NZ Vacation Experiences Culture Culture & History Tour
Culture and History of NZ |
From NZD $2123 per person
Day 1: AucklandKia Ora and welcome to Aotearoa, New Zealand. Alongside other countries in the world, New Zealand is relatively young, however as you’ll see over the next 12 days there so much to learn about our people and history. On arrival to Auckland International Airport collect your Budget Rental vehicle and make your way to your Auckland accommodation. Dependant on your arrival time you may wish to visit Auckland’s War Memorial Museum this afternoon or the following morning before you depart. Accommodation: The Heritage Auckland, Superior Room - Hotel Wing, 1 Night Day 2: Auckland - Omapere - Approx. 273kmThis morning enjoy cooked breakfast in your hotel restaurant. Depart the hustle of Auckland City and travel to Northland’s West Coast to Omapere, located in the Hokianga Harbour. This evening experience something quite unique in the darkness of the Forest with Footprints Waipoua/Crossings Hokianga.
Accommodation: Copthorne Hotel & Resort Hokianga, Superior Beachfront Room, 1 Night Day 3: Omapere - Paihia - Approx. 100kmThis morning enjoy cooked breakfast in your hotel restaurant. Depart Northland’s West Coast and travel to Paihia, located in the Bay of Islands. This is where it all began. Visit the historic site where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the Maori and British Crown. Other historical locations near to Paihia you may wish to visit include Russell & Kerikeri Accommodation: Copthorne Hotel & Resort Bay of Islands, Standard Garden View Room, 1 Night
Day 4: Paihia - Waikato - Approx 362km dependant on farm locationThis morning enjoy cooked breakfast in your hotel restaurant. Depart the Bay of Islands and travel to the heart of the Waikato. Well known as a Dairy Farm and Horse racing region of New Zealand. Today you will be hosted on a traditional New Zealand farm. It could be a dairy, horse racing or a sheep farm dependant on availability. Make friends with your host and even ‘muck in’ (help) with the daily chores. This evening enjoy a cooked meal with your hosts. Accommodation: Waikato Region, Superior Farmstay, 1 Night
Day 5: Waikato - Rotorua - Approx 108km dependant on farm locationBreakfast is included with your hosts this morning. If you’re on a dairy farm you may have the opportunity to assist with the morning milking. Farewell your new Kiwi family and travel to Rotorua. ROTORUA - located on a volcanic plateau, and formerly a spa town, Rotorua is most famous for its geothermal activity. Rotorua is the main place in New Zealand where aspects of Maori traditions can be seen, from wood carvings, and meeting houses, to a Hangi Dinner and Maori dances. Native and introduced tree species abound locally and combined with several picturesque lakes, Rotorua is a fascinating mix of culture and nature. Accommodation: Novotel Rotorua Lakeside, Lake View Room, 2 Nights
Day 6: RotoruaThis morning enjoy cooked breakfast in your hotel restaurant. Included today experience something very unique by visiting a living Maori Village. Whakarewarewa Thermal Village Tours Ltd – Cultural Hangi Experience Set amidst a landscape of erupting geothermal activity, hot thermal springs and hot bubbling mud pools is the Living Maori village of Whakarewarewa situated in Rotorua, the heart of the North Island. Discover our unique lifestyle and traditions. Join a guided tour and see the wonders of Mother Nature and learn how we have come to live in harmony within this unique environment. Following your tour enjoy a Hangi meal . The Hangi is cooked in the geothermal steam and hot springs. Buried Village Nobody would have believed in June 10 1886, that the serenity enjoyed by the inhabitants of Te Wairoa would be shattered by an outpouring of the Earth's fury. Few would have dreamed as the eighth wonder of the world - the fantastic Pink and White Terraces - sparkled in the moonlight, events deep in the ground were menacingly unfolding. Te Wairoa Village, in a valley above Lake Tarawera, was established by a Christian Missionary in 1848. It was abandoned during the land wars of the 1860's, then repopulated a few years later as the staging post to the Pink and White Terraces. In the gloom of the day, the wreckage of the hotels and houses, and the burial of 5000 square miles of scenic countryside brought awe and dismay to rescuers. The eruption destroyed the Terraces and buried Te Wairoa and two smaller villages under hot heavy ash and mud. More than 150 lives were lost. Accommodation: Novotel Rotorua Lakeside, Lake View Room
Day 7: Rotorua - QueenstownThis morning enjoy cooked breakfast in your hotel restaurant. Today return your vehicle to Rotorua Airport before your flight to Queenstown. (flight not included in quotation). On arrival to Queenstown Airport collect your new vehicle and travel to your accommodation. After you have checked in you may wish to visit the nearby settlement of Arrowtown…try your luck at panning for gold in the river. Accommodation: The Heritage Queenstown, Deluxe Lakeview, 2 Nights
