New Zealand: North and South Islands

1. Day 1: Arrive in Auckland, drive to Rotorua

   Auckland Airport to Rotorua, about 2.5 hours

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Dinner
   • Stay: Distinction Rotorua or similar
   Day 1 details

   Your leader meets you at Auckland Airport (AKL) mid-morning, loads your bags into our 12-seat van and heads south through the green dairy country of the Waikato, about two and a half hours with a stop for lunch on the way. Rotorua sits on a volcanic plateau, and you notice it before you see it: steam drifts from vents in parks and gardens, and the air carries a faint smell of sulphur. Te Arawa, the iwi of this district, have welcomed visitors to its hot springs since the 19th century. This afternoon we stretch our legs on an easy walk in the Redwoods, Whakarewarewa Forest, under tall Californian coast redwoods planted more than a century ago. Then check in for two nights and meet the rest of the group properly over a welcome dinner.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Auckland Airport (AKL)
   • Redwoods Whakarewarewa Forest walk
   • Welcome dinner

   Activity: Lunch on your own at a stop on the way.

2. Day 2: Wai-O-Tapu and an evening at Mitai

   Wai-O-Tapu geothermal park, a free afternoon and Mitai Māori Village

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay: Distinction Rotorua or similar
   Day 2 details

   After breakfast we drive about 30 minutes south to Wai-O-Tapu, one of the most colourful geothermal areas in New Zealand. Paths and boardwalks lead past collapsed craters, bubbling mud and the Champagne Pool, a hot spring about 65 metres across whose steaming surface fizzes with carbon dioxide and whose rim glows orange from minerals in the water. Nearby, the Artist's Palette and the vivid green Devil's Bath show how varied the chemistry is. We are back in town by lunch, and the afternoon is free: many guests soak in the lakeside pools of the Polynesian Spa. In the evening we join the family who run Mitai Māori Village. Warriors paddle a waka down a forest stream, you learn the meaning behind the haka, and dinner is a hāngī, meat and vegetables slow-cooked in an earth oven. After dark a guide walks you along the stream to see glow-worms.

   Included

   • Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland
   • Mitai Māori Village evening with a hāngī dinner and glow-worm walk

   Optional experiences

   • Polynesian Spa

   Free time: Afternoon free

   

3. Day 3: Huka Falls and Lake Taupō to Tongariro

   Rotorua to Ohakune via Taupō, about 2.5 hours

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay: Powderhorn Chateau or similar
   Day 3 details

   We leave Rotorua for the heart of the North Island's volcanic plateau. The first stop is Huka Falls, where the Waikato, New Zealand's longest river, is squeezed from about 100 metres wide into a narrow rock chasm and bursts out in a roaring torrent of blue-white water. Lunch, on your own, is in Taupō on the shore of Lake Taupō, the country's largest lake, which fills the caldera left by huge volcanic eruptions; on clear days the snowy peaks of Tongariro National Park float across the water to the south. We follow the lake shore and then skirt the park, New Zealand's first national park, gifted by the Ngāti Tūwharetoa chief Te Heuheu Tūkino IV in 1887. Ohakune, a small mountain town on the southern edge of the park below Mt Ruapehu, is home for the next two nights. The evening is free.

   Included

   • Huka Falls
   • Lake Taupō

   Free time: Evening free

   Activity: Lunch on your own in Taupō.

4. Day 4: Tongariro: choose your day

   The Tongariro Alpine Crossing or the Taranaki Falls walk

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay: Powderhorn Chateau or similar
   Day 4 details

   Today you choose. Fit walkers take the included shuttle to the start of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, often called the finest one-day walk in New Zealand: 19.4 km over 6 to 8 hours, climbing past the cone of Ngāuruhoe to the Red Crater, the highest point at 1,886 metres, then down past the vivid Emerald Lakes and the Blue Lake to the Ketetahi end, where the shuttle collects you. You walk it at your own pace on a marked track. It is a serious mountain walk, with a steep climb and loose scree, and it goes ahead only when the weather allows. If you prefer an easy day, your leader drives you to Whakapapa Village for the Taranaki Falls walk, a loop of about 2 hours through tussock and beech forest to a 20 metre waterfall pouring over an old lava flow, then a relaxed afternoon. Lunch is included for everyone, and we meet again for dinner together in Ohakune.

