AAT Kings - New Zealand Uncovered Itinerary

‘Haere Mai’ … Welcome to New Zealand

Relax you are now officially on holiday and everything has been taken care of! Auckland is the kind of place you could lose yourself in for a couple of weeks. Arrive at your leisure and explore new waterfront precincts, or just ready yourself to meet fellow travellers at dinner.

Meals: Dinner with Wine

Flights to arrive by 4.00pm into Auckland Airport

Accommodation:  Auckland - 2 Nights

A little bit of leisure, a little bit of culture – today is one of those days. Peek behind the scenes of maritime racing history on the New Zealand Maritime Museum’s America’s Cup Tour. Your Travel Director then takes you around the city, pausing at Bastion Point for epic photo opportunities.

Meals: Breakfast

Leave Auckland behind and journey into the countryside for an exclusive family-style Be My Guest lunch in the Red Barn on a working dairy farm. Expect country banter and farm-to-table fare prepared with a lot of love. The next hot spot – in every sense of the word – on your NZ holiday is Rotorua. Visit Te Puia  to see and support Maori artisans at work, then continue your Rotorua tour at the steamy Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve, a staggering valley where geysers pop and thermal springs jettison skywards.

Meals: Breakfast, Be My Guest Lunch 

Accommodation: Rotorua - 2 Nights

Today, choose your own adventure. We have plenty of ideas for the paths you might follow. Tonight, dive deep into Maori culture at Te Pā Tū Māori Experience, an important hub keeping tradition, art and music alive. Oh, and exciting Māori cuisine. Enjoy forest kai horotai (seasonal canapés) and chef choice aperitif, followed by a seasonal three-course dinner.

Meals: Breakfast & Highlight Dinner

Say goodbye to Rotorua and hello to the raging rapids of Huka Falls, where 220,000 litres of water barrel over this massive waterfall every second. Your outlook then unfolds into the dreamy landscape of Lake Taupo. Traverse the volcanic Central Plateau to NZ’s cool little capital of Wellington.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

Accommodation: Wellington - 2 Nights

Your day in Wellington should – must – begin with a coffee. The city is known for its ubercool cafés and with coffee in hand you will head out on city sights tour to take in highlights such as its iconic cable car, parliament, and Mt. Victoria. Your tour ends at Te Papa, the national Museum of New Zealand, where you may choose to visit the groundbreaking exhibitions on offer. Later you may decide on an optional tour. Lord of the Rings fans will rejoice with a special tour and visit to Weta Workshop. Or choose to visit Zealandia's ecosanctuary restoring 225 hectares of forest. Tonight, there are so many restaurants and bars to choose from. Ask us for recommendations or explore at your leisure.

Meals: Breakfast

This morning cruise the Cook Strait into tranquil Queen Charlotte Sound and continue to Kaikoura, a marine life haven. On arrival be treated to a biodiversity talk from Sabrina Leucht, founder of Kaikōura Wildlife Centre Trust, and learn about the work the trust is doing towards Wildlife rescue and rehabilitation. Tonight, dine at Hiku, which celebrates what Kaikōura is all about - kai moana and dramatic sea and mountain scapes.

 Meals: Breakfast, Highlight Dinner

Accommodation: Kaikoura - 1 Night

Enjoy a relaxed start this morning or sign up for one of several optional wildlife experiences available. Take a scenic flight for a bird’s-eye view,  get up close to dolphins by boat or kayak, or sample tasty crayfish at waterside fish-and-chip shops. Follow the coast and Canterbury Plains to Christchurch, home to innovative architecture, art institutions and restaurants. 

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Christchurch - 1 Night

From its cardboard-crafted Cathedral to its gold-clad central library, Christchurch has well and truly rebuilt itself since the 2010/11 earthquakes. Travel over the patchwork countryside of the Canterbury Plains to soak up some spectacular sightseeing. But South Island locals still cherish a simple life, as you’ll discover over a Be My Guest afternoon tea with retired farmers Angie and Stan Taylor at their home Morelea on the edge of Lake Tekapo. Here a magical scene of turquoise blue water contrasts with a stunning backdrop of mountains cloaked in a veil of golden tussock grass. Adding to the superb photo opportunities,

Later, view the little stone-hewn Church of the Good Shepherd on your way to Twizel.