Day 8: QueenstownThis morning enjoy cooked breakfast in your hotel restaurant. Today learn about a ‘new’ culture to New Zealand which has made its mark around the world and helped to give Queenstown the name it has today of ‘The adventure Capital of the World’. AJ Hackett Bungy – Secrets of Bungy Tour Enter the exhilarating world of Bungy without your feet leaving the ground, with the Secrets of Bungy Tour, the worlds only behind the scenes guided journey onto the phenomenon that is Bungy. See an inspiring and humorous portrayal of the antics of the Bungy pioneers. Touch and play with the Bungy Cords and learn the secrets that make AJ Hackett Bungy world class leaders in personal challenge, fun and adventure. This afternoon travel aboard the TSS Earnslaw on Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak Station. Real Journeys Relive the elegance of turn-of-the-century travel with a cruise aboard the vintage steamship TSS Earnslaw, the only coal fired passenger carrying vessel still operating in the southern hemisphere. Affectionately known as the “Lady of the Lake”, the TSS Earnslaw has a special place in the hearts of Queenstown people. She has been transporting goods to remote settlements and conveying passengers on beautiful Lake Wakatipu since 1912. What better way to view the magnificent scenery than by taking a cruise a board the TSS Earnslaw. Experience rural New Zealand as we take you on a walking tour of the farmyard. You can help feed the sheep and get close to the red deer and Scottish Highland cattle. Watch the sheep dogs in action rounding up a mob of ewes, watch a sheep being shorn and maybe try your hand at spinning wool. Then stroll through the lakeside gardens to the charming Colonel’s Homestead for a traditional high country morning or afternoon tea. Accommodation: The Heritage Queenstown, Deluxe Lakeview
Day 9: Queenstown - Dunedin - Approx. 283kmThis morning enjoy cooked breakfast in your hotel restaurant. Depart Queenstown and travel to the Southern City of Dunedin. Your first temptations of the journey take you through the vineyards of the Gibbston Valley then the orchards of Cromwell. Don’t forget a stop at Mrs Jones for your travel treats. Continue through Clyde and the Dam on to Alexandra. Follow the Clutha River to Dunedin. Dependant on your arrival time you may wish to explore the Otago Peninsula with it’s Nature activities and Larnach Castle. This afternoon visit the Speight’s Brewery for a guided tour through the working factory. For an indulgent way to finish the evening continue on to the Speight’s Ale house for a traditional pub dinner (not included)
Day 10: Dunedin - Oamaru – Approx. 119kmThis morning enjoy cooked breakfast in your hotel restaurant. Before departing Dunedin visit Olverston House to get an insight on how the wealthy lived in the early 1900’s. Olveston House Olveston is an eloquent expression of one man's dream. A tour of Olveston allows an intimate glimpse of the lifestyle of a privileged family in the early 1900's. It reflects a lifestyle enjoyed by just a few, but represents a most important piece in the mosaic of early New Zealand life as a whole. Visitors are very conscious of the family throughout the home, enjoying and experiencing the many treasures that were an integral part of the family's day-to-day life. Olveston captures this lifestyle completely. There is no more accurate or definitive example in New Zealand. The journey north is full of history. Stop in at the Palmerston museum, which is devoted to the region’s Scottish past. Leave the main road to see the Moeraki boulders before continuing to Oamaru. Oamaru has a population of around 12,000 and an impressive heritage. Many of the elegant historic buildings were made from the local sandstone. Visit the Harbour-Tyne area - the best-preserved collection of historic commercial buildings in New Zealand. You should also check out the penguin colony, the museum and the pretty public gardens. This evening be entertained by the local Storyteller. Twilight Tales The story stroll is an early evening adventure - start time....when night begins to fall! Annette Knowler is a Master Storyteller - Be prepared to be intrigued. Accommodation: Kingsgate Brydone Hotel, Standard Room, 1 night
Day 11: Oamaru - Christchurch – approx 246kmThis morning enjoy cooked breakfast in your hotel restaurant. Continue your journey North towards New Zealand’s most English influenced city, Christchurch. Stop at the rural towns of Timaru and Ashburton on your way. On arrival to Christchurch enjoy time exploring the city. You may wish to take a ride on the ram which circulates the city and takes you from one city sight to another, Punt the River Avon or visit the Christchurch Cathedral. This evening complete your visit to New Zealand with an evening at the Tamaki Heritage Village. Accommodation: The Heritage Christchurch, Deluxe Room, 1 Night
Day 12: Depart ChristchurchToday return your rental car to Christchurch Airport before your departure flight.
Price per person (includes 12.5% GST) From NZD $2123 pp
Costs include:
Costs exclude:
Subject to:
|