   Included

   • Shuttle for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing
   • Or the Taranaki Falls walk from Whakapapa Village

   Easier option: The Taranaki Falls walk, about 2 hours, and a relaxed afternoon.

   More active option: The Tongariro Alpine Crossing, 19.4 km over 6 to 8 hours, weather permitting.

   Activity: The crossing shuttles do not run in high wind or poor visibility; on those days everyone takes the lower walks.

   

5. Day 5: South to Wellington and Te Papa

   Ohakune to Wellington, about 3.5 hours

   • Drive about 3.5 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay: Rydges Wellington or similar
   Day 5 details

   We drive south off the volcanic plateau through Waiouru and the farmland and river gorges of the Rangitīkei, then down the Kāpiti Coast to Wellington, about three and a half hours with a coffee stop on the way. The capital wraps around a deep natural harbour beneath steep green hills, and it is known for its cafés, its wind and a compact centre that is easy to walk. After lunch on your own, Te Papa's own guides take us on a 60-minute tour of Te Papa Tongarewa, the Museum of New Zealand, on the waterfront. You see how earthquakes and volcanoes shaped these islands, meet taonga, the treasures of Māori and Pacific peoples, and visit Rongomaraeroa, the museum's contemporary marae. Stay on afterwards if you want longer; entry to the museum is free. The evening is yours on the waterfront, with the bars and restaurants of Cuba Street a short walk away.

   Included

   • Guided 60-minute tour of Te Papa Tongarewa, the Museum of New Zealand

   Free time: Evening free on the waterfront

6. Day 6: The Interislander across Cook Strait

   Wellington to Picton by ferry, then via Nelson to Kaiteriteri

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Kaiteriteri
   Day 6 details

   This morning our van rolls onto the Interislander ferry with the group, and for about three and a half hours you are free to watch the crossing from the decks. The ferry leaves Wellington Harbour, crosses the open water of Cook Strait, the gap between the two main islands, and then threads the narrow entrance of Tory Channel into the Marlborough Sounds, a maze of drowned river valleys where forested hills drop straight into the sea. Dolphins sometimes ride the bow wave. We drive off in Picton and head west through Havelock, known for its green-lipped mussels, and over the hills to Nelson, the sunny, arty city at the top of the South Island, then along Tasman Bay to Kaiteriteri, about three hours of driving in all. Kaiteriteri is a small village on a crescent of golden sand at the gateway to Abel Tasman National Park. Dinner together tonight.

   Included

   • Interislander ferry from Wellington to Picton, with our van on board

   

7. Day 7: Abel Tasman National Park

   Water taxi up the coast, then a walk back on the Coast Track

   • By boat
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Kaiteriteri
   Day 7 details

   Abel Tasman is New Zealand's smallest national park and one of its loveliest: granite headlands, clear green water and golden beaches backed by native forest. From the beach at Kaiteriteri a water taxi carries us up the coast, past Split Apple Rock, a granite boulder cleaved neatly in two, and the fur seals that haul out on Tonga Island and the rocks nearby. It drops us at a bay on the Abel Tasman Coast Track, one of the country's Great Walks, and we walk back at an easy pace for a few hours, over headlands and down to quiet beaches, with time for a swim if you are brave. Lunch is on a beach, and a second water taxi brings us back in the afternoon. If you would rather paddle, you can swap the walk for a full-day guided sea kayak trip along the same coast. The evening is free in Kaiteriteri.

   Included

   • Abel Tasman water taxi, two one-way legs
   • Walk on the Abel Tasman Coast Track

   Optional experiences

   • Full-day guided sea kayak trip, in place of the walk

   Free time: Evening free

   

8. Day 8: Through the Buller Gorge to Punakaiki

   Kaiteriteri to Punakaiki, about 4 hours

   • Drive about 4 h
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay: Punakaiki Resort or similar
   Day 8 details

   Today we cross to the West Coast, just under four hours on the road with stops along the way. The route climbs the Motueka Valley, crosses the Hope Saddle and drops to Murchison, then follows the Buller River through its long gorge, where the road is cut into cliffs above the green water, most dramatically at Hawks Crag. At Westport we meet the Tasman Sea and turn south down one of the country's great coast roads, with surf on one side and nīkau palms and limestone cliffs on the other. Punakaiki, in Paparoa National Park, is known for the Pancake Rocks, limestone stacks layered like piles of pancakes. A short loop path leads around them and the blowholes, which roar and spout best at high tide when a westerly swell is running, so your leader times the walk to the tide. Our resort sits right above the beach, and dinner together is tonight.

