Essence 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
- 1 UNESCO World Heritage Sites – Fiordland National Park
- Centrally located premium 3.5 hotels
Itinerary
You’ll want to arrive early to see just how Christchurch has transformed itself since the devastating 2010/11 earthquakes. The best way to do this? Aboard the city’s tram. On its Christchurch tour, the historic tram loops past important historic attractions as well as...
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 colourful Canterbury Plains: the turquoise waters of Lake Tekapo, snow-capped mountains and wildflower-strewn m...
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. Architectural drama of a different kind awaits in Dunedin. The after...
If you’ve got an odd urge to listen to twanging Slim Dusty tunes while traversing rolling green pastures en route to Gore, you’re not alone. Fun fact: this is the country music capital of New Zealand. Invercargill is obsessed with something else: motor vehicles. Tribu...
The ferry ride out to Stewart Island is wild, wide and wonderful. When you arrive, you’re welcomed by the country’s southernmost community. It’s largely untouched – 97% is national parkland – which means that endemic flora and fauna (including a menagerie of birds) th...
Queenstown is known as the adventure capital of New Zealand for good reason. If you’d like to discover why, we can point you in the direction of the world’s first bungy jump, the Shotover Jet to speed along the Shotover River, or 4WDs to explore Skippers Canyon. But t...
You clearly need more than one day to appreciate Queenstown and its surrounds. And when we say surrounds, we mean Milford Sound. Today, sign up to dive deep into this yawning gorge within World Heritage-listed Fiordland National Park – it’s within easy reach of your b...
Arrowtown 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 ben is the Alpine countryside of the Southern Lake...
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). In Māori tradition, it’s bad luck to buy this sacred stone for yourself; when you fi...
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.
The Rutherford Hotel
Sleep in or work up a sweat – today is completely at your leisure. We have a few ideas up our sleeve, of course. Lace up your hiking shoes and head off on a bushwalk, or sit back on a boat and soak up the silence of Abel Tasman National Park. This pocket in the north ...
You’ll want a window seat for the cruise from the South Island to the North Island aboard the Inter-islander. This spectacle unfolds as you glide through Queen Charlotte Sound, up the Tory Channel and across Cook Strait, navigating a maze of arms and inlets into New Z...
The best way to start a Wellington day is in one of its cafes. There are too many to count, and all are fab. You’ll need it to fuel your free day, whether that sees you catching up on Māori culture at Te Papa, the city’s mindboggling museum, or perhaps taking a Wellin...
Napier has a remarkable rebirth story. After it was flattened by an earthquake in 1931, locals rallied together to rebuild it in just two years. They did a rather remarkable job, and now the city is home to the world’s greatest concentration of Art Deco, Spanish Missi...
Lake Taupo, the largest of its kind in the country, is rather remarkable not only for its blinding blue colour, but also for the fact that it feeds thundering Huka Falls – you’ll hear them before you see them. Nature continues to rule as you arrive in Rotorua, where m...
You could spend weeks discovering Rotorua. But you have today, so seize the moment and set out to explore. Your Travel Director can point you in the direction of a kiwi nursery and hatchery. Hobbit fans will want to take advantage of the opportunity to tour the sights...
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 harbours. But today’s Auckland tour sees your sights set firm...
It’s amazing how much of two attraction-packed islands you can see in 18 days. Provided you have the right people at the helm, and like-minded company, that is.
Want a tailor-made trip instead?
Your trip, your way, planned by an expert:
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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
Karen Baker
May 2024
South Australian Outback Adventure
The guides and driver were great and friendly. The places and a...
Jane & Matthías Annisius
May 2024
Tastes of Southern Australia
The tour was well organized. The seat arrangement was very good. Accommodations were good to very good. Some days we were driving a lot but there were always good br...
Jane & Matthías Annisius
May 2024
Kangaroo Island, sheep farm , great ocean road, blue Pinguins
The service from driver/guide were very good, funny and helpful. Always up to date. Never any iffies. Hotels were good to very good. Food was good as well with over ...
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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