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SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

These once-in-a-lifetime moments allow you to experience an unforgettable world of exclusive moments, incredible cultures and charming surprises
 

FREEDOM OF CHOICE™

Give your holiday a personal touch with a choice of included sightseeing or dining options
 

Christchurch to Auckland

Be met on arrival and transferred to your hotel. Later, meet our crew at the welcome dinner, a Canterbury Feast celebrating local produce at the hotel.

Stay: Two Nights, Rydges Latimer Christchurch

Meals: • Dinner

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

Historic Akaroa’s waters are a playground for the smallest and rarest of dolphins, the Hector's dolphins. Today we join a two-hour Akaroa Nature Cruise to view these magical mammals and the rugged coastline.
 

FREEDOM OF CHOICE – DINING

Tonight, choose from three optional dinner experiences. Ride the Christchurch Tramway Restaurant, enjoying a four-course dinner and seeing the city aboard a colonial tram. Alternatively, dine at Bloody Mary's Steakhouse within your hotel, or opt to savour a room service dinner with wine.

Travel an hour and a half south east of Christchurch to the Banks Peninsula town of Akaroa, known for its mix of 19th-century British and French colonial history and architecture. After your Signature Experience cruise, explore Akaroa eateries for lunch (own expense), then head back to your Christchurch hotel. 
 

Meals: • Breakfast • Dinner

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

Today, you ride aboard the iconic TranzAlpine train from Christchurch to Greymouth, considered one of the world’s great rail journeys. Enjoy awe-inspiring views as you cross the Southern Alps from the east coast to the west.
 

After your arrival in Greymouth, board a coach for a scenic trip down the west coast to glacier country, and the lovely town of Franz Josef. 


Stay: Te Waonui Forest Retreat.

Meals: • Breakfast • Dinner

Enjoy spectacular views as you drive today towards New Zealand’s adventure capital Queenstown. The Haast Pass follows a trail traditionally used by Maori people in search of greenstone or jade, and cuts through a stunning mountain landscape highlighted by waterfalls, rushing rivers and lakes


Stay:  Two Nights, Millennium Hotel Queenstown  

Meals: • Breakfast

FREEDOM OF CHOICE – SIGHTSEEING

Choose your activity today. Visit filming locations from  The Lord of the Rings; enjoy a cruise on Lake Wakatipu; take a Skippers Canyon adventure; join a river safari along Dart River; or enjoy a winery tour.
 

Choose from a host of exciting sightseeing opportunities today.


Meals:  • Breakfast

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

Marvel at the spectacle of Milford Sound on a cruise of its full length. Cruise beneath tall cliffs on the flanks of Mitre Peak, get close to tumbling waterfalls, and view seals, penguins and a variety of seabirds.
 

Travel from Queenstown along the incredibly scenic Milford Road through Fiordland National Park to join your Signature Experience cruise. Later, return to the lovely lakeside town of Te Anau, where you savour a special Taste of Fiordland dinner featuring local specialties.

Stay:  Distinction Hotel Te Anau

Meals:  • Breakfast • Dinner

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

Remote and mysterious Doubtful Sound is one of Fiordland’s most magical places. Step aboard your ship here for an unforgettable overnight cruise to discover rugged peaks, hidden islets and pristine rainforests.
 

Take the short drive from Te Anau to lakeside Manapouri, where you join your Signature Experience cruise.


Stay:  Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise

Meals:  • Breakfast • Dinner

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

Visit Bill Richardson Transport World in Invercargill, which houses an amazing collection of classic cars and trucks, from Model-T Fords to VW Kombis and a spectacular 1940 Dodge Airflow Texaco tanker. There are more than 300 vehicles on show, the largest private collection of its type in the world.
 

Disembark your overnight cruise and head for Invercargill. On arrival in the early afternoon, enjoy a visit to Bill Richardson Transport World. Alternatively, you may decide to relax at the hotel.


Stay:  Two Nights, Ascot Hotel Invercargill

Meals:  • Breakfast

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

Travel by ferry from Bluff to Stewart Island. Head off on the Stewart Island Village and Bays Tour and gain an entertaining insight into New Zealand’s southernmost community, learning about its history and environment. The tour lasts for 90 minutes, after which there is another hour and a half of free time to explore.
 

Drive by coach from Invercargill to the coastal town of Bluff for your Stewart Island Signature Experience. After your exploration, return by ferry to Bluff in the late afternoon and take a coach transfer back to Invercargill for dinner.

