Kauri 23 Day Auckland to Christchurch Coach Tour

Welcome to New Zealand!

Meet your transfer to M Social on the waterfront. The afternoon and evening are free, so you can walk along the harbour, find somewhere to eat or rest after your flight. No organised sightseeing is scheduled for today.

Cross Auckland Harbour Bridge and head north to A H Reed Memorial Park. An elevated canopy walkway takes you through a surviving kauri forest. Continue to Whangārei Falls before reaching the Bay of Islands. At Waitangi Treaty Grounds, learn about the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840 and visit the meeting house, museum and waka. A ferry takes you to Russell for a two-night stay.

Choose one of two excursions today.

Included choice A: Cape Reinga and Ninety Mile Beach. Travel by ferry from Russell to Paihia to join the GreatSights coach. The route visits Cape Reinga’s lighthouse and Ninety Mile Beach, with an opportunity to try sandboarding. Your guide explains the region’s Māori connections and history. Depart Russell at 7 am and return at approximately 7 pm. This excursion is shared with other passengers.

Included choice B: Hole in the Rock cruise and Russell tour. Cruise by catamaran along Cape Brett Peninsula, passing the lighthouse and Hole in the Rock. Passage through the opening and into Grand Cathedral Cave is weather dependent. Stop at Otehei Bay on Urupukapuka Island, with time to walk, swim or buy lunch. Return to Russell for a guided tour of historic buildings and Flagstaff Hill.

Return south to Auckland for sightseeing around Bastion Point, Parnell, the waterfront bays and Viaduct Harbour. A guided Auckland Museum visit introduces collections and stories from Māori and other Pacific cultures. Tonight’s accommodation returns you to M Social before the tour continues to the Coromandel Peninsula.

Cross the Hauraki Plains to Thames and follow the western side of the Coromandel Peninsula. At Driving Creek, ride a narrow-gauge railway through native bush, climbing approximately 120 metres to the EyeFull Tower lookout. Continue across the peninsula to Whitianga on Mercury Bay, your base for the next two nights.

Visit Hot Water Beach, where geothermal water rises through the sand. When the tide allows, there is an opportunity to dig a warm-water pool. Continue to the Cathedral Cove walking track and return by the same route after time at the beach. The day also visits Cooks Beach. From there, you can choose a short ferry back to Whitianga with a walk to your accommodation, or a return with your driver.

Follow the Pacific Coast Highway through Waihī and Mount Maunganui before turning inland. Stop for a bushwalk with lookouts over Okere Falls, then continue to Rotorua. At Te Puia, visit the geothermal valley and learn about Māori arts, crafts and kiwi conservation. The two-night Rotorua stay allows a further excursion choice and cultural evening tomorrow.

Choose one daytime excursion, followed by an included Māori cultural evening.

Included choice A: Waimangu Volcanic Valley and Lake Rotomahana. Walk through a valley shaped by the 1886 Mount Tarawera eruption, passing geothermal craters and steaming lakes. A Lake Rotomahana cruise visits the area associated with the former Pink and White Terraces and explains its history. Read more about the Waimangu walk and Lake Rotomahana cruise.

Included choice B: Hobbiton Movie Set. Join a Hobbiton guide to explore the film set used for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. The visit includes Bagshot Row and a detailed Hobbit Hole interior, alongside locations such as the Green Dragon Inn and Mill. Other visitors join this tour.

In the evening, attend Te Pā Tū at Tamaki Māori Village. The experience combines song, cultural traditions and seasonal food, with menus and themes reflecting the maramataka, the Māori lunar calendar. Return hotel transfers are included and shared with other travellers.

Visit Huka Falls and Lake Taupō before continuing to Napier. A local guide leads a walking tour of the city’s Art Deco buildings, explaining how Napier was rebuilt after the 1931 earthquake. This evening, dine at Mission Estate, where the restaurant occupies restored seminary buildings overlooking the surrounding area.

Travel south through Hawke’s Bay and Wairarapa, stopping in Greytown with time to look around its cafés, shops and timber buildings. There is time to buy lunch during the Greytown stop. In Wellington, view Parliament and the Beehive, take the Cable Car from Kelburn into the city and visit Te Papa to explore New Zealand’s land, people and wildlife.

Board the ferry for Cook Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound, arriving in Picton on the South Island. Continue to Blenheim in the Marlborough wine region for a winery tasting. The coach then heads west to Nelson, where you stay for two nights before tomorrow’s Abel Tasman cruise.

