18 Day New Zealand Culture & Nature Tour

Your fare excludes:

Day 1 - Welcome to Christchurch

You’ll want to arrive early to see just how Christchurch has transformed itself since the devastating 2010/11 earthquakes. Meet your Travel Director and fellow travelers this evening for a Welcome Reception.

Day 2 - Christchurch - Omarama

Day two of your tour of the South Island of New Zealand sees you step out with your guide for a deeper dive into ‘The City of Gardens’ before traversing the colorful Canterbury Plains: the turquoise waters of Lake Tekapo, snow-capped mountains and wildflower-strewn meadows. It’s quite the backdrop for the stone-hewn Church of the Good Shepherd. Your Indoor Dark Sky Astronomy Experience at Tekapo, hosted by passionate guides, will forever change the way you see the night sky. You'll see for yourself it may be one of the quietest spots on the planet, yet it has one of the busiest skies in the universe.

Day 3 - Omarama - Dunedin

Easing through the Waitaki Valley, you’re en route toward New Zealand’s oldest public gardens. They lie in the pretty town of Oamaru, known for its stately tree-lined streets and limestone buildings. The architectural drama of a different kind awaits in Dunedin. While away the afternoon in atmospheric art-lined alleys or sipping a lager or two in Speights Brewery (a national institution). Or venture further afield to discover Larnach Castle, which nods to Dunedin’s Scottish link – it’s known as ‘Little Edinburgh’ for a reason. In truth, it could also be known as ‘Little Galapagos’: fur seals and penguins thrive in this part of the South Island.

Day 4 - Dunedin - Invercargill

Invercargill is obsessed with motor vehicles. Tributes to speed legends color the city. So it's only fitting that you visit Classic Motorcycle Mecca for a self-guided tour followed by a guided tour and Highlight Dinner at Transport World, exploring classic vehicles as you are transported on a nostalgic walk back in time. From Brough Superior to Burt Munro and John Britten, ride into yesteryear and discover the Southern Hemisphere’s leading classic motorcycle collection. Home to more than 300 vintage motorcycles, a visit here is a truly mind-blowing experience for enthusiasts and newbies alike. Housed in two restored historic buildings in the heart of Invercargill, the collection boasts displays of classic British, American, European, and Japanese bikes alongside tributes to motocross and speedway (including legend Ivan Mauger). It is also home to the George Begg Bunker: a tribute to a homegrown hero and a golden age in Kiwi motorsport history.

Day 5 - Stewart Island

Invercargill is the gateway to Subantarctic Stewart Island, the latest addition to New Zealand's national park portfolio with 85% of the island designated as a national park. Naturally, it’s a magnet for endemic flora and fauna, as you’ll discover on your guided Village and Bays tour. Later you have the option to join a leisurely cruise, including a picnic lunch, around Paterson Inlet that will take you past unique places including Acker’s Cottage before docking at Ulva Island to admire the bird life and native flora.

Day 6 - Invercargill - Queenstown

Today on your New Zealand tour, get a taste of country life combined with good old-fashioned southern hospitality when you meet a ‘Southern Girl’ local farmer at Real Country. Get a feel for life on the farm as you have demonstrations of Horse communication and Working sheep-dog mustering. Try your hand at a Stock whip cracking lesson, and feed and interact with the friendly farm animals. For every guest, we donate funds to The Fairlight Foundation, Advancing Women in Agriculture, a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience. Continue to Queenstown and take the afternoon at your own pace.

Day 7 - Queenstown Free Time

You need more than one day to appreciate Queenstown and its surroundings. And when we say surrounds, we mean Milford Sound. Today, sign up for an Optional Experience to dive deep into this yawning gorge within World Heritage-listed Fiordland National Park – it’s within easy reach of your base and is best explored on an optional South Island tour that sees you jumping aboard a boat to cruise the mirror-like waterway. Like things fast and furious? Feel the wind in your hair on the high-octane jet boat ride, perhaps, twisting and revving along Queenstown's Shotover River. There's a reason why Queenstown is known as the adventure capital of the country. Wine aficionado? Sip your way through the surrounding vineyards. Tours of the South Island don't get much tastier than this. There's also the option of an afternoon cruise on Lake Wakatipu aboard the historic TSS Earnslaw to Walter Peak High Country Farm for a gourmet barbecue dinner (all own expense).

Day 8 - Queenstown - Franz Josef/Waiau

Visit Arrowtown, which found its riches in gold, its residents building stately homes, now filled with boutiques and restaurants – that still line the street to this day. It’s a bit like stepping onto a movie set. Around the next bend is the Alpine countryside of the Southern Lakes, from Lake Dunstan, where you may like to buy stone fruit picked fresh from the tree to oh-so-blue Lake Hawea and lovely Lake Wanaka, with its Instagrammable shoreline of poplars and willows. Over the Haast Pass, the town of Franz Josef/Waiau at the edge of the Westland World Heritage Park, awaits. Get some perspective on an optional Franz Josef Glacier/Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere flight tour – if the weather behaves, you may even get to land on it. New Zealand tours don’t get much cooler than this.

Day 9 - Franz Josef/Waiau - Punakaiki

Wandering Hokitika’s windswept shore on the West Coast feels a bit like you’ve discovered the end of the Earth. The town’s other natural beauty is pounamu (native greenstone or jade). Prepare yourself for Punakaiki’s Pancake Rocks and blowholes; they owe their existence to the thundering surf that will lull you to sleep.

