Classic New Zealand

Sixteen nights across both New Zealand islands, self-guided, from Auckland to Queenstown, with two hire cars and a ferry in between.

Seventeen days is close to the minimum for doing both islands properly, and the arrangement here avoids the usual mistake: the car is dropped before the Cook Strait crossing and a second collected on the far side, so neither ferry booking nor one-way fee becomes a problem.

Auckland opens it for two nights at the Park Hyatt, then Taupo for three at Acacia Cliffs, with the geothermal field at Orakei Korako, cycling and a jet boat at Huka Falls, and golf at Kinloch, the only Jack Nicklaus signature course in the country, or kayaking to the Maori rock carvings at Mine Bay. Hawke’s Bay follows for two with a private guided wine day, then Wellington for two, the production base for the Tolkien films, with the cable car up to the botanic garden. The ferry and a scenic train reach Kaikoura and a night in Hapuku Lodge’s tree houses, with a whale trip that often finds sperm whales, dolphins and seals, though nothing is promised. Annandale Farm, Mount Cook with a heli-hike on the Tasman Glacier and Queenstown close the route.

Two hire cars, the accommodation, daily breakfast, private transfers throughout, all the listed sightseeing and guiding and the internal flights detailed are included; international flights and most meals are not. The price shown is per person sharing. November to March is the main season, though the shoulder months are quieter on the roads and in Queenstown. No wildlife sighting can be promised at Kaikoura, and the whale boats do not sail in a heavy swell.