Take a morning cruise along Abel Tasman National Park’s coastline. The route takes in Split Apple Rock and the bays and beaches around Anchorage, Bark Bay, Tonga Quarry, Awaroa and Tōtaranui, with opportunities to look for New Zealand fur seals. Return to Nelson for an orientation tour, followed by free time to explore the city independently.

Travel through Rai Valley and the Marlborough vineyards, then follow the coast south to Kaikōura. Here, choose one of two ways to view the marine environment.

Included choice A: Whale Watch cruise. Board a purpose-built catamaran for an approximately two-hour cruise. The excursion looks for sperm whales, with the possibility of seeing dolphins, seals and seabirds.

Included choice B: Wings over Whales. Take a 30-minute fixed-wing flight, viewing the coastline, mountains and ocean from above while looking for whales and dolphins. Wildlife sightings cannot be promised, and the booked excursion remains subject to operating conditions.

Follow the coastline south before turning inland through the Hundalee Ranges and North Canterbury farmland. In Christchurch, board a flat-bottomed punt for a guided trip along the Avon River through the Botanic Gardens. A heritage tram ride then provides another view of the central city’s streets and buildings.

Board the TranzAlpine in Christchurch and travel across the Canterbury Plains, beside the Waimakariri River and into the Southern Alps. Leave the train at Arthur’s Pass and rejoin your coach for the West Coast. Stop in Hokitika, known for galleries working with pounamu, then continue through forests and farmland via Franz Josef to Fox Glacier village.

Begin with a walk at Lake Matheson, where calm conditions can produce reflections of Aoraki/Mount Cook and the surrounding peaks. Continue south and inland over Haast Pass, following the river through Mount Aspiring National Park. Arrive beside Lake Wānaka for a two-night stay, with an excursion choice arranged for tomorrow morning.

Choose one morning excursion, with the afternoon free.

Included choice A: Lake cruise and Mou Waho Island nature walk. Cruise across Lake Wānaka with an eco-guide, then follow a 3 km return track to the island’s lake. The track climbs steadily and is uneven in places. Hiking poles are provided, and the guide sets a group pace with breaks. From the lake, you can continue to the summit viewpoint or remain by the water. The visit includes planting a native tree.

Included choice B: High-country off-road tour. Travel remote farm roads above Lake Wānaka by 4WD. The route introduces high-country farming, local history and animals such as deer, cattle and sheep. Two optional walks provide opportunities to explore alpine meadows and lakeside forest. The walks are options within this included excursion, not separate paid activities.

Stop at Cardrona Pub before crossing the Crown Range to Arrowtown. After time in the former gold-mining town, continue beside Lake Wakatipu and south to Te Anau. The included jet-boat excursion travels from the Te Anau lakefront along the Waiau River towards Lake Manapouri. A visit to a working support farm includes meeting a local farmer and seeing sheep-shearing and dog-mustering demonstrations around a restored woolshed.

Travel through the Eglinton Valley and Homer Tunnel to Milford Sound. Board your cruise to travel past Mitre Peak towards the Tasman Sea, looking for seals and dolphins along the fiord. A picnic lunch is included. Return along the Milford Road to Te Anau, then continue across Southland and beside Lake Wakatipu to Queenstown.

Today has no scheduled included excursion. Spend time around the lake and town, or arrange an activity from the suggestions below.

Suggested activities, not included: ziplining at Bob’s Peak, a Shotover jet-boat ride, white-water rafting, the gondola, a 4WD safari to Skippers Canyon, winery or garden visits, or a TSS Earnslaw cruise to Walter Peak High Country Farm.

Travel through Kawarau Gorge, past Lake Dunstan and over Lindis Pass into the Mackenzie Basin. Follow Lake Pukaki to Aoraki/Mount Cook Village before continuing to Twizel for the night. Spend time in the village beneath New Zealand’s highest peak before returning along the lake and continuing to your accommodation.

Visit a local home on Lake Tekapo’s shore to learn how pavlova is made, then enjoy it with morning tea. View the Church of the Good Shepherd before crossing the Mackenzie high country and travelling through Fairlie, Geraldine and Ashburton to Christchurch. In the evening, join your group for a farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

After breakfast, transfer to Christchurch Airport for your onward flight. If you would like to remain in New Zealand, ask us about additional travel arrangements. Extra accommodation or touring would be arranged separately from the scheduled 23-day itinerary.