New Zealand in the Grand Manner
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Highlights:
If you are looking to fully explore New Zealand and do it “In the Grand Manner” may we suggest this itinerary which brings together some of our favorite properties.
Some are more “elegant” than others, but all share a total commitment to personal service and fine dining. As with any of our programs, we are happy to substitute other hotels but take our word for it, these are worth visiting.
If you are looking to fully explore New Zealand and do it “In the Grand Manner” may we suggest this itinerary which brings together some of our favorite properties.
Some are more “elegant” than others, but all share a total commitment to personal service and fine dining. As with any of our programs, we are happy to substitute other hotels but take our word for it, these are worth visiting.
SKU:
Explore: New Zealand in the Grand Manner
Customizable Itinerary - 21 Days (from $18,500 / person)
Day 1: Depart USA
Today you board your aircraft for the beginning of your trans-pacific journey to New Zealand.
Day 2: En Route
As you pass over Pago Pago on American Samoa you cross the International Date Line and “lose” a day, which you will “find” on your return trip.
Day 3: Welcome to New Zealand
Upon arrival in Auckland you will be met by an Ultitude representative and transferred by private vehicle to the Domestic terminal in time for your departure flight to the Bay of Islands. After a short flight you arrive and meet your driver at the luggage carousel. From there you will be transferred to your hotel. The Waterfront Suites offers peaceful and luxurious Paihia accommodation in the beautiful Bay of Islands. Paihia’s restaurants and wharf are only a short walk way, making exploring and enjoying Paihia almost effortless.
Days 4 & 5: Enjoying Bay of Islands
You have two days to adjust to the change in time and the long flight. You can spend time at the beach or the hotel can set you up for a cruise around the Bay of islands enjoying lunch along the way. If you want something a little more exciting you can try para-sailing.
Breakfast
Day 6: Auckland and America’s Cup Racing
After breakfast, and thoroughly re-charged, you greet your driver for the trip to the airport for the short flight to Auckland where you are met and taken to your hotel on the waterfront. Check in and take the opportunity to enjoy lunch overlooking the shimmering Waitemata Harbour. After lunch, make your way to Viaduct Harbour which is a five minute stroll from your hotel. Here you will board an authentic America’s Cup yacht for an exciting sail around the harbour which has hosted the America’s Cup in 2000 and 2003. This is a participatory experience as you exert energy on the grinders and take your turn at the helm. The crew's local knowledge will provide the best harbor sailing experience Auckland has to offer. Sail where the wind takes you while enjoying Auckland's city highlights; including sailing under the harbour bridge. These powerful and highly engineered race vessels are usually the domain of billionaires and elite professional yachties but this unique experience offers everyone the opportunity to sail these grand prix racing machines in the same harbour that hosted the America’s Cup.
Breakfast
Day 7: Highlights of Auckland
In the morning meet your Ultitude driver/guide in the lobby and depart on a full day private tour of Auckland including Lunch. Discover Auckland’s fascinating Maori culture and history; explore some of the numerous gardens in Auckland, beautiful at all times of the year. Explore the trendy areas and great shopping areas as well as the beaches that surround the suburbs. Walk the Vibrant Viaduct Harbour where restaurants and bars line the waterfront and make your way back to the hotel ready to try one of the restaurants that caught your eye while you were touring.
Breakfast and Lunch
Day 8: Shopping in Auckland
We have left today open for you to explore some of the various shopping areas in the city. While your concierge can help, there are four that are worth visiting. Britomart is the place to visit for the latest collection of New Zealand’s top designers. Devonport on the North shore is a scenic, twelve minute ferry ride away from downtown and offers a range of boutique stores including designer clothing, gift shops, book stores as well as numerous art galleries selling works from local artists. If your there around lunch time ‘”go Kiwi’ and enjoy fish and chips as you sit on the beach. In the afternoon visit Parnell, which is Auckland’s oldest suburb and undoubtedly most stylish. Ponsonby is the up and coming area where designers and fashion icons dominate. You will have visited Parnell and Ponsonby on the previous day’s tour.
