New Zealand Marvel

There are plenty of reasons to arrive in New Zealand’s ‘Garden City’ early, among them the astonishing transformation that has reinvigorated streets since the devastating 2010/11 earthquakes. Meet your Travel Director and travelling companions at a Welcome Reception tonight.

Jump aboard the TranzAlpine train bound for Christchurch, with panoramic views of snow-capped peaks, gorges and river valleys. Visit the small town of Hokitika, the heritage and cultural centre of the West Coast well-known for its jade. Around the corner is the town of Franz Josef, gateway to Franz Josef Glacier/Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere. Get some perspective on an optional flight.

Over the Haast Pass, alpine scenery of the Southern Lakes spreads before you. First up there’s lovely Lake Wanaka, with its Instagrammable shoreline of poplars and willows. Then Lake Hawea – the colour of an Ice Mint – and Lake Dunstan, where you’ll pause to refuel on flavour-packed stone fruits. As tempting as it is to linger in Arrowtown’s movie-set-like streets, Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables await in Queenstown.

Today, choose your own adventure – there are plenty to be had. Feel the wind in your hair on the high-octane jet boat ride, perhaps. Or discover some of New Zealand’s feathered friends at a wildlife centre. Wine aficionado? Sip your way through surrounding vineyards. Wherever you wander, make sure you’re back in time to glide across Lake Wakatipu aboard the historic TSS Earnslaw to Walter Peak High Country Farm for a gourmet barbecue dinner and a little late-night dancing.

Your route from the Mirror Lakes through the Cleddau Valley is the entrée to Milford Sound/Piopiotahi, a cavernous wonderland where waterfalls thunder from ancient escarpments into inky water where dolphins play. You’ll likely spot them on your Milford Sound/Piopiotahi cruise. It’s all part of World Heritage listed Fiordland National Park, an intoxicating union of beech forests, alluvial flats, meadows and gin-clear rivers, carving up the countryside. This is your backdrop all the way to Te Anau.

Swap the forested slopes of Fiordland for the rolling green hills of the Edinburgh of the South. Welcome to Dunedin, a beguiling union of both Māori and Scottish heritage. 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 the wildlife that thrives in this pretty pocket of the country – fur seals and penguins, anyone?

If you didn’t get a taste for Dunedin’s Scottish heritage yesterday, you surely will today. Explore grand Larnach Castle at your leisure – this is, after all, the only one of its kind in the country – then wander the manicured grounds of Otago University or the city’s main George Street for an additional reminder of the city’s ties to Europe. If you’ve ever wanted to see New Zealand’s oldest public gardens, today you’re in luck with a visit to Oamaru, known for its stately tree-lined streets and limestone buildings.

Your outlook this morning is the Canterbury Plains. Your Indoor Dark Sky Astronomy Experience at Tekapo, hosted by passionate guides, will forever change the way you see the night sky. You'll see for yourself it may be one of the quietest spots on the planet, yet it has one of the busiest skies in the universe. Back on earth, it’s time to become reacquainted with Christchurch, your in-the-know guide pointing out the city’s miraculous transformation.

Forget powdery white sand – once you’ve seen the dramatic black Kaikoura cove, you’ll be spoilt for all future beach-bashing. Bonus points if you spot a sea lion or sperm whale frolicking offshore; a sighting is practically guaranteed if you opt for an aerial tour over the coastline. Your onward route skirts the pink-tinged crystallisation ponds of the Lake Grassmere Salt Works, before arriving in the pretty seaside fishing village of Picton.

Cruising through Queen Charlotte Sound, up the Tory Channel and across Cook Strait is a journey as scenic as it is serene. Today’s chariot, the Interislander, transports you from the South Island to the North, navigating a maze of arms and inlets into Wellington. Bring your stamina to explore Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand. Ask your Travel Director for tips on where to sip wine and coffee tonight – this city is known for its uber-cool cafés, restaurants and bars.

The road ahead unfolds in a broad panorama of Lake Taupo, the largest of its kind in the country. It’s a landscape almost as otherworldly as Rotorua, where mud pops and jettisons from bubbling geysers, and steam rushes skywards from cracks in the Earth. This evening, explore Te Puia’s geothermal valley, and learn about Māori history and culture on this guided experience, which includes 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 Pohutu Geyser, where, armed with a hot chocolate you’ll view one of New Zealand’s geothermal wonderlands.

Sometimes, the best adventures are those that you have when you least expect them. Like wandering into Rotorua’s Polynesian Spa and falling into a few hours of bliss while soaking in steamy thermal springs. And then there’s Hobbiton. These beautiful landscapes are not only a bucket list tour for Hobbit fans, but a gorgeous countryside getaway.

Before you reach your final destination, get set to glow through the Waitomo Caves. While cruising cavernous limestone waterways, your route is cast in a magical light by thousands of glowworms. Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, appears on the horizon, dazzling with not one, but two harbours.

The ‘City of Sails’ flutters as if waving goodbye as you make your way home.