7Day/6Nights Auckland to Queenstown

What's Included

Meeting and pickup

Itinerary

Day 1
Auckland – Waitomo Caves – Rotorua
3 stops
Auckland (Pass by)
Today you will travel by road from Auckland to Rotorua with a stop on route at Waitomo Caves for a guided tour. Your morning will start with collection from your accommodation and then travelling through the city south to Waitomo.
1
Waitomo Caves
Mid morning arrive Waitomo Caves where a guided tour has been arranged for your enjoyment. There will be time in Waitomo to get some lunch, by own arrangements.
2 hours • Admission ticket free
2
Rotorua
From Waitomo you will continue by road to Rotorua arriving mid afternoon. Rotorua is the destination for today and where you will spend two nights of your seven day tour.
1 day • Admission ticket free
Day 2
Rotorua
1 stop
3
Whakarewarewa - The Living Maori Village
This morning collected from your accommodation and transferred to Whakarewarewa Geothermal Reserve and Maori Living Village, where a guided tour has been arranged for your enjoyment, together with a Maori Cultural Performance.
3 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 3
Rotorua – Wellington
4 stops
4
Lake Taupo
This morning you will depart Rotorua and travel to Wellington by road by coach. Your first stop will be the township of Taupo nestled on the shores of Lake Taupo.
15 minutes • Admission ticket included
5
Palmerston North
From Taupo you will travel initially along the shoreline of Lake Taupo and through the central plateau with wonderful views of volcanic peaks with are snow capped for much of the year. Through the rolling hill country of the central North Island to Palmerston North.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free
Kapiti Island (Pass by)
From Palmerston North the coach will continue south along the Kapiti Coast with views of Kapiti Island and Cooks Straight with the Southern alps of the South Island visible on a clear day. And then through to the city of Wellington
6
Wellington
Your day will end in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand where you will be transferred to your central city hotel for your evenings accommodation. You have the evening at leisure to explore the central city on foot.
15 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 4
Wellington – Picton – Kaikoura
4 stops
7
Interislander
This morning you will depart Wellington by the Inter-Islander Cook Strait Ferry for the 3 hour ferry crossing to Picton in the heart of the Marlborough Sounds.
3 hours • Admission ticket included
8
Picton Sound
On your arrival into Picton, you will board the TransCoastal train and travel to Kaikoura via some spectacular scenic coast line. (Please note that the train is not available through May - September. If you have booked for this period, your train will be replaced by coach) Providing the ferry service is running to schedule you will have some time to explore the Picton township, after you have checked in for your train journey to Kaikoura.
1 hour • Admission ticket included
Blenheim (Pass by)
From Picton you will travel south by the Coastal Pacific Train or by coach during the winter months, initially to the township of Blenheim and then through to Kaikoura, following the Pacific Coastline for much of the route.
9
Kaikoura
Kaikoura a township nested between a high mountain range and the Pacific Ocean which is famous for both its abundance of sea food and marine life. Kaikoura is your destination for today and where you will spend this evening.
15 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 5
Kaikoura – Christchurch
3 stops
10
Whale Watch Kaikoura
This morning you will join a whale watch tour, with Whale Watching Kaikoura, where you will see the giant sperm whales, which reside in the deep waters just off the coast of Kaikoura year round. In the afternoon, following the whale watching you will visit a seal colony where New Zealand fur seals may be viewed at close quarters and provide fantastic photo opportunities.
3 hours • Admission ticket included
11
Waipara Hills
Time permitting, a stop will be made at a winery in Waipara - one of the larger wine regions of New Zealand. Here you will have the opportunity to taste some of New Zealand’s delightful wines. From Waipara the coach continues south to Christchurch, the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand.
30 minutes • Admission ticket included
12
Christchurch
Todays destination Christchurch, New Zealand's second largest city and your destination for todays journey. Tonight you will stay in a central city Christchurch Hotel. Evening at leisure to explore this city rebuilt following the devastating 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
15 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 6
Christchurch
2 stops
13
Christchurch Cathedral
This morning you will be collected from your hotel for a morning sightseeing tour of this beautiful city. Severely damaged by a series of earthquakes in 2010 and 2011, the city center was almost completely destroyed. The morning tour will show you much of the remaining earthquake damage to the city and the rebuild that is taking place. The tour will also highlight some of the most beautiful features of this charming city. This will include Mona Vale Homestead and gardens, Sign of the Takahe, Lyttelton Harbour, Evans Pass and the beach suburb of Sumner.
3 hours • Admission ticket included
14
Christchurch
The remainder of the day is at leisure to continue your exploration of Christchurch. Your evening accommodation is again in Christchurch City
18 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 7
Christchurch – Mount Cook – Queenstown
5 stops
15
The Church of the Good Shepherd
Travel by road through the rich pastoral farmland of the Canterbury Plains and the ever-changing spectacular scenery of the foothills of the Southern Alps. Continue travelling across Burkes Pass before descending to the stunning glacial-fed Lake Tekapo and visiting the “Church of the Good Shepherd” which stands on the foreshore.
30 minutes • Admission ticket included
16
Mt. Cook Village
From Lake Tekapo travel up the western side of Lake Pukaki to arrive at Mt Cook – New Zealand’s highest mountain. Here there will be time for lunch, (own arrangements) and time to have a look around the village. The Department of Conservation's information centre is well worth sending some time in.
1 hour • Admission ticket free
Cromwell (Pass by)
Departing Mount Cook early afternoon the tour then travels along the shores of Lake Pukaki to Twizel and then through the Lindis Pass and leave the McKenzie Country to travel along the shores of Lake Dunstan to Cromwell, the fruit growing capital of New Zealand.
Kawarau Suspension Bridge (Pass by)
From Cronwell follow the Kawarau River Gorge. On route passing the old suspension bridge and now the city of the famous A J Hacketts Bunny Jump, prior to arriving in Queenstown renown as the adventure capital of the world.
17
Queenstown
You will arrive in Queenstown early evening and will be dropped at your evenings accommodation, ( own arrangements) where your tour concludes.
12 hours • Admission ticket free

Additional info

• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• This is an independent multiday tour with guaranteed daily departures, on each day of travel you will be travelling with a different driver / guide and different passengers.
• This is not a fully escorted group tour.
• On day three the travel is in a large coach and the passenger numbers may at any given time exceed 35 people.
• Maximum of two checked bags per person (up to 23kg each)

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