We get a fine taste of and appreciation for the wondrous diversity and
endless beauties of the Happy Isles, both North and South, on this
wide-ranging tour. We commence at the Bay of Islands, north of Auckland,
with a catamaran cruise among the marine reserve’s more than 140 islets,
stopping at leisure for a swim or a lonely beach walk. We’ll enjoy the freshest
of oysters in Russell, New Zealand’s first foreign settlement, and the next
day drive to Cape Reinga, New Zealand’s northernmost point, a dramatic
meeting of oceans. Now to a full day witnessing the wonders of Rotorua,
notably the 65-foot Pohutu Geyser, part of the teeming geothermal wonderland
of Whakarewarewa.
We fly to Nelson on the South Island for a day at Abel Tasman National Park, a feast of golden beaches, rocky headlands, and dense but very walkable forests. And now to the amphitheatrical Otago Bay and Dunedin, the most perfectly preserved Victorian city on earth, in many minds. After much bird and wildlife viewing on the Otago Peninsula (getting in touch with true freedom by watching albatrosses soaring on their way to the ends of the earth), we drive to Te Anau for an overnight cruise aboard the Fiordland Navigator on magnificent Doubtful Sound—less known, and hence less thronged, than Milford Sound—and on to the resort of Queenstown for a thrilling jet-boat safari on the Dart River, a World Heritage Area of tremendous wild beauty.
We fly to Nelson on the South Island for a day at Abel Tasman National Park, a feast of golden beaches, rocky headlands, and dense but very walkable forests. And now to the amphitheatrical Otago Bay and Dunedin, the most perfectly preserved Victorian city on earth, in many minds. After much bird and wildlife viewing on the Otago Peninsula (getting in touch with true freedom by watching albatrosses soaring on their way to the ends of the earth), we drive to Te Anau for an overnight cruise aboard the Fiordland Navigator on magnificent Doubtful Sound—less known, and hence less thronged, than Milford Sound—and on to the resort of Queenstown for a thrilling jet-boat safari on the Dart River, a World Heritage Area of tremendous wild beauty.
Day 1: USA to Auckland • Day 2: arrive in auckland, connect to Bay of Islands • Day 4: sightseeing in Bay of Islands • Day 5: touring Cape Reinga • Day 6: fly to Rotorua, afternoon look-around • Day 7: tour thermal majesties • Day 8: fly to Nelson • Day 9: Abel Tasman National Park • Day 10: free day in Nelson • Day 11: fly to Dunedin • Day 12: the Otago Peninsula • Day 13: drive to Te Anau • Day 14: overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound • Day 15: arrive in Manapouri, drive to Queenstown • Day 16: Dart River • Day 17: fly to Auckland, afternoon city tour, evening flight home • Day 18: arrive in USA.
A Taste of New Zealand
Trip Details
Departures:
18 Days
Activity Type:
Touring
Trip Price:From $7795
- Daily departures
18 DaysActivity Type:
Touring
Trip Price:
From $7795
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