   Included

   • Buller Gorge
   • Pancake Rocks and blowholes walk

   Activity: The longest drive of the trip, about 3 hours 50 minutes plus stops.

   

9. Day 9: Hokitika and Franz Josef Glacier

   Punakaiki to Franz Josef, about 3 hours

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay: Scenic Hotel Franz Josef or similar
   Day 9 details

   We continue south along the coast through Greymouth to Hokitika, a gold-rush town of the 1860s that is now the centre of pounamu, the greenstone or New Zealand jade that Māori have long treasured for tools and taonga. Watch carvers at work in the studios along the main street, then have lunch on your own; the driftwood on Hokitika beach is worth a look too. The road then runs between the Tasman Sea and the Southern Alps, through dairy farms and rainforest, to Franz Josef, Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere. In the afternoon we walk up the glacier valley on an easy track across the riverbed to a viewpoint below the ice, passing waterfalls that spill down the valley walls. The glacier has retreated a long way in recent decades, so the view is from a distance. To stand on the ice, take the optional heli-hike, which lands on the glacier for a guided walk among the crevasses. Dinner together tonight.

   Included

   • Hokitika and its pounamu carvers
   • Franz Josef Glacier valley walk

   Optional experiences

   • Heli-hike on Franz Josef Glacier

   Activity: The glacier valley track closes after heavy rain or rockfall; your leader checks the daily conditions.

   

10. Day 10: Lake Matheson at dawn, over the Haast Pass to Wanaka

    Franz Josef to Wanaka, about 3.5 hours plus stops

    • Drive about 3.5 h
    • Breakfast and dinner
    • Stay: Edgewater or similar
    Day 10 details

    An early start for the best light of the trip. We drive about 30 minutes south to Lake Matheson near Fox Glacier, where dark, tannin-stained water makes a famous mirror: on a still, clear morning the snowy summits of Aoraki/Mount Cook and Mount Tasman stand upside down in the lake. The loop around the shore takes about an hour and a half, and breakfast follows. Then comes the long, quiet road south past Bruce Bay and Knights Point, with wide views over the wild coast, before we turn inland at Haast and climb over the Haast Pass, at 562 metres the lowest road crossing of the Southern Alps. On the eastern side a short forest walk leads to the Blue Pools, where swing bridges cross water of a startlingly clear blue. The road then runs beside Lake Wanaka and Lake Hāwea to the town of Wanaka. Dinner together tonight in this lakeside town.

    Included

    • Lake Matheson walk at dawn
    • Haast Pass
    • Blue Pools walk

    Activity: Heavy rain can close the road over the Haast Pass; your leader checks before we leave.

    

11. Day 11: Wanaka, then the Crown Range to Queenstown

    A free morning in Wanaka, then about 1 hour over the Crown Range

    • Drive about 1 h
    • Breakfast
    • Stay: Novotel Queenstown Lakeside or similar
    Day 11 details

    A slow morning with no alarm. Wanaka is a relaxed lake town ringed by mountains and the gateway to Mount Aspiring National Park. Walk the lakefront to the willow that grows out of the water in Roys Bay, known as That Wanaka Tree, climb Mount Iron on a loop of about an hour and a half with views over the lake and the Clutha River, hire a bike, or sit with a coffee and watch the light change on the water. After lunch on your own we drive to Queenstown over the Crown Range Road, the highest sealed main road in New Zealand, with a summit at 1,076 metres. On the way we pass the historic Cardrona Hotel, built in the gold-rush 1860s, and from the top the road zigzags down with views over the Wakatipu basin to Arrowtown and the Remarkables. Check in for three nights by Lake Wakatipu. The evening is free.

