Boutique New Zealand
Programme Overview
Duration: 7 days
This exclusive itinerary visits the major highlights of both the North and South Islands, ideal for smaller groups.
Highlights: Queenstown, Milford Sound, Rotorua, Auckland.
Arrive Queenstown
Upon arrival into Queenstown meet your chauffeur and transfer to your accommodation, which will be available to you immediately.
The rest of the day is at your leisure to explore the area or relax in the hotel after the flight.
Overnight: Sofitel Queenstown
Queenstown - Milford Sound - Queenstown
Compliment this morning's spectacular flight to Milford with a relaxing cruise on the Sound. Experience the stunning mountain scenery, waterfalls and unique wildlife from the comfort of a luxury vessel. Enjoy a gourmet lunch during the cruise. Your pilot will meet you after the cruise and fly you back to Queenstown with a remote snow landing en route.
Overnight: Sofitel Queenstown
Meal Plan: B,L
Queenstown
Today’s tour begins with a picturesque one hour drive to the head of Lake Wakatipu.
On arrival in Glenorchy, board a Dart River jet boat for a ride into the heart of the Southern Alps and the upper reaches of the Dart River. Experience the untouched wilderness of New Zealand’s Southern Alps, normally seen only by hikers or from the air. Enjoy the magnificent streams, lakes, native bush and wildlife in one of nature’s last remaining unspoiled frontiers.
At Beansburn enjoy a nature walk and gourmet picnic lunch before boarding an inflatable Canadian canoe (called a “funyak”) and paddle with your private guide, passing glaciers, rocky peaks, dense rain forest and crystal clear waters. Enjoy a scenic drive through native bush back to Queenstown.
Overnight: Sofitel Queenstown
Meal Plan: B,L
Queenstown - Rotorua
This morning transfer by private vehicle to the airport to fly to Rotorua.
On arrival in Rotorua, meet your chauffer and transfer to the Whakarewarewa Thermal Village for an afternoon of exclusive Maori cultural immersion. Participate in a Powhiri (Maori welcome) and Maori concert in the company of your Kaumatua (Maori Elder). Enjoy lunch with your Kaumatua, while learning about the history of the region. Find out more about the art of weaving and meet the tribe that inhabits the Whakarewarewa Thermal Village. Visit the Thermal Reserve, an area of thermal activity that has produced geysers, boiling mud and silica terraces, before transferring to your accommodation.
On arrival, you may prefer to take a walk to along one of over 70 kilometres of walking tracks on the Treetops estate. In the evening meet in the Treetops Great Room for pre-dinner drinks, followed by a gourmet dinner in the main dining room. It is also possible to arrange a private dinner for two in one of the many private dining areas at Treetops Lodge.
Overnight: Treetops Lodge & Estate
Meal Plan: B,D
Rotorua
Today is a day of exploration and adventure. Enjoy a leisurely breakfast at the main lodge before experiencing a one hour 4WD safari of the Treetops Estate – see stag, wild pigs, fallow deer and wild goats in their natural habitat.
Later enjoy more walking on one of Treetops Estate’s tracks to the Bridal Veil Falls with a deluxe luncheon picnic hamper that has been prepared for you by the head chef. A traveller's compass is also supplied.
Tonight dine in one of the many private dining areas of the lodge, or join the rest of the lodge guests in the main dining room.
Overnight: Treetops Lodge & Estate
Meal Plan: B,L,D
Rotorua - Auckland
Today meet your chauffeur in the lodge lobby and transfer by private vehicle to Auckland, a journey of approximately three hours.
On the way enjoy a private tour in Kiwi Encounter. Your tour will begin with a brief introduction in the incubation room and hatchery where you are able to see the equipment working. You will then continue to the kitchen where the artificial diet for the young kiwis is prepared and you can see a variety of food including worms and insects. Visit the nursery room filled with "brooders" - breeding units where the kiwi chicks stay in the nursery until they are approximately 400 grams when they are moved to outdoor enclosures where they grow until they are 1.2 kilograms. From here you will enter the indoor nocturnal area where kiwi enclosures are completely open with no partitions between the kiwi and visitors. Your tour concludes with a static display of Kiwi Encounter that provides a wealth of information.
Continue to Auckland to your hotel.
Overnight: Langham Hotel
Meal Plan: B
Depart Auckland
Today’s sightseeing tour of Auckland includes a scenic drive along the waterfront, the quaint Victorian village of Parnell and panoramic views from the extinct volcano Mount Eden. At the Auckland Museum see a world-renowned collection of Polynesian artifacts including a 25 metre long war canoe built in 1836.
Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before transferring to Auckland Airport to depart on your onward flight.
Meal Plan: B,L