Meals: Breakfast, Be My Guest Afternoon Tea, Dinner with Wine

Accommodation: Tekapo - 1 Night

Oamaru has a rich history and proud heritage, the town center is graced by some of New Zealand's best 19th century architecture and is enriched by passionate and perhaps quirky locals. Explore the shops, galleries and traditional crafts within some of the Southern Hemisphere's most complete Victorian streetscapes, before landing in Dunedin.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

Accommodation Dunedin - 1 Night

From sheep farms to rugged mountains, today is one of contrasts. Venture into Fiordland National Park toward the South Island’s largest lake and the lakeside town of Te Anau - gateway to Fiordland. You'll experience the thrill of jet boating on scenic Lake Manapouri, home to Pomona Island, where native birds are under threat - and this experience is helping to protect them through a community-based conservation project.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

Accommodation: Te Anau - 1 Night
 

Welcome to one of the most scenic locations in the world. A majestic World Heritage Site, Milford Sound has been described as the '8th natural wonder of the world' and the journey along the amazing Milford Road is just as awe-inspiring as the destination. You'll enjoy plenty of photo opportunities along this spectacular highway that cuts through an unimaginable cathedral of imposing mountain peaks, mirror lakes and bottomless valleys decorated in rainforests, waterfalls and glaciers. 

At Milford Sound we embark on a cruise you will never forget. An otherworldly landscape plunges into the Tasman Sea and unique wildlife abounds in the deep waters of the fiord. Our destination for tonight is the fairytale town of Queenstown, set on the shores of Lake Wakatipu. On arrival we finish our day full of highlights with an orientation tour.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Queenstown - 2 Nights

Adrenaline-junkies may wish to get some perspective on a tour of the gorges of Skippers Canyon. Gourmand at heart? Perhaps a Central Otago wine tour? (Both own expense). Your day ends on a dreamy TSS Earnslaw cruise across Lake Wakatipu, landing at Walter Peak High Country Farm for a gourmet barbecue Highlight Dinner at the Colonel’s Homestead.

Meals: Breakfast, Highlight Dinner

The adventure continues, and this morning Central Otago's rich pioneer gold rush history comes alive in the picturesque village of Arrowtown. Set beside a beautiful clear flowing river, this charming town has some great historical sites, boutique shops, and delightful cafés. Following the road to Cromwell, the fabulous scenery keeps on coming and during the stone fruit season, you can pick up bags of delicious cherries, apricots, and nectarines at any of the roadside stalls. For a slice of paradise, we drive past a trio of fantastic lakes including Lake Dunstan, Hawea and Wanaka before traversing the Haast Pass to  Franz Josef /Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere - the world's most accessible glacier, which is ideally explored on an optional helicopter flight – you may be able to land and walk across the ice-fall.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

Accommodation: Franz Josef - 1 Night

Explore the small but lively Franz Josef/Waiau village before venturing to Hokitika, home of New Zealand's native jade greenstone. Then steel yourself for the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes of Punakaiki, a sliver of South Island geology that is as humbling as it is awe-inspiring. After a spectacular day, spend the night at an eco-friendly, waterfront resort.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

Accommodation Punakaiki - 1 Night

We’ve got you sorted on a morning tour of legendary Monteith’s Brewery, which is followed by lunch. The best is yet to come – all aboard for the scenic TranzAlpine train back to Christchurch, through tunnels and over viaducts, with panoramic views of snow-capped peaks, icy rivers, beech forests, gorges and river valleys.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Farewell Dinner

Accommodation Christchurch - 1 Night

"Haere rā" Goodbye! and Bon Voyage!

How many travel highs can you pack into a holiday? This itinerary has certainly pushed the boundaries. Now all you have to do is go home and sort through all those photos.

Meals: Breakfast

Flights to depart any time from Christchurch Airport

Itinerary Variations
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