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7-Nights The Southern Drift from $5,355

Luxury Gold

OFFER ID 1504612

The Endless Shores
Fall in love with New Zealand on this seven-day guided tour. See Wellington your way, choosing between an insider’s tour of the city with a Local Expert or a guided hike through Zealandia - the world’s first fully fenced urban ecosanctuary. Travel past the dairy country of Manawatu to Hawke’s Bay, where you'll enjoy an exclusive wine tasting at one of the country’s world-renowned wineries. In Rotorua, walk the Redwoods Treewalk - a maze of forested suspension bridges - and visit a working kiwi nursery and hatchery to learn more about the iconic flightless bird. Savour a flavourful Maori hangi feast, made from food cooked in the ground using geothermal steam. Descend into the Waitomo Cave to see glow-worms illuminate the caverns, then toast your trip with a celebration dinner in Auckland.


Dining Summary

  • 7 Breakfast (B)
  • 4 Dinner (D)
  • 1 Lunch (L)
Choice Highlights
  • Choose between two carefully selected activities
  • Wellington: Discover the stunning waterfront and the hidden laneways in the bohemian area of the heritage Cuba Street precinct. Once dimly lit back alleys, these newly rejuvenated laneways are now home to some of the country’s funkiest bars, boutiques, and breweries. Admire panoramic views of the city from the Wellington cable car.
  • Wellington: Zealandia is the world’s first fully-fenced urban ecosanctuary, with an extraordinary vision to restore a Wellington valley’s forest and freshwater ecosystems as closely as possible to their pre-human state. The 500+ acre ecosanctuary is a groundbreaking conservation project that has reintroduced 18 species of native wildlife back into the area. Take a 2-hour walking tour with a passionate expert guide.
Additional Included Highlights
  • Enjoy seamless personal assistance throughout your journey. From securing exclusive reservations, to organising transportation, your Travel Concierge ensures every aspect of your travel is tailored to your tastes and preferences.
  • In select destinations, our network of Local Expert Guides will illuminate your journey on a deeper level.
  • Included at all hotels.
  • Hotel taxes, porterage and tips, as well as tips for included dining experiences, are included.
  • Enjoy breakfast every morning, and an array of incredible dining options throughout your journey, infused with discovery and adventure.
  • On days where a Relaxed Start (RS) is indicated, you can select to indulge in breakfast in bed.
  • Enjoy complimentary hotel Wi-Fi. And, on select coaches, onboard Wi-Fi may also be available.
  • Transfers are included on your journey start and end dates, and where additional accommodation has been booked in advance through Luxury Gold. Transfers to train stations or alternate hotels, in the same start or end city as the itinerary, may be requested.
Exceptional Dining
  • Wellington: Feel the warm hospitality of New Zealand's capital city, as you join your travel companions for a delicious Welcome Dinner hosted at Lola Rouge.
  • Hawke's Bay: Indulge in wine tasting and an intimate dinner at the award-winning restaurant of Craggy Range Winery. Feast on local produce as you sit in the shade of Te Mata Peak and drink wines from one of the region’s world-famous vineyards.
  • Rotorua: Tonight, visit Te Pa Tu Maori Experience. Tu Te Ra is a celebration of the abundant harvest of this season, and explores concepts, rituals, and stories of ancient Maori warfare and peace in a feast of culture and cuisine. Enjoy a forest kai horotai (seasonal canapés), complimentary chef choice aperitif, and a seasonal three-course dinner.
  • Auckland: The Trivet dining experience draws inspiration from Aotearoa’s rich cultural tapestry, blending global culinary traditions and techniques with the finest locally sourced ingredients. Enjoy the sharing-style Auckland cuisine, where every dish tells a story and creates a sense of connection.
Magnificent Stays
  • Hawke's Bay: Porters Boutique Hotel is a privately owned, boutique hotel that delivers a luxurious experience. Elegantly appointed guest rooms are fitted with plush, classic furnishings and local artwork, all moments away from the charming village of Havelock North.
MAKE TRAVEL MATTER
  • Napier: Journey from coast to cape in Hawke’s Bay for a rare, close encounter with the world’s largest mainland gannet colony. Take in sweeping coastal views as you witness these magnificent birds up close. As part of this MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, a donation is made on your behalf to support conservation at Cape Sanctuary. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land.
  • Rotorua: Enjoy a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience on a guided cultural walk through Whirinaki Native Forest. Begin with a traditional Maori welcome before venturing into pristine Whirinaki Forest, discovering ancient trees, waterfalls, native birds, and rich cultural stories. Guided by proud locals, you’ll enjoy forest bathing, a packed picnic lunch, and Kawakawa tea. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.
  • Rotorua: Meet the kiwi at National Kiwi Hatchery Aotearoa as you are invited to step behind-the-scenes at a working nursery and hatchery for New Zealand’s intriguing national bird. This MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience helps to fund the Hatchery and directly contribute to kiwi conservation. The hatchery has grown to become the largest and most successful kiwi hatching facility in the world, successfully incubating and hatching brown kiwi eggs, helping the North Island population considerably. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land.
Passport Moments
  • Napier: Enjoy a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Exper


