27 meals: 14 breakfasts (B), 13 dinners (D)Country Homestay Option on Day 4 (must be pre-booked)
Note: Itinerary effective 1 Apr 2009.
Tours prior follow different itinerary. Ask for details or refer to 2008 brochure.
Day 1: Arrive Auckland
You will be met and transferred to your hotel. Overnight: Auckland, Crowne Plaza Hotel for 2 nights
Day 2: Auckland, Personalized Sights
Morning at leisure. This afternoon, you choose the activity and we'll include it. Enjoy a city highlights tour, climb Auckland Harbor Bridge, perhaps visit the Maritime Museum or Auckland Museum-the choice is yours. (B,D)
Day 3: Auckland-Rotorua
Travel south to the Waitomo Caves for a guided tour of the limestone caverns and Glow Worm grotto. Journey to Rotorua. Tonight enjoy a Maori Hangi (feast) and cultural performance. Overnight: Rotorua, Millennium Rotorua for 2 nights (B,D)
Day 4: Rotorua, Personalized Sights
Today you choose the experience and we will include it. Visit Te Puia Thermal Reserve and the Maori Arts & Crafts Institute, or the Agrodome Sheep Show. Enjoy a bush safari, play golf or visit Rotorua's Museum. (B,D)
Country homestay option available tonight.
Journey south to view the spectacular Huka Falls and cross the vast volcanic plateau of World Heritage Tongariro National Park. Continue to Wellington. Overnight: Wellington, Hotel InterContinental (B,D)
Day 6: Wellington-Nelson
Today our Inter-island cruise takes us across Cook Strait to the South Island. Sail from Wellington Harbor into the Marlborough Sounds. See magnificent scenery in Queen Charlotte Sound before arriving in Picton, gateway to the South Island. This afternoon journey through the orchard and vineyard region of Marlborough to Nelson. Remainder of day is at leisure. Overnight: Nelson, The Rutherford Hotel (B,D)
Day 7: Nelson-Franz Josef
Follow the Heritage Highway through the Buller Gorge to the rugged West Coast. View the "Pancake" rocks and blowholes at Punakaiki. Stop at Hokitika for views of Mt Cook and the spectacular Southern Alps. Continue along the dramatic coast to World Heritagelisted Westland National Park and view the magnificent glaciers. Enjoy a scenic flight over this breathtaking area (own expense, weather permitting). Overnight: Franz Josef, Franz Josef Glacier Hotel (B,D)
Day 8: Franz Josef -Wanaka
We cross the magnificent Southern Alps and leave the rugged beauty of the West Coast behind. Enter the Southern Lakes district and journey to Wanaka. Overnight: Wanaka, Edgewater Resort (B,D)
Day 9: Wanaka-Queenstown
Depart Wanaka and journey to the delightful village of Arrowtown, an old gold rush settlement and head to Queenstown. Tonight, explore the city with our Dine Around Dinner?. Ride a gondola to Skyline Restaurant for dinner and stunning views, or cruise on the T.S.S. Earnslaw Steamboat across Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak Sheep Station for dinner. Or dine at a local restaurant-the choice is yours! Overnight: Queenstown, Sofitel Hotel Queenstown for 2 nights (B,D)
Day 10: Queenstown, Personalized Sights
Today you choose the activity and we'll include it. Perhaps take a double-decker bus tour, a guided tour of local wineries, an exhilarating jetboat ride or a garden tour. (B,D)
Day 11: Queenstown-Te Anau
This morning travel through Fiordland National Park where lush rainforests meet snow-capped mountains. On arrival into Milford, cruise the full length of this beautiful fiord. This afternoon enjoy a relaxing drive, returning through Eglinton Valley and Homer Tunnel to the pretty lakeside settlement of Te Anau. Overnight: Te Anau, Te Anau Hotel and Villas (B,D)
Day 12: Te Anau-Dunedin, Personalized Sights
Journey via beautiful Lake Manapouri to the southern most coast of New Zealand. Continue to Dunedin, the "Edinburgh of the South." This afternoon you choose the activity and we will include it. Visit the Speights Brewery & Heritage Center, head to the Otago Peninsula to see the Royal Albatross Colony, stop to visit the rare Yellow-Eyed Penguins, or tour Larnach Castle. Overnight: Dunedin, Southern Cross Hotel (B,D)
Day 13: Dunedin-Mt Cook, Personalized Sights
Stop to view the fascinating Moeraki Beach boulders. Visit Oamaru, a town renowned for its distinctive limestone architecture, then continue to Mt Cook National Park. On arrival the activity choice is yours - perhaps a guided nature walk, explore the Sir Edmund Hillary Center or stargazing. Overnight: Mt Cook, The Hermitage (B,D)
Day 14: Mt Cook-Christchurch
This morning visit glacial Lake Tekapo. View the tiny Church of the Good Shepherd. You may choose to take the scenic TranzAlpine Train through the Rakaia Gorge to Christchurch. The rest of the day is at leisure. Overnight: Christchurch, Crowne Plaza Hotel (B,D)
Day 15: Personalized Sights, Depart Christchurch
This morning choose your Christchurch activity before transferring to the airport for your onward flight. (B)
Departure Dates
2009: Apr 2, 9, 23; May 14; Jun 11; Aug 13; Sep 3, 10, 24; Oct 8, 15, 22, 29; Nov 5, 12, 15, 19, 26; Dec 3, 10, 17
2010: Jan 7, 14, 17, 21, 28; Feb 4, 7, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, 22, 25, 27; Mar 4, 11, 18, 25
