On arrival in Auckland, you’ll be met and privately transferred to your hotel.

Hotel check in time 1400pm. Free at own own leisure.

Auckland is already known for being the largest city in New Zealand, however, the region's uniqueness is its diversity of experiences in such close proximity. Views from the top of the Sky Tower are amzing both day and night, giving a 360 degrees view of the city. Auckland is a shopaholic's paradise, with everything from top-end designers to open air street markets. Discover the diverse range of cafes and restaurants offering cuisine from around the globe and check out the buzzing nightlife of the central city. Favourite spots include Wynyard Quarter, the Viaduct Harbour, the Britomart precinct and City Works Depot.

Optional/Add On Activities: Auckland Sky Tower | Orbit Restaurant Set Menu Dinner | Harbour Dinner Cruise.

Check out hotel and commence Auckland to Hobbiton Experience | Duration: 7hrs, 45mins.

Today’s coach tour takes you through the rolling green hills to the iconic Hobbiton Movie Set, one of New Zealand’s ‘must-see’ destinations. See where the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies were filmed as your tour guide shares behind-the-scenes tales. You’ll see sights like Hobbit Holes, the Mill, and The Green Dragon Inn, and learn how farmland was transformed into a living, breathing piece of Middle-earth. After exploring Hobbiton, tuck into a delicious lunch before continuing to Rotorua.

Optional/Add On Activities: Treewalk Nighlights

Rotorua is surrounded by a fascinating geothermal landscape with its unique steam vents, spouting geysers and bubbling mud pool set alongside freshwater lakes and majestic native forests. It is also a region immersed in fascinating Maori myths and legends. 

Optional/Add on Activities: Skyline Gondola Ride

This afternoon you will be transport to Te Puia for a guided tour through the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute, the Kiwi Conservation Centre and the geothermal valley. Then enjoy a Hangi Dinner overlooking the valley and geyser, followed by a 40 minute cultural performance. The evening culminates with hot chocolate and pudding on the geyser terrace. Duration: 4.5 hours.

Free at own leisure. Hotel check out time 1000H. Hotel to Rotorua airport transfer.

Rotorua to Christchurch domestic flight not included and can be purchase online ( own arrangement ) at air new zealand here.

Arrive Christchurch airport, airport shuttle transfer to hotel.

Hotel check in time 1400pm. Free at own leisure.

Christchurch city promises an eclectic mix of historic elegance and contemporary culture. As the gateway to the South Island, it's a must on any itinerary. The city has bounced back after the Canterbury Earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 with innovative new attractions, as well as some old favourites. Visit the Re Start container mall, the transitional Cardboard Cathedral, and some of the many pop up restaurants and bars. Contemporary art galleries, boutique shops and open-air markets add to Christchurch’s creative vibe.

Optional/Add on Activities: Christchurch Tram Dinner

Depart Christchurch on the Tranz Alpine train crossing the vast expanses of the Canterbury Plains, through the dramatic gorge of the Waimakariri River to Arthur’s Pass National Park. The TranzAlpine is one of the world's great train journeys covering 223 kilometres (139 miles) one-way, taking just under 5 hours. You’ll traverse the majestic Canterbury Plains, to the backdrop of the mighty Southern Alps - the journey of a lifetime.

The TranzAlpine departing Christchurch at 0815am | Arrive Greymouth 1305pm.

NOTE: Tranz Alpine Train is only running Fri-Mon until 26 Dec 2023 and will be transport replaced on other days. From December 26, the TranzAlpine will be running seven days a week.

Here, your driver/guide will meet you for the remainder of the journey by deluxe mini-van to the West Coast. Follow rivers, rainforest and mountain valleys on the journey to Hokitika, once a roaring gold mining town and a place where Maori sought their treasured greenstone. View evidence of the last Ice Age in the kettle lakes created by the melting ice sheets before arriving in glacier country. 

Start the day with a short walk to experience the rainforest with the glacier in the background and its shattered, glacier formed landscape.

Then your guided tour heads south to the mighty Haast River Valley and the landscape dramatically changes again from dense rain forest to the drier tussock lands of Otago. Skirt the headwaters of Lake Wanaka and follow the shoreline of Lake Hawea and, time permitting, explore the quaint old gold mining village of Arrowtown before arriving in Queenstown where you’ll say farewell to your guide.

Optional/Add On Activities: Franz Josef Glacier Heli-Hike

A free day to explore Queenstown.

The resort town of Queenstown is sophisticated and fantastically scenic. Its lake and mountain landscape is suited to almost any kind of adventure; but Queenstown is just as well known as a place for indulgence. The area’s history is intertwined with gold. In 1862, two sheep shearers struck it rich at the edge of the Shotover River. The ensuing gold rush town was named Queenstown because '...it was fit for Queen Victoria'.

Adventure activities include bungy jumping, jet boating, horse trekking and river rafting. Indulgent experiences include exceptional food and wine, lake cruises, spa treatments and boutique shopping. Movie buffs will want to visit the Kawarau Gorge, where scenes from The Lord of the Rings were filmed.

Fiordland is one of the world’s last great wildernesses.

Today's stunning tour takes you past mirror lakes and waterfalls into Milford Sound, carved by ice age glaciers and famously described as the eighth wonder of the world. On arrival, board your vessel for a cruise of the fiord surrounded by towering mountains and cliffs that plunge into the sea. Feel the refreshing spray of a waterfall as you cruise close to sheer rock faces before returning to shore. After a big day out, reflect on memories of a lifetime on your coach return to Queenstown. Duration:  approx. 12 hours. 

Useful info: Milford Road stops including Mirror Lakes, Knobs Flat, Monkey Creek and the Chasm are dependent on weather and road conditions.

Check out hotel and you will be pick up from hotel and transfer to back to Christchurch.

Departing Queenstown, your passionate driver guide will bring todays journey to life, sharing stories and rich background knowledge. Pass through the stunning Kawarau Gorge, fruit and wine growing region of Cromwell, following beautiful Lake Dunstan and through the dramatic Lindis Pass. Travel the vast plains of the Mackenzie district alongside magnificent turquoise blue lake framed by Aoraki Mt Cook and the spectacular Southern Alps to Mt Cook Village where you have some free time. Leaving Mt Cook it’s not hard to see why many Lord of the Rings scenes were filmed nearby. Your driver guide will point them out on the journey to Lake Tekapo where you will make a stop close to the popular Church of the Good Shepherd before continuing on through the amazing countryside to Christchurch. 

Regrettably this is departure day. Heading home after so much fun is tough but you can certainly keep coming back again and again.

Hotel check out time 1000am. Your arrangements conclude today with a departure transfer.