FIVE GREAT NEW ZEALAND HOLIDAYS
New Zealand remains, as it has for 20 months, a country in a bubble, and there is still no date for the return of overseas visitors. But it seems increasingly likely that international tourism will return in the first half of 2022. If so, these tours will be worth considering…
THE WHOLE SHEBANG
Even with the quickest flight connections, New Zealand is the best part of a day’s travel – and more than 11,000 miles – from the UK. If you are going to commit to a journey of that sort of distance – effectively crossing the planet – it makes sense to see as much of it as you can. Original Travel (020 3958 6120; originaltravel.co.uk) ticks most of the country’s boxes with its Grand Tour for Couples, a 23-day odyssey that dissects both the North and the South Island in detail. In the former, this means the likes of the capital, Wellington, the biggest city, Auckland, and island jewel Waiheke. In the latter, it involves mountain-framed Queenstown, the calm waters of Lake Te Anau, and the glacial echoes of Fiordland National Park. From £7,400 per person (not including international flights).
THE GLASS HALF FULL
The South Island’s craggy majesty dominates our perceptions of New Zealand, but the country’s lower half also offers a softer splendour – its wine industry. Production centres on the north coast and the Marlborough region, where
vines thrive in the furrows around Blenheim and Nelson. Black Tomato (0808 280 8238; blacktomato.com) pays special attention to both with its Wines of New Zealand holiday – a 10-night affair that also hops to the North Island, for tastings at Hawke’s Bay. From £7,000 per person (flights extra).
THE HARD YARDS
Tongariro also features in the Trekking in New Zealand break sold by Exodus Travels (020 3993 5447; exodus.co.uk). The country’s dramatic landscape makes it an ideal context for holidays on foot, and this 21-day escorted tour
makes the most of it, also wandering the hills of Abel Tasman National Park at the top of the South Island – before tipping its hat to Aoraki/Mount Cook (almost) at the heart of it. A single edition is slated for 2022 (next November); four are planned for 2023. From £5,499 per person (excluding flights).
THE BEAUTIFUL NORTH
There can be a tendency for travellers to touch down in Auckland, on the North Island, then transfer to make the most of the glorious scenery of the South Island. Discover the World (01737 214 250; discover-the-world.com) puts the “other” end of the country on a plinth with its North Island Classic – a 13-night road trip which gazes at the scattered shards of the Bay of Islands, the forested serenity of the Coromandel Peninsula, Rotorua’s spurting geysers, and the volcanic grandeur of Tongariro National Park. From £2,430 per person, including hire car and international flights.
THE WILD ONES
Where there are peaks, fjords and forests, there are birds and marine mammals. Naturetrek (01962 733 051; naturetrek.co.uk) goes in search of little spotted kiwis and dusky dolphins in particular on its 22-day New Zealand’s Natural History guided holiday. The next departure is scheduled for Oct 30 to Nov 20 2022. From £7,995 per person, including flights.
Chris Leadbeater