North Island Explorer

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 transfer by road south to the town of Cambridge our home for the next 8 nights during the Dragon Boat Festival

Accommodation: Own arrangements

Our journey south today starts with a coach pick-up from your festival hotel. 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.

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. 

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 enjoy a guided tour of this “City of Sails.” Our evening is at leisure.

A free day to explore Auckland on your own. Tonight we enjoy a farewell dinner as we cruise the spectacular harbor of Auckland. 

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