Breakfast
Day 9: A Visit to The Shire
Today your driver will pick you up and take you to Matamata which will take about two hours. On arrival, you will enter another world as you enter Middle-Earth with a visit to the Hobbiton Movie Set, the bucolic setting for The Shire that featured in the Peter Jackson-directed film trilogies, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Meet your local guide and depart on a private tour starting with a drive through the picturesque 1,250-acre sheep farm with spectacular views across the Kaimai Ranges. Your guide will escort you through the twelve-acre site recounting fascinating details of how the Hobbiton movie set was created. The Hobbit holes, Green Dragon Inn, Mill and other structures created for the films can be viewed and you will see how this beautiful piece of Waikato farmland was transformed into The Shire from Middle-Earth. After your tour, you have lunch and then continue to Rotorua which will take about an hour. Rotorua is New Zealand’s cultural heartland where the earth’s crust is so thin that it’s molten heart bubbles and steams at the surface. Often called ‘Sulphur City’ this town sits on an active fault line and the area’s bizarre natural wonders have fascinated visitors since the 1840’s. Home to one-third of the country’s Maori population the town is deeply rooted in tradition and has a strong sense of Maori community. When you arrive check-in to your designer Boutique Hotel.
Breakfast and Lunch
Day 10: Hot Springs and Kiwis
After breakfast, you depart on a tour of Rotorua. During your tour, you will visit the famous Pohutu geyser also known as Whakarewarewa. The Living Thermal Village is a unique experience encompassing an authentic fusion of Geothermal activity & Maori culture. You will finish the tour at Rainbow Springs where you learn about Kiwi conservation. You will visit the largest kiwi hatching and rearing facility in the world and see how the chicks are raised from two days old until old enough to be returned to the wild to boost the wild Kiwi population and preserve the iconic symbol of New Zealand. In the afternoon you travel to Huka Lodge founded by charming Irishman Alan Pye and famed for the past 90 years for its unrivalled location on the Waikato River and its generous hospitality. Experience that hospitality with your first dinner at the Lodge.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 11: A Visit to Huka Falls…and Other Adventures
Today you meet your driver in the lobby for your transfer to Taupo Marina where you board a helicopter for a flight over Huka Falls. Return to the Marina and board a Jet Boat for a high speed ride to the base of the Huka Falls and the resulting rapids. Return to the Marina for a transfer back to the lodge. In the afternoon you can sign up for other activities like Tangarita River Rafting, Tandem Skydiving, and Water Touch Bungee 140 feet above the Waikato River or the Cliffhanger Swing. Not for the faint of heart. In the evening, another superb dinner is on order.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 12: The Most Famous Trout Fishery in the World
In the morning, meet a Huka Lodge representative in the hotel lobby and depart on your private full day guided fly fishing experience. Experience the best fly fishing in the world and follow in the footsteps (or gaiters) of luminaries like Charles Lindbergh, Errol Flynn, Queen Elizabeth II, Bono and George Clooney who have shared the same experience. All fishing gear is provided as is an elegant picnic lunch. Return to the lodge in the late afternoon.
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 13: Christchurch, the Most “English” of Cities
After your final breakfast at the lodge you are taken by car to Rotorua Airport for the flight to Christchurch. Upon arrival you are met by a guide and taken on an orientation tour of the city. You will learn about the 2010-2011 earthquakes and how Christchurch has re-emerged as a vibrant, ever-changing city. You will see artwork by New Zealand artists, in the re-opened Cathedral Square. Also visit one of Christchurch’s exciting new buildings, the Transitional ‘Cardboard’ Cathedral constructed on the site of the former St. John’s Latimer Square Anglican Church which was severely damaged in the quakes. The Cathedral makes use of varied construction materials from cardboard tubes to timber beams, structural steel and concrete. You are then taken to your hotel, the city’s newest luxury boutique hotel situated on the edge of Hagley Park and overlooking Cranmer Square.
