Day by day
Day 1
Arrive in Auckland
We meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel. If you have the energy, an easy afternoon on the waterfront, or the view over the city from Maungawhau / Mount Eden.
Day 2
Auckland to Rotorua, by Hobbiton
About two hours south to the Hobbiton Movie Set near Matamata for the guided tour. Then about an hour on to Rotorua, with an evening soak in a hot pool.
Day 3
Rotorua
Geysers and boiling mud at Te Puia or Wai-O-Tapu, a walk under the tall redwoods of Whakarewarewa Forest, and an evening of Māori culture with a hāngī dinner.
Day 4
Fly to Queenstown
A flight south to Queenstown, usually with a change in Auckland or Christchurch. In the afternoon, the gondola up Bob's Peak for the view over Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables.
Day 5
Milford Sound
A full day in Fiordland: about four hours' drive each way through Te Anau and the Homer Tunnel, with stops along the road, and a cruise on the sound out to the Tasman Sea. A scenic flight is another way in, weather permitting.
Day 6
Queenstown to Wanaka
Morning in the old gold-mining town of Arrowtown, then over the Crown Range road to Wanaka, about an hour and a quarter from Queenstown. Afternoon by the lake.
Day 7
Wanaka to Aoraki/Mount Cook
About two and a half hours over the Lindis Pass to Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. An afternoon walk towards the glaciers and New Zealand's highest mountain.
Day 8
Aoraki/Mount Cook to Tekapo
About an hour and a half to Lake Tekapo: the Church of the Good Shepherd, the turquoise lake, the hot pools, and the night sky of the Aoraki Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve.
Day 9
Tekapo to Christchurch
About three hours across the Mackenzie Basin and the Canterbury Plains. Afternoon in Christchurch: the Botanic Gardens and a walk by the Avon River.
Day 10
Fly home from Christchurch
A free morning, then the airport for your flight.