 
Meals:  • Breakfast • Breakfast

Travel from Invercargill to Balclutha, then veer briefly southwest onto the Southern Scenic route towards the Carltins Coast. View the historic Nugget Point Lighthouse, Nugget Point was so named by Captain Cook owing to its gold-nugget-reminiscent oceanic rock formation. Then travel north to the Otago Peninsula to visit an albatross colony and enjoy spectacular views of the land and seascapes. You arrive in Dunedin in time for an afternoon tour of the local sights.

Stay:  Distinction Hotel Dunedin

Meals:  • Breakfast

Head north through stunning countryside to Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, the centrepiece of which is New Zealand's highest mountain peak. Tonight, enjoy a buffet dinner in your hotel’s Alpine Restaurant. 

Stay: Aoraki Mount Cook, Hermitage Hotel

Meals:  • Breakfast • Dinner

Today you head back to Christchurch, stopping en route to view the much-photographed Church of the Good Shepherd in Tekapo. Enjoy a city sights tour on arrival in Christchurch.



Stay:  Rydges Latimer Christchurch

Meals:  • Breakfast

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

Join the Coastal Pacific train at Christchurch Station, riding it all the way to beautiful Picton in the Marlborough Sounds region.
 

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

Take the afternoon ferry across Cook Strait to Wellington, enjoying stunning views of the Marlborough and Queens Charlotte sounds as you begin your journey.

Enjoy a rail journey along the rugged east coast to Picton. Cross Cook Strait and view the Marlborough and Queen Charlotte sounds en route to Wellington..


Stay:  InterContinental Wellington

Meals: • Breakfast  • Dinner

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

The Fell Locomotive Museum houses H199, the only locomotive of its kind remaining in the world. It was built to withstand the steep gradients on the famous Rimutaka Incline, and used an ingenious method of four grip wheels on a raised central track.
 

After a short city tour, head to the Fell Locomotive Museum for your Signature Experience, then travel onwards towards the pretty lakeside town of Taupo. En route, visit the spectacular Huka Falls.

Stay:  Millennium Hotel and Resort Manuals Taupo

Meals: • Breakfast • Dinner

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

At Taumarunui, enjoy the Forgotten World Railway experience, riding a self-drive cart rail cart along a decommissioned railway line and passing through 10 hand-dug tunnels.
 

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

Tonight, enjoy an indulgent traditional Māori feast and performance of Haka, song and storytelling at Te Pā Tū (Māori Village). Over a magical evening, you will be welcomed with a Haka pōwhiri (cultural welcome) and then treated to further captivating performances while enjoying seasonal canapes, chef selected aperitifs and a seasonal three-course dinner.

Today you leave Taupo for your first Signature Experience at Taumaranui. Then, continue on to the geothermal wonderland of Rotorua. 

Stay: Two Nights, Millenium Hotel Rotorua

Meals: • Breakfast • Dinner

FREEDOM OF CHOICE – SIGHTSEEING

Perhaps experience one of New Zealand’s best-loved attractions, the Agrodome, with its entertaining sheep shearing demonstration, dog trials and animal nursery; followed by a visit to the Te Puia Thermal Reserve. Alternatively, choose to visit Wai-O-Tapu, or experience Middle-earth during a tour of the Hobbiton Movie Set.
 

Spend this morning on your Freedom of Choice activity. The afternoon and evening are free for you to explore at your leisure.

Meals: • Breakfast 

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

Step back in time as you experience the history and charm of Glenbrook Vintage Railway.
 

Enjoy a ride on the historiceritage Glenbrook Steam train before heading to Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city.

Stay: Two Nights, Sudima Auckland City

Meals: • Breakfast 

FREEDOM OF CHOICE – SIGHTSEEING

Choose from a Ted Ashby Auckland Harbour Cruise, an All Blacks Experience, Unleashed – A Weta Workshop Experience, To Wao Nui – The Living Realm at Auckland Zoo, and a Bush and Beach Wilderness Adventure.

This morning, select your activity from our Freedom of Choice offerings. Enjoy the afternoon at leisure. Tonight, we gather at our hotel for a farewell dinner.


Meals: • Breakfast  • Dinner

After breakfast, we transfer you to Auckland Airport for your onward flight.

Meals: • Breakfast 

New Zealand Highlighter

Auckland to Christchurch

New Zealand Wonderland

Auckland to Christchurch

Essence of New Zealand

Christchurch to Auckland

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