Melissa, husband Daniel, their sons Joshua and Julian and Daniel’s parents Dr & Mrs Tan travelled from Singapore for a pre-christmas two week road trip of the North & South Islands.
They also had the pleasure of two guides for the first few days of their travels, Jef an experienced guide but new to TRT tagged along for the ride, on a training trip with Constance.
This family group of six kicked off their tour of NZ with an exceptional dining experience at Ahi, one of Auckland’s top restaurants, before opting to escape the concrete jungle for the rolling hills of Hobbiton.
Onwards to Rotorua the family raced each other down the hill on luges, got hands on with the animals at the Agrodome, soaked in the mineral baths at Polynesia Spa, immersed themselves in a cultural experience at Te Pa Tu and wandered around Wai-o-tapu’s geothermal wonderland in wonder.
After visiting the Honey Hive and Huka Falls they arrived into a bustling Taupo, which was gearing up for the World Ironman champs. Undeterred by the chaos they battled the crowds and traffic to visit the iconic DC-3 plane at McDonald’s.
Down the road at the Tongariro National Park our volcanoes were feeling shy and hiding behind the clouds and rain. But when they awoke the following day they were blessed with sunshine and stunning views of all three mountains.
It was also a day of play and visiting giant things in Ohakune and Taihape as the group headed to Wellington. Once in the capital they took a ride on the iconic cable car, checked out the 360deg views up Mt Victoria and visited the Weta Cave before saying Haere Ra to Jef and the North Island.
An early start the next morning saw the group on the Interislander ferry to begin their South Island adventure. First stop, the waterfront playground in Picton before lunch at the St Clair Vineyard in Marlborough, one of the nations well-known wine growing regions. They managed to squeeze in visits to Cloudy Bay and Clos Henri vineyards as well before calling it a day.
The area is also known for its Christmas cherries so before leaving town the family were thrilled to visit the Cherrybank Orchard in Blenheim to ‘PYO’. Many cherries made it to their stomachs and not the buckets!
En-route to Kaikoura they stopped at Ohau to spot the NZ fur seals wallowing on the rocks. Once at their destination they enjoyed a roadside BBQ meal of two NZ delicacies Paua, a black abalone and Crayfish before heading out to sea to whale watch. They were delighted to see two of these incredible marine mammals.
The next day saw the family travel from the Pacific Ocean on the East Coast to the Tasman Sea on the West Coast. It was quite the trek but they broke the journey with an exhilrating Amuri jetboat ride at Hanmer Springs then a walk across the longest and highest swingbridge with a flying fox ride back across the Buller Gorge.
After a good rest and a late morning start, so the boys could run around on the beach in Punakaiki, the family took a stroll to view the blowholes at Pancake Rocks before heading to Greymouth for lunch at a West Coast institution, the Monteith’s Brewery.
Fuelled up again they visited Shantytown an historic gold mining on the outskirts of town. They had a fun time panning for gold and all were successful, finding tiny flakes which they get to keep, preserved in glass vials. There was also an opportunity for a steam train ride.
Their next destination was Franz Josef where they enjoyed a walk through a temperate rain forest to view the glacier. The boys were also very excited to take their first helicopter ride to land on the glacier.
As it was a day off for their guide Constance the group went on an excursion with Franz Josef Wildnerness tours and took a boat ride on Lake Mapourika to learn more about NZ’s conservation efforts. This was followed by relaxation at the Waiho Hot tubs and a degustation dinner at their accommodation Te Waonui Forest Retreat.
The last day of their tiki tour saw the family stop at the Hokitika Wildlife Centre to see the Kiwi, catch and release fresh water crayfish plus feed and pet the eels. From here they returned to Greymouth to catch the Tranz Alpine train back to Christchurch with a final dinner with Constance to say goodbye.
