Spirit of New Zealand
Overview
What's this trip about?
Details
Travel Themes
Destinations
Activities
Trip includes
- • Specialist team of two highly experienced Travel Director and Driver Guide • Comfortable accommodation with easy access to city centres • National Park entrance fees
Itinerary
Community spirit is strong in Christchurch, as you’ll discover exploring its streets at your leisure. We recommend jumping on the tram to tour Christchurch and discover how the city has rebuilt itself since the 2010/11 earthquakes. Meet your Travel Director and fellow travellers this evening for a Welcome Reception.
Wyndham Garden
More of Christchurch is revealed before the colours of the Canterbury Plains spread before you: the turquoise waters of Lake Tekapo, snowcapped mountains and atmospheric towns. Your Indoor Dark Sky Astronomy Experience at Tekapo, hosted by passionate guides, will fore...
Architectural drama awaits in Dunedin. While away the afternoon in atmospheric art-lined alleys or sipping a lager or two in Speight’s Brewery (a national institution). Or venture further afield to discover Larnach Castle, fur seals and penguins.
Dunedin Leisure Lodge
Rolling green pastures dotted with wide-eyed sheep are your backdrop to Gore, the country music capital of New Zealand. Invercargill is obsessed with something else: motor vehicles. Tributes to speed legends colour the city. So it's only fitting that you visit Classic Motorcycle Mecca for a tour and Highlight Dinner.
Kelvin Hotel
Wild, wide and wonderful, Stewart Island’s rugged coastline cuts a dramatic form in the Southern Ocean. It’s largely untouched, which means that endemic flora and fauna thrive. But don’t take our word for it. Meet the locals on a tour through the Village and Bays.
Kelvin Hotel
The Real Country Farm Show, a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, offers an authentic taste of what rural New Zealand is like. For every guest, we donate funds to The Fairlight Foundation, Advancing Women in Agriculture. Continue to Queenstown and take the afternoon at your own pace.
Copthorne Hotel and Resort
A spot of bungy jumping at the place it was born? Or an epic journey through Fiordland National Park to Milford Sound/Piopiotahi, carved by waterfalls and a playground for dolphins and seals? There’s a reason why this part of the island has World Heritage status. You choose today’s path.
Copthorne Hotel and Resort
Around the next bend is the Alpine countryside of the Southern Lakes. Over the Haast Pass, the pretty town of Franz Josef/Waiau, at the edge of Westland World Heritage Park, awaits.
Scenic Hotel Franz Josef Glacier
Wander Hokitika’s windswept coast before discovering the town’s other beauty: 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.
Scenic Hotel Punakaiki
Ease along the Heritage Highway toward Nelson. Press your nose against the glass as your coach weaves through Buller Gorge and Kahurangi National Park.
The Rutherford Hotel
Lace up your hiking shoes and head off on a bushwalk, or cruise through Abel Tasman National Park. This pocket in the north of the island inspires calm, its golden beaches framed by sculpted granite cliffs.
The Rutherford Hotel
All aboard the Interislander for a cruise through Queen Charlotte Sound to Wellington.
Travelodge Wellington
Your city sights tour will end at Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand. After the opportunity to visit, travel to the Art Deco mecca, Napier.
Scenic Hotel Te Pania
Experience The Daily Deco Tour for an insight into how Napier City became the Art Deco capital of the world. This comprehensive tour takes you on an historic timeline, sharing stories and showcasing the transformation and how Napier City and its people were resilient ...
This evening, explore Te Puia's geothermal valley, and learn about Maori history and culture on this guided experience, including a 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 ...
Today is one of decisions. Bliss out at Wai Araki Hot Springs & Spa; visit the Hobbiton movie set; or board a scenic flight for a bird’s-eye view.
Sudima Lake Rotorua
Today your sights are firmly set on Auckland's main love: rugby. The interactive All Blacks Experience explores an introduction to the game as a part of New Zealand culture.
Holiday Inn Express Auckland City Centre
The Bay of Islands is undeniably beautiful, but it also holds a special historical secret: this is where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840. Your guide, perhaps a descendent of one of the original signatories, will explain the significance.
Copthorne Hotel and Resort
Trip the light fantastic and head off in whatever direction you please. Perhaps travel up to Cape Reinga/Te Rerenga Wairua via idyllic Ninety Mile Beach. Or glide around on an historic tall ship, cruise to the Hole in the Rock or join a tour of Russell.
Copthorne Hotel and Resort
For a little more northern exposure, make your way to Whangarei, the island’s most northerly outpost and a place where waterfalls meet beaches, galleries meet museums. Explore at your leisure before the commute back to Auckland for your Farewell Dinner.
Holiday Inn Express Auckland City Centre
Over three weeks, we hope you’ve packed your address book with the names of new friends and your camera with photos. But at the end of the day, it’s the memories that will fuel your flight home.
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Dates & Availability
Check Current Availability, prices, specials with AAT Kings.
The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.
Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.
AAT Kings Reviews & Ratings
Other AAT Kings Reviews
Trusted Customer
Jun 2024
South Western Escape
Great accommodation, food and touring experiences.
Trusted Customer
Jun 2024
Wave Rock, Cape Leeuwin, Busselton Jetty.
Excellent commentaries all the way.
Tour Operator
A century ago, the Australian outback was but a twinkle in most travelers’ eyes. But thanks to visionaries like the Pyke family and Bill King, the way we explore the Land Down Under was about to change in unimaginable ways. Over the coming decades, maps were unfolded, desert cruisers and coaches were customized, and guides were trained. From humble beginnings, the company now known as AAT Kings was going places few had gone before, pioneering new paths across Australia and New Zealand and taking intrepid travelers on a wild and wonderful ride. We’ve come a long way and clocked a few kilometers in the process. But some things will never change. Like our spirit for adventure. Our oh-so-knowledgeable Travel Directors. The local characters we meet (and will never forget) along the way. The epic, goosebump-inducing stories we’re told by First Nations guides. The life-changing experiences on offer – the kind that only 100 years of exploring affords. We’ve never been more passionate about our next discovery. Join us and fall in love with Australia and New Zealand all over again. #aatkings
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