Breakfast
Day 14: The TranzAlpine Express and Arthur’s Pass
A car will be waiting to take you to the railway station where you board the TranzAlpine Express, one of New Zealand’s most iconic trains that offers a scenic trip from Christchurch to Greymouth, across the expanse of North Island and through the beauty of the Southern Alps. You will disembark at Arthur’s Pass which is about halfway on the five hour journey. Here you will be met and taken to Wilderness Lodge your home for the next three nights. The Wilderness Lodge Experience is about providing charming accommodations and gourmet food in a wonderful, wild and natural setting. Make yourself at home, enjoying the Alpine views before enjoying your first dinner. Food and wine focus is on the best of local produce, such as the best of west Coast seafood, high Country Lamb, beef, ham and bacon and a wide variety of fruit and vegetables.
Breakfast and Dinner
Days 15 & 16: Enjoying the Experience
At the lodge you will delight in a great network of forest, river and lake walking trails. The lodge is situated on a 7,000 acre nature reserve and merino sheep station encompassing 20 miles of walking trails, mountain walking, kayaking, sheep tending and guided alpine flower and waterfall walks. Each day, up to three hours of guided trips are included and longer trips involving walking and kayaking can be taken for an additional fee. These trips can cover the mountains, forest or seacoast. The farm has 3,200 mostly merino sheep that supply wool to the fashion industry. Because of your extended stay you can view a sheep dog demonstration, sheep holding, and lamb feeding and helping to shear a sheep. Each night another excellent dinner is served.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 17: South Island, Queenstown and Blanket Bay
After breakfast, you say goodbye to the lambs and meet your driver for a transfer to the airport in Christchurch. Here you board a flight to south Island and the Scenic city of Queenstown surrounded by alpine peaks and settled on the shore of Lake Wakatipu. You will be met on arrival a driven to Glenorchy which is a 40 minute drive from Queenstown along the shore of the lake. Blanket Bay is listed as one of the top 100 hotels in the world by the Robb report and was featured as one of the seven wonder resorts of the World on the Discovery Channel. Accommodation comprises three suites and five intimate rooms in the lodge. Two chalets offer an additional four suites. You will be in one of the Lodge suites offering both lake and mountain views. Resort facilities include an intimate den, game room, spa, gym, Jacuzzi, steam rooms, therapy suite and heated outdoor lap pool. Once you have settled in, you will enjoy an expansive a la carte dinner served at your own table. Pacific Rim cuisine is complimented by an impressive choice of wines.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 18: Milford Sound and the Tasman Sea
Enjoy breakfast with stunning views through the large windows before meeting your guide who will take you next door to Glenorchy airstrip where you board a plane for a scenic flight to Milford Sound. You will each have a window seat with unimpaired views as you fly through a landscape of unbelievable grandeur and beauty, flying via the glaciers of the Darren Mountains and Barrier Range. Land at Milford Sound and your pilot will take you to the boat terminal where you board a boat for a cruise on the fjord. You will travel the length of the fjord and out to the Tasman Sea on a modern catamaran with large viewing decks enjoying lunch on the way. You will stop at waterfalls and other points of interest while dolphins play in the wake of the catamaran. Return to the terminal where your pilot will be waiting for you to give you another scenic flight back to Glenorchy. Enjoy a pre-dinner spa treatment or laps in the pool.
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 19: Dart River and Mt. Aspiring National Park
Today you will enjoy a thrilling Jet Boating experience. Your Wilderness Jet is an exhilarating and spectacular journey deep into the heart of the world-renowned Mt. Aspiring National Park with the only jet boat operator allowed on the Dart River. The sheer diversity of what is on offer means that you experience a unique combination of breathtaking scenery matched with exciting jet boating on braided, glacier-fed rivers. Highly informative guides add the personal touch, talking about the area’s history, the Greenstone trail and Maori legends. Walk amongst ancient beech forest unchanged for 80 million years and view the scenic backgrounds for many Middle Earth movie scenes.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 20: An Insider’s View of Queenstown
After breakfast you are driven into Queenstown. Your guide will meet you and take you to Gibbston valley one of the pioneers of the Central Otago wine industry. Hosted by a senior member of the staff the tour includes a private wine tasting of current releases and past classics in the wine cave, a tour of the vineyards and lunch at the winery restaurant. You will then return to Queenstown and board a Gondola which will take you 1,500 feet above Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu. En route you will enjoy a spectacular 220 degree panorama with breath-taking views of Coronet Peak, The Remarkables, Walter Peak, Cecil Peak and all of Queenstown. Return to Glenorchy for a final elegant dinner at Blanket Bay and prepare for your return home.
