Highlights

• All inclusive
• Fully escorted luxury coach travel
• 4 – 5 star accommodations
• Hotel porterage (we’ll handle your luggage for you!)
• Welcome Reception

Inclusions

• Accommodation – Melbourne – Crowne Plaza Hotel Melbourne (2 Nights), Cairns – Hilton Hotel Cairns (3), Sydney – Hyatt Regency Darling Harbour (3), Auckland – The Grand by SkyCity (2), Rotorua – Millenium Hotel Rotorua (1), Queenstown – Millennium Hotel Queenstown (3), Lake Tekapo – Peppers Bluewater Resort (1), Christchurch – Distinction Christchurch Hotel (2)
• Meals – 17 Full buffet breakfasts, 1 ‘Be My Guest’ lunch, 2 lunches, 9 dinners
• US Domestic Flights – (Not included, but can be added to your quote)
• International Flights – Los Angeles to Melbourne, Sydney to Auckland, Christchurch to Los Angeles (Not included, but can be added to your quote)
• Internal Flights – Melbourne to Cairns, Cairns to Sydney, Auckland to Queenstown
• Day Tours – Melbourne: Laneways Walking Tour; Cairns: Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures, Great Barrier Reef Cruise; Sydney: Harbour Cruise, City Sights Tour, Wendy’s Secret Garden; Auckland: City Sights Tour; Rotorua: Rainbow Springs Nature Park, Tamaki Maori Village; Hobbiton Movie Set Tour; Queenstown: Milford Sound Cruise; Lake Tekapo: Dark Sky Project Crater Experience
• Transfers – Airport to Hotel and Hotel to Airport
• All Taxes and Fuel Levies (Except where noted)

Tour Itinerary

Day 1: Welcome to Melbourne

On arrival you will be transferred to your hotel. This evening join your Travel Director for a welcome reception and dinner at the South Wharf riverside pub, The General Assembly. It’s a great opportunity to get to know everyone in a unique setting.

Hotel Crowne Plaza Hotel Melbourne (2 nights)

Dinner with wine included

Day 2: Melbourne

Join your Travel Director for a city sights tour that includes a private walk through Melbourne’s famous hidden laneways. You’ll discover the city’s eclectic little lanes, arcades, café society and fascinating street art. There’s time afterwards to explore the city on your own, enjoy an optional experience or simply relax and watch the world go by.

Breakfast included

Day 3: Melbourne – Cairns

This morning you will be transferred to Melbourne Airport for your flight to Cairns, Queensland. On arrival join a private wildlife journey at Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures. Enjoy a boat cruise and encounter koalas, wallabies, birds, crocodiles and more! There will be time to partake in regenerating the rainforest particular to the Wangetti Valley which Hartley’s is located in. Feel free to join is as much or as little as you can with this tree planting project and be a part of keeping the World Heritage listed Wet Tropics alive! This evening is free for you to choose from the numerous restaurants that Cairns has to offer.

Hotel Hilton Hotel Cairns (3 nights)

Breakfast included

Day 4: Cairns – Great Barrier Reef

Get ready for an experience of a lifetime – board a high-speed catamaran and cruise out to the Great Barrier Reef. You can snorkel and view this natural living wonder up close (equipment provided) or stay dry and explore the stunning reef from the comfort of a semi-submersible craft, just one meter underwater. Enjoy a tropical buffet lunch before you return to Cairns.

Breakfast & Lunch included

Day 5: Cairns

Today is a free day to do as you choose. A great option is the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway to Kuranda, be amazed as you travel over and through World Heritage rainforest, explore quaint Kuranda village and later board the Kuranda Scenic Rail for this historic rail journey. If you’d prefer to spend the day relaxing by your hotel pool or sitting back at a local café you can do that too!

Breakfast & Dinner with wine included

Day 6: Cairns – Sydney

Following a leisurely start to the morning, it’s time to switch the tropical vibes back to city highlights as you fly to Sydney. What a way to kick off your arrival to Sydney with a dinner cruise enjoying the famous Sydney Harbour! You’ll pass under the Harbour Bridge, cruise past the Opera House and see many magnificent waterfront homes, beaches and parklands.

Hotel Hyatt Regency Darling Harbour (3 nights)

Breakfast & Dinner with wine included

Day 7: Sydney

Discover one of the great highlights of Sydney, the beautiful Sydney Opera House with a guided tour inside this iconic building. If there was ever a place that slipped from the pages of a fairy-tale, Wendy’s Secret Garden at Lavender Bay is it. Overlooking Sydney Harbour, this pocket of floral paradise is explained by a local volunteer – did you know this was once unused wasteland? Your visit provides a contribution to the ongoing maintenance of the enchanting garden. Explore Sydney’s inner west and enjoy a lunch with the locals at the pub. Then drive through Sydney’s hip Inner West to Batch Brewery where you will take part in a masterclass and learn how they combine creatively inspired limited release batches with sustainable practices.

Breakfast & Lunch included

Day 8: Sydney

The day is yours to explore at your leisure or book one of our hand-crafted selection of optional experiences. There are so many sights and activities to be had in this city and further afield. Dinner tonight is beside Sydney Harbour. Because can you ever get enough?

