AAT Kings Contrasts of New Zealand Itinerary

Haere Mai and Welcome to the 'City of Sails'

New Zealand’s largest city is also one of its prettiest, as you’ll discover exploring New Zealand’s largest city is also one of its prettiest, as you’ll discover exploring at your leisure. Arrive early to linger in its hip harbourside precincts, where galleries and design-driven stores await. You’ll have worked up an appetite by the time you meet your fellow travel companions for a welcome reception and dinner at The Grill. Start your Auckland tour on a high, we say.

Meals:  Dinner with Wine

Fights to arrive by 4.00pm into Auckland Airport

Accommodation: Auckland - 2 Nights

After a relaxed start, set your sights firmly on Auckland's main love: rugby. The interactive All Blacks Experience explores an introduction to the game as a part of New Zealand culture. Afterwards get the lay of the land on a city sightseeing tour including Mission Bay, Bastion Point and the Michael Joseph Savage Memorial to New Zealand's first Labour Prime Minister. Admire the sunken pool and landscaped gardens as you’re treated to sweeping views of Waitemata Harbour and the North Shore.

Meals: Breakfast

Get ready for a much-anticipated trip to the Hobbiton Movie Set. Upon arrival, set off on a guided tour through the 12-acre set. You'll have plenty of time for photo opportunities on the interactive hobbit hole and complimentary drink at The Green Dragon, and the Mill. After a stop for lunch (own expense) continue to Rotorua.

This evening, embark on the Te Po experience at Te Puia. Learn about Maori history and culture on this guided experience, which includes hangi-inspired cuisine and a cultural performance in a finely carved meeting house, Te Aronui a Rua. It ends on a high at the Pohutu Geyser, where, armed with a hot chocolate, you'll view one of New Zealand's geothermal wonderlands.  

Meals: Breakfast, Highlight Dinner

Accommodation: Rotorua - 1 Night

Your visit to the National Kiwi Hatchery is guided by passionate conservationists and will give you fascinating insights into New Zealand's national bird on this rewarding experience.

The feel-good vibes that endure will follow you all the way to Queenstown, the self-proclaimed adventure capital of New Zealand. It makes perfect sense – there are ski fields, white-water river and bridges strapped with bungy cords wherever you turn. And then there’s the dining scene; Queenstown is home to some of the country’s most awarded restaurants. Whether you’re in the mood for bulging burgers or lakeside tapas, ask us for recommendations on this leg of your Queenstown New Zealand tour.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Queenstown - 3 Nights

Bring your stamina and sense of adventure – things get a little wild today. Nature rules as you skirt Queenstown’s gleaming Lake Wakatipu, and traverse the Devil’s Staircase to Te Anau, the alpine gateway to UNESCO World Heritage listed Fiordland National Park. Once you’ve paused to admire the drama at Mirror Lakes, Knobs Flat, Hollyford Valley lookout and Cleddau Valley, you’ll begin to understand why Rudyard Kipling called this the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’. You haven’t even seen Bowen Falls or Milford Sound/Piopiotahi yet… Onboard your nature cruise, enjoy commentary from your eagle-eyed Naturalist guide, who not only narrates on the immense geological history of the Fjord, but will point out fur seals and dolphins should they choose to come out to play. The cruise includes a delicious picnic lunch.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Take today’s Queenstown New Zealand tour at your own pace. Like things fast and furious? Feel the wind in your hair on a high-octane jet boat ride, perhaps. Prefer to be able to talk (and drink wine) while you cruise? Glide across Lake Wakatipu aboard the historic TSS Earnslaw to Walter Peak High Country Farm for a guided farm tour, including morning or afternoon tea, in a dreamy alpine setting (both own expense). Wherever you wander, be sure to save space for tonight’s Highlight Dinner at Postmasters Café, a historic Arrowtown cottage replete with picket fence and Instagrammable gardens.

Meals: Breakfast, Highlight Dinner

Whether pinot noir grapes or cherries, things grow well in the fertile Central Otago region of the South Island. Get a taste for the area’s plump stone fruit at the stall of a local orchard. Is it Michael Schumacher’s Benetton F1 car or the $4.2-million Aston Martin Vulcan that draws crowds to the Highlands Motorsport Museum? Discover some of the rarest cars in NZ motorsports history during your visit.

Mountain drama is your backdrop en route to Lake Tekapo, with water so turquoise it looks like a Renaissance painting. This part of the country is ravishing and remote; the lack of light pollution means dazzling Southern Hemisphere stargazing at UNESCO World Heritage listed Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve. It may be a late night, but tonight's star gazing experience at a purpose-built observation crater with expert astronomy guides is bound to be a highlight. If there was ever a NZ experience that put life in perspective, this is it.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

Accommodation: Lake Tekapo - 1 Night

The Canterbury region of the east coast is a rustic union of grassy plains, mirror-like lakes and snow-capped mountains, the kind of landscape that you might see on postcards. Arrive into the beautiful English city of Christchurch for a guided visit. The city is not only rebuilding itself after the devastating 2010/11 earthquakes, but is changing the way architects think about design. Case in point the mind-bending Transitional Cathedral, made largely of cardboard, and Turanga, the gold-clad central library.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Christchurch - 2 Nights

Travel north through rolling countryside to Hurunui Hills, a hill country farm in North Canterbury. Enjoy warm Kiwi hospitality with the Bamford Family, who have been farming at Hurunui since 1884 with six generations focused on producing premium Merino sheep, wool and Angus cattle. Soak up stunning scenery while enjoying morning tea, meet the farm animals & discover what it is like to live off the land on this unique By My Guest experience.

Continue to a local vineyard, Waipara Springs Winery, where it's time to relax and enjoy a platter-style lunch among the vines. A big day leads to a big evening joining your Travel Director and travel mates for a celebratory farewell dinner featuring produce from the Canterbury region.

Meals: Breakfast, Be My Guest Morning Tea, Lunch, Farewell Dinner 

Haere rā and Bon Voyage!

You’ve travelled hundreds of kilometres across two islands, likely taken thousands of photos, and made countless memories and new friends. The only thing left to do is plan your next trip to New Zealand.

Meals: Breakfast

Flights to depart any time from Christchurch Airport

Itinerary Variations
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