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 21 Return to USA
In the morning you are transferred to Queenstown airport where you board a flight for the return to the USA arriving back the same afternoon.
Breakfast
Today you board your aircraft for the beginning of your trans-pacific journey to New Zealand.
Day 2: En Route
As you pass over Pago Pago on American Samoa you cross the International Date Line and “lose” a day, which you will “find” on your return trip.
Day 3: Welcome to New Zealand
Upon arrival in Auckland you will be met by an Ultitude representative and transferred by private vehicle to the Domestic terminal in time for your departure flight to the Bay of Islands. After a short flight you arrive and meet your driver at the luggage carousel. From there you will be transferred to your hotel. The Waterfront Suites offers peaceful and luxurious Paihia accommodation in the beautiful Bay of Islands. Paihia’s restaurants and wharf are only a short walk way, making exploring and enjoying Paihia almost effortless.
Days 4 & 5: Enjoying Bay of Islands
You have two days to adjust to the change in time and the long flight. You can spend time at the beach or the hotel can set you up for a cruise around the Bay of islands enjoying lunch along the way. If you want something a little more exciting you can try para-sailing.
Breakfast
Day 6: Auckland and America’s Cup Racing
After breakfast, and thoroughly re-charged, you greet your driver for the trip to the airport for the short flight to Auckland where you are met and taken to your hotel on the waterfront. Check in and take the opportunity to enjoy lunch overlooking the shimmering Waitemata Harbour. After lunch, make your way to Viaduct Harbour which is a five minute stroll from your hotel. Here you will board an authentic America’s Cup yacht for an exciting sail around the harbour which has hosted the America’s Cup in 2000 and 2003. This is a participatory experience as you exert energy on the grinders and take your turn at the helm. The crew's local knowledge will provide the best harbor sailing experience Auckland has to offer. Sail where the wind takes you while enjoying Auckland's city highlights; including sailing under the harbour bridge. These powerful and highly engineered race vessels are usually the domain of billionaires and elite professional yachties but this unique experience offers everyone the opportunity to sail these grand prix racing machines in the same harbour that hosted the America’s Cup.
Breakfast
Day 7: Highlights of Auckland
In the morning meet your Ultitude driver/guide in the lobby and depart on a full day private tour of Auckland including Lunch. Discover Auckland’s fascinating Maori culture and history; explore some of the numerous gardens in Auckland, beautiful at all times of the year. Explore the trendy areas and great shopping areas as well as the beaches that surround the suburbs. Walk the Vibrant Viaduct Harbour where restaurants and bars line the waterfront and make your way back to the hotel ready to try one of the restaurants that caught your eye while you were touring.
Breakfast and Lunch
Day 8: Shopping in Auckland
We have left today open for you to explore some of the various shopping areas in the city. While your concierge can help, there are four that are worth visiting. Britomart is the place to visit for the latest collection of New Zealand’s top designers. Devonport on the North shore is a scenic, twelve minute ferry ride away from downtown and offers a range of boutique stores including designer clothing, gift shops, book stores as well as numerous art galleries selling works from local artists. If your there around lunch time ‘”go Kiwi’ and enjoy fish and chips as you sit on the beach. In the afternoon visit Parnell, which is Auckland’s oldest suburb and undoubtedly most stylish. Ponsonby is the up and coming area where designers and fashion icons dominate. You will have visited Parnell and Ponsonby on the previous day’s tour.
