massage". Day spa pools including the Sauna and Steamer are complimentary for in-house guests from 7am – 10pm.

Our short morning flight takes us south to New Zealand’s capital, Wellington. On arrival we are met and embark on our private tour to the famous grape and wine producing region known as Wairarapa. We will take time to visit some of boutique wineries of the area for wine tasting and touring. Lunch is included today at one of the select wineries before we arrive at our luxurious
hotel, Peppers Martinborough. Tonight a special treat as we indulge in a degustation evening of good food, wine pairing and camaraderie with a local wine expert.

We take the morning to stroll through the quaint streets of Greytown sampling some of the local treats before continuing our visits to a couple of more welcoming cellar doors as we make our way back to Wellington. Tonight is free to relax and discover New Zealand’s capital.

As New Zealand’s capital, Wellington is home to its national museum, Te Papa, and this morning we meet our guide for a private tour of some of the museum’s outstanding cultural, historical and naturalist exhibits to gain a deeper understanding of the country and its people.

Later, we transfer to the airport for our flight across the Cook Strait to the mountain resort town of Queenstown. Tonight we join our fellow travelers for a delicious dinner at our hotel.

We are up early today for our full day excursion by road into Fiordland National Park and a cruise on famous Milford Sound.  A journey by road into Milford is an awe-inspiring trip through deep-cut valleys with sheer rock cliffs rising on each side, lush, green meadows and forests dotted with rivers and lakes and, looming over it all, hanging valleys and mighty mountain peaks. Our lunch cruise will take us up and down the Sound getting close to waterfalls and rock walls and, if we are lucky, we may even see a penguin or two. After our cruise, the adrenelin doesn’t stop as we board our sightseeing planes (weather permitting) for our jaw-dropping scenic flight back to Queenstown. Our evening is free to explore Queenstown and its lively nightlife on our own.

A free day to enjoy all the Queenstown has to offer: jet boating, bungy jumping, white water rafting, lake cruising, golfing, nature walking or join the Safari of the Scenes Tour or a tour to the historic town of Arrowtown.

Another short flight takes us to the South Island’s largest city, Christchurch.

On arrival, our deluxe coach and driver will meet us and take us on a tour of the city which was so badly damaged in February 2011 after the 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit the city. We will see how the city has regained its strength and vitality with the city core steadily coming back to life.
We will also take time to stroll through Hagley Park and enjoy afternoon tea along the Avon River. For our final night Downunder our farewell dinner will be at one of Christchurch’s finest restaurant for a night of good food, wine and stories of our journey of rediscovery.

Morning at leisure until our transfer to the airport for our flights home.