7 nights from $5,355 per person

Itinerary
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Itinerary Details

Luxury Gold: The Endless Shores

Day 1 - Welcome to Wellington
On arrival at Wellington International Airport you'll be driven by complimentary transfer to your hotel. Spend some time at leisure to relax or explore on your own. This evening, meet your Travel Concierge and get to know your fellow travellers over dinner.
Accommodations: Naumi Hotel Wellington
Meals: Dinner

Day 2 - Wellington Sightseeing
Today personalise your day. Choose from the the urban eco-sanctuary of Zealandia/Te Mara a Tane or discover the stunning waterfront and hidden lanes of Wellington with a local expert.
Accommodations: Naumi Hotel Wellington
Meals: Breakfast

Day 3 - Wellington to Hawke's Bay
Wind your way through the pastoral dairy farming land of Manawatu to Napier in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand’s Art Deco capital and world-renowned wine country. This evening savour a tasting and dinner at family-owned Craggy Range Winery in the shadow of Te Mata Peak. Sample the region’s premium wines Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir while dining on Head Chef Casey McDonald’s signature seasonal Hawke’s Bay produce from their award-winning restaurant. After a sumptuous evening, relax in your plush room decorated with original local artwork in your boutique hotel in charming Havelock North Village.
Accommodations: Porters Boutique Hotel, Hawke's Bay.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 4 - Exploring Napier
Partake in a Gannet safari for a rare encounter with the world's largest gannet colony. Your participation on Gannet Overland Safaris contributes to our MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® initiative: TTC makes a donation on behalf of each guest to the Cape Sanctuary. Their amazing team is made up of over 300 volunteers that are giving their time to restore our beautiful land and replant grasses and natives to support the return of our wildlife. Take in Napier’s art deco architecture with a Local Expert in a vintage car, another MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience.
Accommodations: Porters Boutique Hotel, Hawke's Bay.
Meals: Breakfast

Day 5 - Geothermal Rotorua
Continue your journey to Rotorua, where this afternoon, armed with a packed lunch, you'll join a local guide for a cultural walking eco-tour to discover the Jurassic Whirinaki Forest, a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience.
Accommodations: Pullman Rotorua.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 6 - The Sights of Rotorua
Unveil the sights of Rotorua viewing the 120-yearold Californian Coastal Redwoods of Whakarewarewa Forest at Redwoods Treewalk. Crossing 28 suspension bridges from 65 feet above ground, feeling like one of the native birds sweeping through the forest. Learn more about the “local residents” going behind the scenes on a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience at the National Kiwi Hatchery Aotearoa. Understand how this working kiwi nursery and hatchery is leading the conservation efforts of the national icon and perhaps see a newly hatched kiwi chick. Tonight, visit Te Pa Tu for insights into the local rituals and traditions of fascinating Maori culture with a celebration of the abundant harvest of the season, and explore concepts, rituals and stories of ancient warfare and peace in an amalgamation of culture and cuisine. Enjoy a special three-course feast with aperitif.
Accommodations: Pullman Rotorua.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 7 - Waitomo and Auckland
Your final full day finds you embarking on an exclusive, private guided tour of Waitomo Cave on a five-star Eco Glow Worm experience at Caveworld. Your guide sets the scene for an underground cave experience where you will see glow worms, cave formations and appreciate the beauty of Footwhistle Cave. Then you’re off to Auckland for a tour showcasing bustling Queen Street and the striking Auckland Harbour Bridge before you're treated to dinner with one of New Zealand’s famous former All Black rugby players. Feast on local fare as you are regaled with stories and learn about life on one of the most successful teams in the world.
Accommodations: JW Marriott Auckland.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 8 - Farewell Auckland
After one final breakfast, say farewell to your Wellington-to-Auckland luxury tour as you are chauffeured to Auckland Airport.
Meals: Breakfast