    Included

    • Crown Range Road to Queenstown

    Free time: Morning free in Wanaka, evening free in Queenstown

12. Day 12: Milford Sound

    Queenstown to Milford Sound by coach, with a nature cruise

    • By boat
    • Breakfast
    • Stay: Novotel Queenstown Lakeside or similar
    Day 12 details

    Today our van rests, and a coach takes the group, with your leader along, on the long and beautiful road to Milford Sound, Piopiotahi, about 12 and a half hours door to door. The route skirts Lake Wakatipu, crosses Southland farmland to Te Anau, then follows the Milford Road up the Eglinton Valley, past the Mirror Lakes and through the Homer Tunnel, cut through the granite of the Darran Mountains, before dropping steeply to the sea. On a nature cruise of around two hours you sail the length of the fiord to the Tasman Sea, beneath Mitre Peak, rising 1,692 metres straight from the water, and close under Stirling Falls. Fur seals bask on the rocks, and dolphins sometimes join the boat. Milford Sound is spectacular in rain or shine: after heavy rain hundreds of temporary waterfalls pour off the cliffs. If snow or heavy rain closes the road, we move this day to tomorrow.

    Included

    • Coach from Queenstown to Milford Sound and back, with your leader
    • Milford Sound nature cruise

    Activity: About 4 hours each way by coach. Day 13 is the backup day if the Milford Road is closed.

    

13. Day 13: Queenstown: a free day

    Lake Wakatipu, the Shotover River and Gibbston

    • Breakfast and dinner
    • Stay: Novotel Queenstown Lakeside or similar
    Day 13 details

    A whole day to spend as you like in Queenstown, on the shore of Lake Wakatipu below the jagged Remarkables. Ride the Skyline Gondola for the view over the lake and town, walk through the lakeside gardens, or take the local bus to Arrowtown, a gold-mining village of the 1860s with tree-lined streets and a restored Chinese settlement. Your leader can book any of the optional outings: the Shotover Jet, spinning through the narrow canyons of the Shotover River; a cruise on the TSS Earnslaw, a coal-fired steamship that has sailed the lake since 1912; or a wine tour in the Gibbston Valley, known for Central Otago pinot noir. If the Milford Road was closed yesterday, today becomes our Milford Sound day instead. In the evening the group gathers for a farewell dinner to toast two islands and thirteen nights on the road together.

    Included

    • Farewell dinner

    Optional experiences

    • Shotover Jet
    • TSS Earnslaw cruise on Lake Wakatipu
    • Gibbston Valley wine tour

    Free time: Free day

    Activity: The backup day for Milford Sound.

    

14. Day 14: Depart from Queenstown

    Drop-off at Queenstown Airport

    • Drive about 15 min
    • Breakfast
    Day 14 details

    A last breakfast with the lake and the Remarkables outside the window, and a final look at Queenstown in the morning light. Queenstown Airport (ZQN) is only about 15 minutes by road from the hotel, and your leader drives the group out at a time agreed with everyone the evening before. The flight out between the mountains is spectacular, so ask for a window seat. International flights from Queenstown go to Australia, and most journeys home to Canada connect through Auckland or an Australian city. If your flight leaves later in the day, the hotel can usually store your bags while you walk the lakefront once more or have a final flat white in town. If you would like longer in New Zealand, we can help you add nights in Queenstown, or a few days in Te Anau or Christchurch, before you fly home.

    Included

    • Drop-off at Queenstown Airport (ZQN)

Wildlife and weather: The season runs from November to April, New Zealand's late spring, summer and early autumn; December to March is the warmest and busiest. Expect four seasons in a day in the mountains and frequent rain on the West Coast, which keeps its rainforest green. New Zealand fur seals are likely along the Abel Tasman coast and on the West Coast, glow-worms are certain at Mitai, and dolphins sometimes swim alongside boats in the Marlborough Sounds and Milford Sound.

• 2 nights · Days 1 and 2

  Distinction Rotoruaor similar

  Rotorua · Hotel

• 2 nights · Days 3 and 4

  Powderhorn Chateauor similar

  Ohakune · Hotel

• 1 night · Day 5

  Rydges Wellingtonor similar

  Wellington · Hotel

• 2 nights · Days 6 and 7

  Kaiteriteri

  Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.

• 1 night · Day 8

  Punakaiki Resortor similar

  Punakaiki · Hotel

  Above the beach

• 1 night · Day 9

  Scenic Hotel Franz Josefor similar

  Franz Josef · Hotel

• 1 night · Day 10

  Edgewateror similar

  Wanaka · Hotel

  On the lakefront

• 3 nights · Days 11, 12, and 13

  Novotel Queenstown Lakesideor similar

  Queenstown · Hotel

  On the lakefront