Beauties of New Zealand

Day 1 – Spain – Auckland (New Zealand)

Departure by scheduled flight to Auckland. Overnight on board

Day 2 – In flight

Day 3 – Auckland

Arrival and private transfer to the hotel. Accommodation guaranteed from 2:00 pm.
Free time to explore the city, its center, Aotea Square, its waterfront and Viaduct Harbour with numerous cafes, restaurants, scenic marinas, Victoria Market, and Albert Park.
Auckland is home to 1.5 million inhabitants and is the fastest growing city in the country, accounting for almost a third of New Zealand’s economy.
Lodging.

Day 4 – Auckland. City tour

City tour with English speaking guide including the main areas of interest of the city: the University of Auckland, the Domain public park where you will visit the Auckland Museum with an important collection of Polynesian artifacts, wakas, marae, as well as natural history where you can see the skeleton of the Moa and a tuatara, a prehistoric reptile descendant of the dinosaurs. Continuation of the tour to Parnell, a downtown neighborhood with Victorian houses converted into cafes, galleries and boutiques. Walk along Paritai Drive, with its luxury mansions overlooking the sea, and continue along the Tamaki waterfront to Mission Bay. Entrance to the panoramic viewpoint Sky Tower.
We will continue with the Fullers cruise along Auckland Harbour with panoramic views of the city and the gulf islands, Rangitoto Island and Devonport Peninsula and the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
Lodging.

Day 5 – Auckland – Waitomo – Hobbiton – Rotorua

Breakfast and lunch.
Excursion with English speaking driver/guide.
Visit Waitomo Caves, with its Cathedral Cave of stalagtites and stalagmites and a boat ride through the subway river to observe the glow worm phenomenon that illuminates the ceiling of the cave resembling a starry sky
BBQ style lunch at Roseland Restaurant in Waitomo.
Continue to Matamata, a racehorse breeding region.
Visit Hobbiton Movie Set at the 1250 acre Alexander Sheep Farm with spectacular views over the Kaimai Ranges. We will see how this farm was transformed into the film set for the movies Mr. of the Rings, and The Hobbit, the 44 Hobbit “cottages”, including entering the new Hobbit Hole cottage; the Bag End tree, the Green Dragon Inn, the mill.
Continue to Rotorua in the Bay of Plenty region, rich in Maori culture and geothermal activity
At the end the guide will drop us off at the hotel.
Lodging.

Day 6 – Rotorua

Breakfast and lunch.
Geothermal tour with English speaking driver/guide to Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland. The Waiotapu Geothermal Reserve, impresses us with its incredible color, originated in the activity under the Waiotapu ground whose streams are heated by the magma and absorb the minerals by the rocks where it passes, emerging as steam, leaving on the surface the yellow colors of sulfide, the reds of iron oxide, the oranges of arsenic and antinomium, the greens of ferrous salts, the purple of magnesium oxide, the pink of mercury sulfate, the white of kaolin and the black of coal. We will see Champagne Lake, Devil’s Bath and Artist’s Palette on a walking tour of the valley for approximately 30′-40′, as well as the largest bubbling mud lake in the country.

Transfer to Te Puia, in the Whakarewarewa geothermal valley. Cultural performance of traditional dances at the Araonui a Rua (meeting house or marae) Including Powhiri (welcome), waiata (songs) moteatea (traditional songs), poi and Haka
Enjoy a hangi lunch at the Pataka Kai Restaurant.
Visit the Maori wood, jade and bone carving school, where you can see the works of art in progress, as well as view the finished crafts in the Art Gallery. Walk through the valley to see the pre-European village of Pikirangi and the Marae Rotowhio or meeting house, which are examples of traditional Maori architecture. We will also enjoy the view of the Pohutu geyser that erupts several times a day, shooting water and steam up to 30 meters high, and see boiling mud pits. We will also see the kiwi bird in its natural nocturnal habitat.

In the afternoon, we included a voucher to exchange for the entrance to the Deluxe Lake Spa Pools of the Polynesian Spa, a complex of 5 pools between 36 and 42C, alkaline and acidic, to relax and enjoy the place.

Lodging.

Day 7 – Rotorua – Waitomo – Wellington

Transfer by private car to Otorohanga Train Station.
Departure by Northern Explorer train to Wellington, passing through beautiful landscapes of Central Plateau, National Park with views of Nguarahoe or Mt Doom in Lord of the Rings, and the Ruapehu volcano, passing through Okahune and the city of Palmerston North, continuing along the coast of Kapiti and its cliffs, to the capital of the country, Wellington. Lunch (a hot dish and a glass of wine or soft drink included on board).
Transfer from the train station to the hotel.
Lodging.

Day 8 – Wellington

We will enjoy a city tour with English speaking guide through downtown, the Oriental Parade waterfront, visit the Te Papa Museum, walk around Mt Victoria and the terraced houses, the Botanical Gardens, the Parliament and Beehive, the pedestrian Cuba and the Weta Caves Mini-museum showing the behind the scenes art of the movies using Weta’s audio visual technology, including Hobbit and Mr. of the Rings.
Afternoon free for a stroll along the waterfront or a Mr. of the Rings tour in English for those interested or for those who are not.
Lodging.