Day 10 - Punakaiki - Nelson

Sit back and relax – that’s all you have to do today as you ease along the Heritage Highway toward Nelson. Press your nose against the glass as your coach weaves through Buller Gorge – a deep canyon home to New Zealand’s longest swingbridge – and Kahurangi National Park, a place of wild rivers, high plateaus, alpine herb fields, and coastal forests.

Day 11 - Nelson Free Time

Sleep in or work up a sweat – today is completely at your leisure. We have a few ideas up our sleeve, of course. Travel to the Abel Tasman National Park for the ultimate cruise and walk combination (own expense). This pocket in the north of the island inspires calm, its golden beaches framed by sculpted granite cliffs that all unite to create one of the country’s most legendary coastal tracks. 

Day 12 - Nelson - Wellington

You’ll want a window seat for the cruise from the South Island to the North Island aboard the Interislander. Breathtaking views unfold as you glide through Queen Charlotte Sound, up the Tory Channel and across Cook Strait, navigating a maze of arms and inlets into New Zealand’s cool little capital of Wellington.

Day 13 - Wellington - Napier

Travel to Napier. Beautifully preserved 1930s architecture is Napier's special point of difference. After a massive earthquake in 1931 destroyed the commercial center of Napier, rebuilding began almost immediately in the architectural styles of the times - Striped Classical, Spanish Mission, and Art Deco. 

Day 14 - Napier

After a devastating earthquake in 1931, Napier completely rebuilt itself in just two years. The result is architectural Nirvana, a city home to the world’s greatest concentration of Art Deco, Spanish Mission, and Striped Classical buildings. This morning get the lowdown from your in-the-know local guide on a Napier tour. Your afternoon is at leisure.

Day 15 - Napier - Rotorua

The road ahead unfolds in a broad panorama of Lake Taupo, the largest (and perhaps bluest) of its kind in the country – it feeds thundering Huka Falls, which you’ll hear well before you see. It’s a landscape almost as otherworldly as Rotorua, where mud pops and jettisons from bubbling geysers, and steam rushes skywards from cracks in the Earth. This afternoon, explore Te Puia's geothermal valley and learn about Maori history & culture. Take a guided tour of the Maori Arts & Crafts Institute, and later enjoy a Highlight Dinner of hangi-inspired cuisine and a cultural performance in a finely carved meeting house, Te Aronui a Rua. It ends on a high at the Pohutu Geyser, where, armed with a hot chocolate you'll view one of New Zealand's geothermal wonderland.

Day 16 - Rotorua Free Time

You could spend weeks discovering Rotorua. But you have today, so seize the moment and set out to explore. Hobbit fans will want to take advantage of the opportunity to tour the Hobbiton Movie Set featured in The Lord of the Rings & Hobbit movies. Want a bit of downtime? Bliss out at Wai Araki Hotel Springs & Spa. Arguably the best way to understand just how otherworldly your destination is is from the air. Ask us about a scenic flight (all own expense).

Day 17 - Rotorua - Auckland

From New Zealand’s longest waterway, the Waikato River, to its largest city: welcome to Auckland, the ‘City of Sails’. You’ll understand how it got its moniker when you glimpse yachts gliding around its two harbors. But today’s Auckland tour sees your sights set firmly on New Zealand's national game: rugby. The interactive All Blacks Experience explores an introduction to the game as a part of New Zealand culture and ends with a traditional haka with you front and center.

Day 18 - Farewell from Auckland

It’s amazing how many two attraction-packed islands you can see in 18 days. Provided you have the right people at the helm and a like-minded company, that is.

Departing 30 Jan 2025

• From $9,880 $8,892 per person twin share*
• From $14,184 $11,538 per person sole traveler*

Departing 20 Feb 2025

• From $10,180 $9,162 per person twin share*
• From $14,616 $11,889 per person sole traveler*

Departing 2 Oct 2025 / 27 Nov 2025 / 29 Jan 2026

• From $10,485 $8,912 per person twin share*
• From $14,260 $11,586 per person sole traveler*

Departing 19 Feb 2026 / 19 Mar 2026

• From $10,799 $9,179 per person twin share*
• From $14,687 $11,933 per person sole traveler*

Departing 1 Oct 2026 / 26 Nov 2026 / 28 Jan 2027

• From $11,010 per person twin share*
• From $14,315 per person sole traveler*

Departing 18 Feb 2027 / 18 Mar 2027

• From $11,325 per person twin share*
• From $14,724 per person sole traveler*

Call our team today to find out more on 1300 414 198. O​ur team can also assist with booking International flights and accommodation as part of your overall travel plans.

Please note: Exact itineraries may vary slightly depending on the departure date. Your full itinerary will be shown on your confirmation invoice.

• Wyndham Garden
• Distinction Heritage Gateway Hotel
• Dunedin Leisure Lodge
• Kelvin Hotel
• Copthorne Hotel and Resort Queenstown
• Scenic Hotel Franz Josef Glacier
• Scenic Hotel Punakaiki
• The Rutherford Hotel
• Travelodge Wellington
• Scenic Hotel Te Pania
• Sudima Lake Rotorua
• Holiday Inn Express Auckland City Centre

What to bring

• Sunglasses, sunscreen, and hat
• Water bottle
• Warm layers in cooler months
• Camera
• Comfortable walking shoes