Breakfast
Day 9: A Visit to The Shire
Today your driver will pick you up and take you to Matamata which will take about two hours. On arrival, you will enter another world as you enter Middle-Earth with a visit to the Hobbiton Movie Set, the bucolic setting for The Shire that featured in the Peter Jackson-directed film trilogies, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Meet your local guide and depart on a private tour starting with a drive through the picturesque 1,250-acre sheep farm with spectacular views across the Kaimai Ranges. Your guide will escort you through the twelve-acre site recounting fascinating details of how the Hobbiton movie set was created. The Hobbit holes, Green Dragon Inn, Mill and other structures created for the films can be viewed and you will see how this beautiful piece of Waikato farmland was transformed into The Shire from Middle-Earth. After your tour, you have lunch and then continue to Rotorua which will take about an hour. Rotorua is New Zealand’s cultural heartland where the earth’s crust is so thin that it’s molten heart bubbles and steams at the surface. Often called ‘Sulphur City’ this town sits on an active fault line and the area’s bizarre natural wonders have fascinated visitors since the 1840’s. Home to one-third of the country’s Maori population the town is deeply rooted in tradition and has a strong sense of Maori community. When you arrive check-in to your designer Boutique Hotel.
Breakfast and Lunch
Day 10: Hot Springs and Kiwis
After breakfast, you depart on a tour of Rotorua. During your tour, you will visit the famous Pohutu geyser also known as Whakarewarewa. The Living Thermal Village is a unique experience encompassing an authentic fusion of Geothermal activity & Maori culture. You will finish the tour at Rainbow Springs where you learn about Kiwi conservation. You will visit the largest kiwi hatching and rearing facility in the world and see how the chicks are raised from two days old until old enough to be returned to the wild to boost the wild Kiwi population and preserve the iconic symbol of New Zealand. In the afternoon you travel to Huka Lodge founded by charming Irishman Alan Pye and famed for the past 90 years for its unrivalled location on the Waikato River and its generous hospitality. Experience that hospitality with your first dinner at the Lodge.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 11: A Visit to Huka Falls…and Other Adventures
Today you meet your driver in the lobby for your transfer to Taupo Marina where you board a helicopter for a flight over Huka Falls. Return to the Marina and board a Jet Boat for a high speed ride to the base of the Huka Falls and the resulting rapids. Return to the Marina for a transfer back to the lodge. In the afternoon you can sign up for other activities like Tangarita River Rafting, Tandem Skydiving, and Water Touch Bungee 140 feet above the Waikato River or the Cliffhanger Swing. Not for the faint of heart. In the evening, another superb dinner is on order.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 12: The Most Famous Trout Fishery in the World
In the morning, meet a Huka Lodge representative in the hotel lobby and depart on your private full day guided fly fishing experience. Experience the best fly fishing in the world and follow in the footsteps (or gaiters) of luminaries like Charles Lindbergh, Errol Flynn, Queen Elizabeth II, Bono and George Clooney who have shared the same experience. All fishing gear is provided as is an elegant picnic lunch. Return to the lodge in the late afternoon.
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 13: Christchurch, the Most “English” of Cities
After your final breakfast at the lodge you are taken by car to Rotorua Airport for the flight to Christchurch. Upon arrival you are met by a guide and taken on an orientation tour of the city. You will learn about the 2010-2011 earthquakes and how Christchurch has re-emerged as a vibrant, ever-changing city. You will see artwork by New Zealand artists, in the re-opened Cathedral Square. Also visit one of Christchurch’s exciting new buildings, the Transitional ‘Cardboard’ Cathedral constructed on the site of the former St. John’s Latimer Square Anglican Church which was severely damaged in the quakes. The Cathedral makes use of varied construction materials from cardboard tubes to timber beams, structural steel and concrete. You are then taken to your hotel, the city’s newest luxury boutique hotel situated on the edge of Hagley Park and overlooking Cranmer Square.
Breakfast
Day 14: The TranzAlpine Express and Arthur’s Pass
A car will be waiting to take you to the railway station where you board the TranzAlpine Express, one of New Zealand’s most iconic trains that offers a scenic trip from Christchurch to Greymouth, across the expanse of North Island and through the beauty of the Southern Alps. You will disembark at Arthur’s Pass which is about halfway on the five hour journey. Here you will be met and taken to Wilderness Lodge your home for the next three nights. The Wilderness Lodge Experience is about providing charming accommodations and gourmet food in a wonderful, wild and natural setting. Make yourself at home, enjoying the Alpine views before enjoying your first dinner. Food and wine focus is on the best of local produce, such as the best of west Coast seafood, high Country Lamb, beef, ham and bacon and a wide variety of fruit and vegetables.
