Day 1 Arrive Auckland
You will be met on arrival and transferred to your hotel. Accommodation: Auckland, SkyCity Hotel.

Day 2 The Overlander, Rotorua
Board the Overlander train and journey along the Waikato River. Travel to the Waitomo Caves to see stunning underground scenery and a tour into an ancient labyrinth of limestone grottos. Tonight enjoy a Hangi (feast) and Maori cultural performance. Accommodation: Rotorua, Park Heritage Hotel for two nights. (B,Sp,D)

Day 3 Rotorua Personalized Touring
Today you choose the activity and we’ll include it. Visit Te Puia, the Agrodome Sheep Show and Rainbow Springs. Or, visit the Rotorua Museum, indulge at the Polynesian Spa, or take a half-day Eco thermal tour. Country Homestay option is available tonight. (B,D)

Day 4 The Overlander Train / Tongariro
Join the Overlander train for a tour through the heart of the North Island. Disembark at the ski village of National Park. Spend the evening in World Heritage-listed Tongariro National Park. Accommodation: Tongariro, Chateau Tongariro. (B,D)

Day 5 TranzMetro Train, Wellington
Today head south through Taihape, the Manawatu Gorge and the Wairarapa region to Featherston. Board the TranzMetro train and journey to Wellington. Accommodation: Wellington, James Cook Grand Chancellor Hotel, for two nights. (B,D) 

Day 6 Wellington
Ride the Wellington Cable Car to the top and visit the Cable Car Museum or walk around the Botanic Gardens. Then journey to Mount Victoria for the best city and harbor views. Continue on to Te Papa Museum, where the tour ends. Rest of day at leisure. (B)

Day 7 The TranzCoastal, Christchurch
Cruise across Cook Strait through the Marlborough Sounds to Picton. Join the TranzCoastal train for a scenic east coast journey between the Pacific Ocean and the Kaikoura Ranges. Continue to Christchurch. Accommodation: Christchurch, Holiday Inn City Center. (B,D)

Day 8 The TranzAlpine, Franz Josef
Travel through gorges, river valleys and the Southern Alps aboard the TranzAlpine train. Journey along the coast through dense rainforest. Take a scenic flight over the glaciers (own expense, weather permitting). Accommodation: Franz Josef, Franz Josef Glacier Hotel. (B,D)

Day 9 Franz Josef / Queenstown
Enjoy incredible scenery leaving this World Heritage-listed area— spectacular mountain ranges, native forests, lakes and glaciers. Journey along the shores of Lakes Wanaka and Hawea to the alpine resort of Queenstown. Tonight you choose from one of four restaurants and we will include it! Accommodation: Queenstown, Copthorne Lakefront Resort, for two nights. (B,D)

Day 10 Queenstown Personalized Touring
You choose the activity and we’ll include it. Try a Queenstown “Double Decker Explorer” tour, a jetboat ride, an “Original Wine Tour,” a “Lord of the Rings” safari, a garden tour, a 4WD Skippers Canyon adventure, or a walk around Lake Wakatipu. (B)

Day 11 Kingston Flyer / Milford Sound Cruise
Travel back in time aboard the Kingston Flyer, New Zealand’s famous vintage steam train, to Milford Sound for a cruise on this magnificent, glacier-carved fiord (weather permitting). Return to Te Anau. Accommodation: Te Anau, Luxmore Hotel (B,D)

Day 12 Te Anau / Dunedin Personalized Touring
Travel across the South Island to Dunedin. Today you choose the activity and we’ll include it. Visit the Speights Brewery and Heritage Center, the Otago Peninsula to see the Royal Albatross Colony, Penguin Place to view yellow-eyed penguins, Larnach Castle, or journey on the Taieri Gorge Train–the choice is yours! Accommodation: Dunedin, Dunedin City Hotel. (B,D)

Day 13 Dunedin / Twizel
Board the exclusive train “The Seasider” in Dunedin and journey along the east coast to Palmerston. At Oamaru view the town’s Victorian stone buildings. Then travel towards the High Country, passing grasslands, sheep stations, hydro-electric dams and glacier-fed lakes. Accommodation: Twizel, MacKenzie Country Inn. (B,D)

Day 14 Twizel / Mt Cook / Christchurch
Journey into Mt Cook National Park, home to New Zealand’s highest mountain. Enjoy a scenic flight over this awe-inspiring alpine region (own expense, weather permitting). Travel through Burkes Pass and descend to the vast Canterbury Plains. Cross the braided Rakaia River before returning to Christchurch. Accommodation: Christchurch, Holiday Inn City Center. (B,D)

Day 15 Depart Christchurch
At leisure. Transfer to the airport for your onward flight. (B)

Itinerary effective 1 April 2006. Itineraries prior to this follow different route.

Tour NRN15 - Guaranteed Departures

Departure Dates
2006	Apr 14; Sep 8, 22; Oct 6, 13, 20; Nov 3, 17, 24; Dec 8, 15
2007	Jan 5, 12, 19; Feb 2, 9, 16, 23, 26; Mar 2, 9, 16, 23