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Day 1: Arrive Auckland
You will be met and
transferred to your hotel. Overnight: Auckland, Crowne Plaza Hotel for 2
nights
Day 2: Auckland, Personalized Sights
Morning at leisure.
This afternoon, you choose the activity and we’ll include it. Enjoy a
city highlights tour, climb Auckland Harbor Bridge, perhaps visit the
Maritime Museum or Auckland Museum—the choice is yours.
(B,D)
Day 3: Auckland—Rotorua
Travel south to the
Waitomo Caves for a guided tour of the limestone caverns and Glow Worm
grotto. Journey to Rotorua. Tonight enjoy a Maori Hangi (feast) and
cultural performance. Overnight: Rotorua, Millennium Rotorua for 2
nights (B,D)
Day 4: Rotorua, Personalized Sights
Today you choose the
experience and we will include it. Visit Te Puia Thermal Reserve and the
Maori Arts & Crafts Institute, or the Agrodome Sheep Show. Enjoy a bush
safari, play golf or visit Rotorua’s Museum. (B,D)
Country homestay
option available tonight. 
Journey south to view the spectacular Huka
Falls and cross the vast volcanic plateau of World Heritage Tongariro
National Park. Continue to Wellington. Overnight: Wellington, Hotel
InterContinental (B,D)
Day 6: Wellington—Nelson
Today our Inter-island
cruise takes us across Cook Strait to the South Island. Sail from
Wellington Harbor into the Marlborough Sounds. See magnificent scenery
in Queen Charlotte Sound before arriving in Picton, gateway to the South
Island. This afternoon journey through the orchard and vineyard region
of Marlborough to Nelson. Remainder of day is at leisure. Overnight:
Nelson, The Rutherford Hotel (B,D)
Day 7: Nelson—Franz Josef
Follow the Heritage
Highway through the Buller Gorge to the rugged West Coast. View the
“Pancake” rocks and blowholes at Punakaiki. Stop at Hokitika for views
of Mt Cook and the spectacular Southern Alps. Continue along the
dramatic coast to World Heritagelisted Westland National Park and view
the magnificent glaciers. Enjoy a scenic flight over this breathtaking
area (own expense, weather permitting). Overnight: Franz Josef, Franz
Josef Glacier Hotel (B,D)
Day 8: Franz Josef —Wanaka
We cross the
magnificent Southern Alps and leave the rugged beauty of the West Coast
behind. Enter the Southern Lakes district and journey to Wanaka.
Overnight: Wanaka, Edgewater Resort (B,D)
Day 9: Wanaka—Queenstown
Depart Wanaka and
journey to the delightful village of Arrowtown, an old gold rush
settlement and head to Queenstown. Tonight, explore the city with our
Dine Around Dinner™. Ride a gondola to Skyline Restaurant for dinner and
stunning views, or cruise on the T.S.S. Earnslaw Steamboat across Lake
Wakatipu to Walter Peak Sheep Station for dinner. Or dine at a local
restaurant—the choice is yours! Overnight: Queenstown, Sofitel Hotel
Queenstown for 2 nights (B,D)
Day 10: Queenstown, Personalized Sights
Today you choose the
activity and we’ll include it. Perhaps take a double-decker bus tour, a
guided tour of local wineries, an exhilarating jetboat ride or a garden
tour. (B,D)
Day 11: Queenstown—Te Anau
This morning travel
through Fiordland National Park where lush rainforests meet snow-capped
mountains. On arrival into Milford, cruise the full length of this
beautiful fiord. This afternoon enjoy a relaxing drive, returning
through Eglinton Valley and Homer Tunnel to the pretty lakeside
settlement of Te Anau. Overnight: Te Anau, Te Anau Hotel and Villas
(B,D)
Day 12: Te Anau—Dunedin, Personalized Sights
Journey via beautiful
Lake Manapouri to the southern most coast of New Zealand. Continue to
Dunedin, the “Edinburgh of the South.” This afternoon you choose the
activity and we will include it. Visit the Speights Brewery & Heritage
Center, head to the Otago Peninsula to see the Royal Albatross Colony,
stop to visit the rare Yellow-Eyed Penguins, or tour Larnach Castle.
Overnight: Dunedin, Southern Cross Hotel (B,D)
Day 13: Dunedin—Mt Cook, Personalized Sights
Stop to view the
fascinating Moeraki Beach boulders. Visit Oamaru, a town renowned for
its distinctive limestone architecture, then continue to Mt Cook
National Park. On arrival the activity choice is yours – perhaps a
guided nature walk, explore the Sir Edmund Hillary Center or stargazing.
Overnight: Mt Cook, The Hermitage (B,D)
Day 14: Mt Cook—Christchurch
This morning visit
glacial Lake Tekapo. View the tiny Church of the Good Shepherd. You may
choose to take the scenic TranzAlpine Train through the Rakaia Gorge to
Christchurch. The rest of the day is at leisure. Overnight:
Christchurch, Crowne Plaza Hotel (B,D)
Day 15: Personalized Sights, Depart Christchurch
This morning choose
your Christchurch activity before transferring to the airport for your
onward flight. (B)
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Price Includes