Itinerary - New Zealand - July 2026
July 4 Arrive Auckland (North Island)
Drive to Cambridge (1½ hours)
July 5 “Second Breakfast” Hobbiton movie set tour
Drive to Waitomo (1¼ hrs)
Glowworm Cave Tour (read more —>)
Drive to Rotorua (2 hrs.)
July 6 Waimangu Volcanic Valley (read more —>)
Morning hike on our own
Afternoon Whakarewarewa private tour
July 7 Fly to Queenstown (South Island)
Drive to Wanaka
July 8 Matukituki Valley Walk and 4WD Tour
July 9 Wine Tour
July 10 Drive to Te Anau (3¼ hr. )
July 11 Milford Sound boat cruise
July 12 Drive to Queenstown, check into our AirBnB for the week
July 13 - 17 Ski / Enjoy Queenstown
Coronet Peak
July 18 Fly home
Glowworm Cave Tour: Enjoy a scenic shuttle ride for the 3.5 kilometers to the cave. On arrival, take a short walk through breathtaking New Zealand native bush to the cave entrance. The guide will light candles setting the scene for an intimate cave experience. See glowworms and cave formations up close and appreciate the beauty of Footwhistle Cave (also known to local Māori as Te Anaroa Cave). Around a corner lie the bones of one of New Zealand's lost treasures, the ancient Moa. Formation lights cast a warm glow over the stunning cave formations as the guide tells of the insect life that lives here - titiwai, the glow worm and tuna, the eel. After enjoying a relaxed stroll through the cave, be seated in Footwhistle's Cathedral to see it lit up by a dazzling magnesium torch.
The Waimangu Volcanic Valley was created in 1886 when the Rotorua region was shaken by the eruption of Mt Tarawera. The volcanic eruption destroyed the surrounding area and opened the earth along a 17 kilometre rift, splitting Mt Tarawera in two, exploding Lake Rotomahana to 20 times its size and forming the seven craters that make up Waimangu Volcanic Valley. This nature walk showcases a wide range of geothermal activity, New Zealand plants and bird life in one of the newest eco-systems in the world.