Breakfast and Dinner
Days 15 & 16: Enjoying the Experience
At the lodge you will delight in a great network of forest, river and lake walking trails. The lodge is situated on a 7,000 acre nature reserve and merino sheep station encompassing 20 miles of walking trails, mountain walking, kayaking, sheep tending and guided alpine flower and waterfall walks. Each day, up to three hours of guided trips are included and longer trips involving walking and kayaking can be taken for an additional fee. These trips can cover the mountains, forest or seacoast. The farm has 3,200 mostly merino sheep that supply wool to the fashion industry. Because of your extended stay you can view a sheep dog demonstration, sheep holding, and lamb feeding and helping to shear a sheep. Each night another excellent dinner is served.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 17: South Island, Queenstown and Blanket Bay
After breakfast, you say goodbye to the lambs and meet your driver for a transfer to the airport in Christchurch. Here you board a flight to south Island and the Scenic city of Queenstown surrounded by alpine peaks and settled on the shore of Lake Wakatipu. You will be met on arrival a driven to Glenorchy which is a 40 minute drive from Queenstown along the shore of the lake. Blanket Bay is listed as one of the top 100 hotels in the world by the Robb report and was featured as one of the seven wonder resorts of the World on the Discovery Channel. Accommodation comprises three suites and five intimate rooms in the lodge. Two chalets offer an additional four suites. You will be in one of the Lodge suites offering both lake and mountain views. Resort facilities include an intimate den, game room, spa, gym, Jacuzzi, steam rooms, therapy suite and heated outdoor lap pool. Once you have settled in, you will enjoy an expansive a la carte dinner served at your own table. Pacific Rim cuisine is complimented by an impressive choice of wines.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 18: Milford Sound and the Tasman Sea
Enjoy breakfast with stunning views through the large windows before meeting your guide who will take you next door to Glenorchy airstrip where you board a plane for a scenic flight to Milford Sound. You will each have a window seat with unimpaired views as you fly through a landscape of unbelievable grandeur and beauty, flying via the glaciers of the Darren Mountains and Barrier Range. Land at Milford Sound and your pilot will take you to the boat terminal where you board a boat for a cruise on the fjord. You will travel the length of the fjord and out to the Tasman Sea on a modern catamaran with large viewing decks enjoying lunch on the way. You will stop at waterfalls and other points of interest while dolphins play in the wake of the catamaran. Return to the terminal where your pilot will be waiting for you to give you another scenic flight back to Glenorchy. Enjoy a pre-dinner spa treatment or laps in the pool.
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 19: Dart River and Mt. Aspiring National Park
Today you will enjoy a thrilling Jet Boating experience. Your Wilderness Jet is an exhilarating and spectacular journey deep into the heart of the world-renowned Mt. Aspiring National Park with the only jet boat operator allowed on the Dart River. The sheer diversity of what is on offer means that you experience a unique combination of breathtaking scenery matched with exciting jet boating on braided, glacier-fed rivers. Highly informative guides add the personal touch, talking about the area’s history, the Greenstone trail and Maori legends. Walk amongst ancient beech forest unchanged for 80 million years and view the scenic backgrounds for many Middle Earth movie scenes.
Breakfast and Dinner
Day 20: An Insider’s View of Queenstown
After breakfast you are driven into Queenstown. Your guide will meet you and take you to Gibbston valley one of the pioneers of the Central Otago wine industry. Hosted by a senior member of the staff the tour includes a private wine tasting of current releases and past classics in the wine cave, a tour of the vineyards and lunch at the winery restaurant. You will then return to Queenstown and board a Gondola which will take you 1,500 feet above Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu. En route you will enjoy a spectacular 220 degree panorama with breath-taking views of Coronet Peak, The Remarkables, Walter Peak, Cecil Peak and all of Queenstown. Return to Glenorchy for a final elegant dinner at Blanket Bay and prepare for your return home.
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 21 Return to USA
In the morning you are transferred to Queenstown airport where you board a flight for the return to the USA arriving back the same afternoon.
Breakfast
