Nikau | 10 Day North & South Islands

Haere mai – welcome!  Arrive in Auckland where you will be met and transferred to your accommodation.  Spend the afternoon and evening at your leisure exploring the ‘City of Sails’.

This morning, enjoy an Auckland City tour including panoramic views from Bastion Point, the informative Māori and Pacific Islands displays at the Auckland Museum, quaint Parnell Village, and some of the most popular waterfront areas.  Departing Auckland we travel to Rotorua – the heart of New Zealand’s famous thermal and cultural region.  On arrival, we will enjoy a city tour, before checking into our central accommodation.  This afternoon we have some time out to relax before travelling to a local Marae (Māori Village).  Experience a formal welcome (pōwhiri) including the hongi – that is sharing breath. 

This evening visit Tamaki Māori Village for Te Pā Tū. The evening experience and feast is aligned to and changes with the maramataka (Māori lunar calendar). Feast on Māori song, tradition, and divine seasonal kai (cuisine) within the forest Pā (village) amidst towering Tawa trees, blazing bonfires, and forest-formed amphitheatre. Hākari (feasting) begins with forest horotai (canapes) and culminates in a lavish 4-course fusion feast. Hāngī is featured in varied seasonal menus designed by Māori chefs served to table, al fresco when warm, or in the wharekai (dining room) if cooler. 

During summer months, Tū Te Rā celebrates harvest and concepts concerning ancient Māori warfare and peace. Over winter months, Tū Te Ihi celebrates the Matariki star cluster with mystical ritual, energy, and passion. Return hotel transfers included – other travellers will be on board.

Rotorua is the epicentre not only of New Zealand’s geothermal activity but of Māori heritage. No visit to Rotorua would be complete without including Te Puia, an active geothermal site and the nation’s centre for indigenous arts and crafts and a Kiwi conservation project.  At Te Puia, it’s part of their culture to welcome, guide, entertain, and treat you like part of the family. 

You are treated to a private guide throughout your time here.  Next travel out to visit the Blue and Green Lakes, and Lake Tarawera – the site of Buried Village to see remains of the Māori village Te Wairoa that was devastated by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Tarawera during the night of June 10, 1886.  The excavated village offers a first-hand insight into the chaos and destruction that ensued following the eruption of Mt. Tarawera.  This eruption also destroyed the famed Pink and White Terraces, once considered to be the eighth wonder of the world. 

This afternoon fly to Queenstown, New Zealand’s premier year-round alpine resort.  It offers a host of holiday attractions for the visitor from helicopter flights and trips on jet-boats, to walks and tramps.  The town is steeped in the history of the goldmining days, evident from the many relics scattered in and among the surrounding hills.

Depart Queenstown to visit historic Arrowtown – a delightful gold rush village nestled below the beautiful peaks that surround the sparkling Arrow River.  Continue your journey via the road pinned between the base of the Remarkables mountain range and spectacular Lake Wakatipu. Journey through a glacial formed valley that is now farmland, to reach Lake Te Anau, the largest (by volume) freshwater lake in the South Island and gateway to Fiordland National Park.

The journey from Te Anau to Milford Sound is one of the most scenic experiences you can have on four wheels. Fiordland National Park, part of the Southwest New Zealand World Heritage Area is one of the great wilderness areas of the Southern Hemisphere.  The scenery is spectacular with lofty mountains and deep valleys carved out by Ice Age glaciers.  Described by Rudyard Kipling as the ‘eighth wonder of the world’, Milford Sound is breath-taking in any weather. 

Board a comfortable vessel for a cruise past towering Mitre Peak to the Tasman Sea.  Keep an eye peeled for seals and dolphins which are often seen in the waters of the fiord!  Following the cruise, retrace your journey back to Te Anau travelling via the Cleddeau Gorge, Homer Tunnel and the lovely Eglinton Valley, then across the Southland farmlands and around spectacular Lake Wakatipu to Queenstown.

Surrounded by majestic mountains and set on the shores of crystal-clear Lake Wakatipu, the natural beauty and the unique energy of Queenstown create the perfect backdrop for a visit full of adventure, exploration or relaxation. Today is free for you to do your own thing: thrill-seekers may choose to zip-line at Bob’s Peak, get drenched on a Shotover jet-boat ride or go white-water rafting.  Other enjoyable but less hair-raising activities include the gondola ride up to Bob’s Peak, or a 4WD safari to Skippers Canyon.

Boutique wineries and local gardens welcome visitors and the classic steamship TSS Earnslaw is an elegant way to discover Lake Wakatipu during a cruise to Walter Peak High Country Farm.

Continue north through the rugged Kawarau Gorge, past pretty Lake Dunstan and across the distinctive Central Otago countryside to the Lindis Pass.  Descend into the unique Mackenzie Basin where the Southern Alps dominate the horizon.  Take a beautiful drive along Lake Pukaki to Mt. Cook Village, home to New Zealand’s tallest peak, Aoraki/Mt. Cook. We stay overnight in the rural town of Twizel.

Visit a local home set on the shores of Lake Tekapo and learn the secrets of making a Pavlova – a truly Kiwi dessert! For morning tea, enjoy the taste your pavlova as you drink in the views of this beautiful lake.   View the Church of the Good Shepherd, one of New Zealand’s most-photographed spots; a tiny church set against a majestic backdrop of the Southern Alps.  Pass across the high country’s tussock plains, through the small rural towns of Fairlie and Geraldine and onto Ashburton.

From here travel across the fertile Canterbury Plains to Christchurch. This most English of New Zealand cities suffered a succession of terrible earthquakes in 2010/11.  Post-earthquake the city combines urban regeneration and innovation with heritage, culture and creativity.

This morning we join punting boatmen, resplendent with straw boaters and traditional Edwardian dress for a relaxing cruise in flat-bottomed punts along the River Avon through the Christchurch Botanic Gardens.  Enjoy a journey in style onboard a beautifully restored heritage tram through the changing face of Christchurch’s city centre.  This is the final part of our journey together so tonight we enjoy a relaxed farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

Haere rā – farewell from New Zealand.  After breakfast you are transferred to the Christchurch Airport for your return home, taking with you your fond memories of your time in New Zealand.  Alternatively, should you wish to extend your stay, we can assist you with additional travel arrangements.