New Zealand Highlights- 15 days Auckland to Christchurch

---

Arrive Auckland

‘Haere Mai’ … welcome to New Zealand

We’ll transfer you from the airport to your hotel. Check in and the rest of the day is Auckland, your way. This evening, a welcome drink and dinner with your Tour Director and fellow travellers.
Hotel: Stamford Plaza, Auckland. D

---

Auckland - Rotorua

Travel along the Waikato River to the Waitomo Caves for a guided tour of the amazing Glow Worm Grotto. Then on to Rotorua. Soak up views of Lake Rotorua on your orientation tour. Tonight experience The Realm of Tãne, and a traditional Maori Hangi feast and concert.
Hotel: Millennium Hotel, Rotorua, 2 nights. B HD

---

Rotorua

Start the day with a ride on the Skyline Gondola and breakfast at Terraces Café with its stunning views over Rotorua. Then it’s the Agrodome Sheep Show followed by a guided tour of Te Puia and the Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve. In the afternoon relax or explore, it’s ‘Free Time’. B

---

Rotorua - Wellington

From the mountains to the sea. View the Huka Falls. Visit Taupo and drive along the shores of its lake. Travel through the alpine scenery of Mt. Ruapehu, Tongariro National Park, Manawatu and the Kapiti Coast. On Your Wellington City Sights Tour see the city from Mt. Victoria.
Hotel: Novotel, Wellington. B D

---

Wellington - Blenheim

Explore Wellington for yourself this morning before you visit Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand. Later you’ll cruise the Cook Strait into tranquil Queen Charlotte Sound. The seaside village of Picton is next, then Blenheim and a city orientation tour. Enjoy a tour, dinner and tasting at Georges Michel Wine Estate, a family owned and run winery in the heart of the Marlborough region.
Hotel: Chateau Marlborough, Blenheim. B HD

---

Blenheim - Christchurch

On the way to Kaikoura you pass the Grassmere Salt Works with a chance to see New Zealand fur seals at Ohau Point. Explore Kaikoura your way – maybe take a Scenic Whale Watching flight. Head to Christchurch through the Canterbury Plains. A city orientation tour ensures you maximise your ‘Free Time’.
Hotel: Novotel, Christchurch. B

---

Mt. Cook

Begin with a ride on the Christchurch Tram.You are invited to enjoy a taste of country life with a barbecue lunch on a working farm. We see Lakes Tekapo and Pukaki, visit the Church of the Good Shepherd and soak up the spectacular alpine scenery of Mt. Cook National Park. Perhaps take a scenic flight over Mt. Cook (weather permitting).
Hotel: MacKenzie Country Inn, Deluxe Rooms, Twizel. B L D

---

Dunedin

We see the Waitaki Hydro Power Scheme, Benmore Dam and the white limestone buildings of Oamaru. A Dunedin city tour, then your afternoon is at leisure - maybe take a Wildlife Cruise, a Cadbury Factory visit or ride the Taieri Gorge Railway.
Hotel: Scenic Hotel Southern Cross, Dunedin. B D

---

Dunedin - Te Anau

First up we take a guided tour of New Zealand’s only castle - Larnach Castle and its gardens. Time out in town then we head off across rich fertile, sheep-filled farming land on the way to Te Anau, on the shores of Lake Te Anau, the South Island’s largest. Tonight you can choose to see the Te Anau Glow Worm Caves.
Hotel: Distinction Hotel, Te Anau. B D

---

Milford Sound

Be awe-struck by the magnificence of the World Heritage Fiordland National Park. Amazing photo opportunities await as you see rainforest, ancient glaciers, mountain ranges and the hand-made Homer Tunnel. The Mirror Lake, Pop’s Lookout, Cleddau Valley and the Chasm, Mitre Peak and Bowen Falls. Cruise on Milford Sound. Travel over the Devil’s Staircase along the shores of Lake Wakatipu back to Te Anau. On arrival in Queenstown you’ll do an orientation tour. Your dinner option is the Skyline Restaurant on Bob’s Peak, via the Southern Hemisphere’s steepest Gondola!A bonus Kiwi Haka Maori Show makes for a top night – if you so choose!
Hotel: Millennium Hotel, Queenstown, 2 nights. B

---

Queenstown ’Free Time’

Explore action adventure Queenstown your way. Take it easy with wine or garden tours. Or go wild with jet boat rides or white water rafting. Just be back in time for dinner and a sheep shearing demonstration at Walter Peak Sheep Station. Travel there and back across Lake Wakatipu via the TSS Earnslaw, New Zealand’s oldest steamship. B HD

---

Queenstown - Franz Josef

Today experience Arrowtown, the sensational stone fruit of Cromwell, Lake Wanaka, Lake Hawea, Lake Dunstan, Haast Pass, Thunder Creek Falls and a small rainforest walk. Then the ‘pièce de résistance’ - Franz Josef Glacier - the world’s most accessible, and still advancing, glacier.
Hotel: Te Waonui Forest Retreat, Franz Josef. B D

---

Franz Josef - Punakaiki

Explore Franz Josef Glacier - take an optional flight (weather permitting) or a glacier hike! Then depart for Hokitika, home of the native greenstone (jade) for a factory visit and jewellery demonstration. It’s on to our waterfront hotel at Punakaiki, where you’ll view the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes.
Hotel: Punakaiki Resort, Punakaiki. B D

---

TranzAlpine - Christchurch

Enjoy time at leisure before travelling via Greymouth to Arthur’s Pass where you’ll board the TranzAlpine, one of the top 6 train journeys in the world, to travel through the Southern Alps to Christchurch.
Hotel: Novotel, Christchurch. B D

---

Depart Christchurch

Explore Christchurch yourself. Make the most of this city, famous for its gardens, until you’ll be transferred to Christchurch Airport for your onward journey. B

---