Day 9 – Wellington – Queenstown, South Island (flight)

Private transfer to the airport to take the flight to Queenstown, the most fun city in New Zealand.
Arrival and private transfer to the hotel. We will continue with a private 3-hour guided tour of the city and the picturesque mining town of Arrowtown, where you can visit the small Lake District Museum or simply walk the “Wild West” style streets and visit the Chinese settlement (brought here during the gold rush that turned Arrowtown into one of the richest sources of alluvial gold in the world).
We will see filming locations from Mr. of the Rings. We will also stop at the Kawarau River Bridge to see the famous Bungy Jumping and then tour the wine country, with a visit to Gibbston Valley Winery, a boutique winery where we will taste their wines (included).
Lodging.

Day 10 – Queenstown. Excursion to Doubtful Sound

Breakfast and picnic lunch.
Today we will enjoy a full day excursion to Doubtful Sound, guided in English (explanatory brochures in Spanish).
We will start with a bus ride (2h45 approx) along Lake Wakatipu, and then the valleys at the foot of the mountains, until we reach Pearl Harbour, in front of Lake Manapouri.
We will depart by catamaran on the beautiful Lake Manapouri (45′ approx) to West Arm. We will continue by local bus to cross the spectacular mountain on a winding and narrow 22 kms route with stops to observe the native vegetation, the moss garden and the beech trees, until we reach Deep Cove on the other side. This route was built in 1960 to provide access for heavy machinery needed in the construction of the Manapouri hydroelectric station. Floods, avalanches and snow, made the construction of the road took two years.

Doubtful Fjord is in the heart of Fiordland National Park, one of the wettest places on the planet. We will depart on a beautiful cruise through the remote Doubtful Sound (3h approx, round trip) to the mouth of the Tasman Sea. On the way we will probably be accompanied by dolphins jumping alongside the boat. We will have the chance to see some sea lions on the rocks, and maybe penguins. The scenery is very beautiful, with waterfalls, rainforests and mountains and a great silence, only interrupted by the chirping of birds in the forest or the cascading of waterfalls from the top of the rock walls. We will have lunch on board the boat (picnic lunch). Doubtful Sound is 10 times larger and 3 times longer than the well-known and more touristic Milford Fjord, and is the second largest of the 14 fjords in the national park. Within this National Park you will find climbing plants, orchids, ferns at ground level, as well as large podocarp trees. We will return by catamaran to Manapouri to take a bus to Queenstown (2h.45 approx).
Lodging.

Day 11 – Queenstown

Breakfast.

Free day for optional activities – the fun on offer in Queenstown is endless!
Lodging.

Day 12 – Queenstown – Wanaka – Franz Josef

Breakfast.
In the morning we will depart by bus to the West Coast, via Cromwell and Wanaka. Cross Mt Aspiring National Park and Haast Pass to Lake Paringa. In the afternoon we will arrive at Franz Josef Glacier and transfer to the hotel.
Lodging.

Day 13 – Franz Josef

Breakfast.
Today we will have the day free for optional activities, we especially recommend the glacier excursions:
-Helihike (helicopter flight and 2 hours glacier tour with crampons and equipment). Level of physical ability required: moderate.
-Ice Explorer (helicopter flight to Pinnacles glacier, and up to 3 hrs of glacier hiking with guide and equipment included). Physical ability level required: moderate
-Mountain Scenic : 40′ helicopter flight over the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers with landing on the glacier snow. Views of Mt Cook and Tasman Glacier.
Lodging.

Day 14 – Franz Josef – Greymouth – Punakaiki – Christchurch (Transalpine train)

Breakfast.
Continuation of the trip by van with English speaking driver/guide, heading north. On the way we will visit Hokitika Gorge and drive to Punakaiki, 30 kms north of Greymouth, to see the Blowholes and Pancake Rocks. On the way back we will be dropped off at Greymouth train station.
We will board the Transalpine train for a scenic ride across the Southern Alps, with views of Lake Brunner, Otira Gorge and Arthur Pass Village, valleys and mountains, tunnels, rivers and agricultural fields until we reach Christchurch. Arrival and transfer to the hotel.
Lodging.

Day 15 – Christchurch

In the morning we will have a guided tour of the main attractions of Christchurch.
We will visit this city with obvious aftermath of the 2011 earthquake that destroyed the downtown and some coastal areas, presenting in turn a unique opportunity to redesign a new downtown applying the most modern technologies and architectural concepts. We will appreciate the little New Regent Street in Art Deco style, Cathedral Square with the remains of the Anglican Cathedral, the new cardboard cathedral, Worcester Br and the Art Centre and Modern Art Gallery, the Canterbury Museum and the beautiful Botanic Garden, as well as Re-start Mall with boutiques and cafes in shipping containers. In the neighborhoods we will pass the University of Canterbury, walk through Monavale Gardens, and see the panoramic views from Port Hills at Sign of Takahe and the waterfront neighborhoods of Sumner and Redcliff. Afternoon at leisure.
Lodging.

Day 16 – Christchurch – Spain

At the agreed time, transfer to the airport to take our flight back to Spain. Overnight on board.