Featured Destinations
Dunedin
One of New Zealand’s loveliest harbors is gracious, dignified Dunedin. The city boasts fine Victorian and Edwardian buildings complete with spires, gables and gargoyles. Its Scottish heritage is present in street names and the appeal of its handsome stone buildings. One of Dunedin’s most famous visitors, Mark Twain, wrote "The…Scots…stopped here on their way to heaven, thinking they had arrived." Dunedin boasts the country’s only kilt maker and whisky distillery as well as a statue of Scottish poet Robert Burns in the heart of the city. Dunedin’s surroundings are renowned for their magnificent scenery and wildlife. The nearby beautiful Otago Peninsula provides a breeding habitat for such rare birds as the royal albatross and yellow-eyed penguin. The biggest attraction is probably the albatross colony at Taiaroa Head – which can only be visited as part of pre-arranged guided tour. Nowhere else on the globe do these birds breed so close to humans. Other sights to visit include Octagon Park, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Edwardian Railway Station, and Otago Museum.
Milford Sound
Part of the majestic Fjordland National Park, Milford Sound is a spectacular sight not to be missed. Flowing into the Tasman Sea, the Sound is surrounded by towering fjords, lush greenery, icy peaks and thunderous waterfalls. The dazzling blue water is also teeming with wildlife and if you are lucky, you just might catch a glimpse of a frolicking dolphin, seals or the rare Fjordland Crested penguin.
Queenstown
Queenstown hosts an outstanding collection of adrenaline inducing activities and spectacular scenery. From jumping from tall bridges or quiet fishing, this is New Zealand's number one adventure destination. Lake and river join towering mountain ranges to make Queenstown as popular in the winter as it is in the summer.
At the heart of the action are cafes, the entire spectrum of accommodation, boutique shopping, restaurants and the visitor services expected in a small town with a big reputation.
Franz Josef Glacier
The South Island's most renowned explorer and geologist, Julius von Haast, named Franz Josef Glacier after the Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Franz Josef Glacier is a remnant of a much older, larger glacier which flowed from the alpine snowfields right to the sea. The glacier is over 7.5 miles long extending into the rainforest just 3 miles from the Franz Josef township, making it easy to visit. Walk to viewpoints and the terminal face or, for a close-up view of the spectacular ice formations, take a guided glacier walk, helihike or scenic flight.
Christchurch
Christchurch was founded in 1850 by members of the Church of England, who wanted a little bit of heaven on earth. They succeeded, and today the city takes great pride in its spacious layout and distinctive English-style buildings in elegant grey stone. The River Avon winds through Christchurch, along parks and gardens that cover one-third of the city.

Vacation Details

Valid Date Ranges
12/14/2025 - 12/21/2025
from $5,355 per person *
02/01/2026 - 02/08/2026
from $5,355 per person *
03/01/2026 - 03/08/2026
from $5,355 per person *
03/22/2026 - 03/29/2026
from $5,355 per person *


* This departure has been designated a guaranteed departure by the operator, meaning that the minimum number of guests has been met, although still subject to weather and other conditions.
Prices Start At
from $5,355 per person
Length
7 Nights
Air City
Call for airfares from your city.
Vacation Rating
Luxury
The finest hotels in the world, luxury lodging is characterized by luxury accommodations, impeccable service and the highest standards of comfort and pampering. Luxury hotels and resorts are often found in the most desirable locations. Building from the amenities and guest services offered at a deluxe hotel or resort, the luxury establishment usually puts on the finishing touches - fresh flowers around the hotel and original works of art throughout. Hotel restaurants often employ world renowned chefs to create delectable dishes and a unique dining experience. Attention to detail and personalized service are the hallmarks of luxury hotels and resorts.
Remarks
Trip prices are per person, land only, based on double occupancy and reflect applicable discounts. Trip prices and discounts are subject to change. Airfare is additional. Tour prices, dates and itineraries are correct at the time of the website going live, however are subject to confirmation at the time of booking. Other restrictions may apply.

All fares are quoted in US Dollars.

OFFER ID
1504612

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