Breakfast & Dinner with wine included

Day 9: Sydney – Auckland

This morning you say goodbye to Australia and fly to New Zealand! This evening meet your Travel Director for a welcome reception and dinner at your hotel in Auckland.

Hotel The Grand by SkyCity, Auckland (2 nights)

Breakfast & Dinner with wine included

Day 10: Auckland

Embark on a city sightseeing tour this morning. Travel around the waterfront from central city out to Mission Bay. Prepare your camera for the stop at Bastion Point and the Michael Joseph Savage Memorial, as you will get stunning shots of Auckland, the North Shore and the Waitemata. This afternoon is at leisure.

Breakfast included

Day 11: Auckland – Rotorua

Today, you’ll venture through Waikato region passing through Cambridge known as ‘The Town of Trees and Champions’ on your way to Rotorua. On arrival embark on an orientation of the area before visiting Rainbow Springs Nature Park for a guided tour of the National Kiwi Hatchery Aotearoa, the national leader in kiwi husbandry. Learn about the work being done to save New Zealand’s national bird, see kiwi eggs being incubated, the hatching process and newly hatched kiwi chicks. This evening enjoys a traditional Hangi Highlight Dinner and cultural performance at the Tamaki Maori Village.

Hotel Millenium Hotel Rotorua (1 Night)

Breakfast & Highlight dinner Included

Day 12: Rotorua – Queenstown

Your day starts with breakfast at Hobbiton, experience the iconic rolling hills and green pastures of the Hobbiton Movie Set as seen in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies before continuing to Auckland to board your flight to Queenstown. Tonight, speak with your Travel Director about dining recommendations in Queenstown.

Hotel Millenium Hotel Queenstown (3 nights)

Breakfast Included

Day 13: Queenstown – Milford Sound

Journey along the shores of Lake Wakatipu, over the Devil’s Staircase and along to Te Anau and its lake, the largest in the South Island. Experience magnificent scenery as you continue along this alpine highway to Fiordland National Park. Enjoy numerous photo opportunities afforded by the Mirror Lakes, Knobs Flat, Hollyford Valley lookout (Pop’s view), Cleddau Valley and the Chasm, drive through the hand-hewn Homer Tunnel towards the iconic Mitre Peak and the Bowen Falls before reaching Milford Sound. Enjoy lunch and a cruise on this wonder of nature. Later, return to Queenstown for the evening.

Breakfast & Lunch included

Day 14: Queenstown

Today choose from a range of optional sightseeing experiences. You could ride the world famous Shotover Jet or enjoy a cruise across Lake Wakatipu aboard the TSS Earnslaw to Walter Peak High Country Farm for a gourmet barbecue lunch at the Colonel’s Homestead. This evening, join your Travel Director for dinner at the Postmasters Café. The historic cottage was once home to the town’s postmaster and has been a main street feature since the 1860s. Its old-world charm, complete with horse-hitching post, picket fence, beautiful gardens and hanging wisteria, has made it one of Arrowtown’s most photographed buildings and is the perfect venue for your highlight dinner.

Breakfast & Highlight Dinner included

Day 15: Queenstown – Lake Tekapo

Today you will leave the alpine wonderland of Queenstown behind, traveling through Central Otago to the Mackenzie region with time along the way to stop in Cromwell, situated next to the pristine Lake Dunstan and taste delicious stone fruit at a local orchard. Continue over the dramatic Lindis Pass before reaching the Starlight Highway and Tekapo’s world renowned UNESCO Aoraki McKenzie International Dark Sky Reserve. This afternoon enjoys the views of Mt Cook before heading to the iconic Church of the Good Shephard. This evening, see amazing constellations that can only be seen in the southern hemisphere, including the Southern Cross, to the Magellanic Clouds and the Milky Way. Your local specialist expert astronomy guide will enhance your knowledge and understanding of our Southern Skies as you admire and ponder the possibilities through our powerful optical telescopes.

Hotel Peppers Bluewater Resort Lake Tekapo (1 night)

Breakfast & Dinner included

Day 16: Lake Tekapo – Christchurch

Enjoy a relaxed start before heading north through South Canterbury, visit the charming boutique village of Geraldine as you travel through to Christchurch. Ever wondered what life on the farmland is like? Meet Angie and Stan Taylor, who have farmed this countryside for more years than they care to remember. Join them for a ‘Be My Guest’ lunch where they’ll share local stories of the land.

Hotel Distinction Christchurch Hotel (2 nights)

Breakfast & ‘Be My Gues’ Lunch included

Day 17: Christchurch

This morning see how Christchurch is rebuilding after the devastating earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, pop into the Transitional Cathedral in Latimer Square, the temporary home of the Christchurch Cathedral. It is the world’s only cathedral made substantially of cardboard! Take in the sights with an in-the-know local. This evening, join your Travel Director and Driver, and your new-found friends for a farewell dinner.

Breakfast & Farewell Dinner included

Day 18: Farewell from Christchurch

Say farewell to your fellow travelers when your holiday comes to an end this morning after breakfast.

Breakfast included