New Zealand was Wonderful

New Zealand | Mar 17 - Apr 8, 2026

The Art Deco Masonic Hotel was fantastic! We had the Anna Pavlova suite which had a separate living room with a door separating the bedroom from the living room. The bedroom and living room each had a bathroom. The location was perfect. They have a second-floor balcony that looks out over the ocean where you can see a beautiful sunrise. It was an easy walk to the downtown area. The only different thing about the hotel is that there is no parking there. You use the loading zone to unload your luggage and check in. Then you have to pay to park your car in a lot a couple of blocks away.

Very friendly staff and a great location. Other than that, there was nothing that made this hotel stand out. They did not serve breakfast here. Fortunately, a short walk away was an excellent choice for breakfast and lunch that we enjoyed - the Federal Square Cafe. The hotel is also a very close walk to both the Sky Tower and the Weta Workshop. We did not have a car here so I cannot tell you about parking.

What a place! The rooms were lovely, the hosts were wonderful and what a breakfast! They had a nice happy hour for us as well. The only drawback was that we had a 2nd floor room and there were no elevators. Also, the parking is a little tight but everything worked out just fine. The hosts really know the area very well and were quite friendly. The location is not downtown but that was actually very nice. It was only a 10 or 15 minute drive to the Little Blue Penguin Colony and Bushy Beach.

An excellent hotel with an excellent location. It is just a few steps from the main Christchurch Trolley (which we took advantage of). It was also very close to lots of places to eat for dinner. The breakfast was also very good. We did not have KimKim book the Trolley as we were not certain how we would feel after the long flight. We decided to book it and also added on the Garden Tour. We were glad we did! We first took the trolley all the way around to see what was offered. It was St. Patrick's Day so they told us where all of the Irish bars were. After the first loop, we continued and got off at the Irish Pub stop. Then we hopped on again to go to the Botanical Gardens. The Garden tour was wonderful and well worth the money and time. After walking around the garden some more, we hopped back on the bus to head back to our hotel. A wonderful first day.

A very nice hotel even though the rooms were a little small for two people and their luggage. If you happen to be located on the 2nd floor be aware that there are no elevators. Breakfast was provided in the shop behind the vicarage which was quite good. The town is small but it has a nice walkway behind the hotel. There was plenty of room to park your car but you will not need it in town as there are lots of shops and several restaurants within easy walking distance.

One of our more unique stays on our trip. This one-room cabin is very isolated but once we got there it was wonderful. We stayed here two nights. Our tour guide got us a package where breakfast and dinner were provided. The unit had a stove, an outdoor grill and a refrigerator. We had steaks waiting to grill and the first night we had a pasta salad and the second night a broccoli salad. For breakfast there were eggs to cook up and yogurt or milk with some granola. Outside, was a sheep farm for as far as you could see. Needless to say, the stars were very bright. They also had a very nice hot tub large enough for two to fit comfortably (and look at the stars). Our host was very friendly and gave us ideas as to what to do.

The skylight in the room was unique. The view outside of our window was gorgeous! We could walk to the lakeshore from the hotel but we typically drove as there was plenty of parking. The parking at the hotel was ok but kind of tight. While they gave you an option to eat breakfast in your room, we instead ate at their breakfast area (which was small but very well organized).

Great hotel with a great location. We walked everywhere. The breakfast was great for a hotel that serves a lot of tour groups. The room was very clean. We also were able to do our laundry right in the hotel (once we got change from the front desk). Everyone was very friendly.

This hotel's location was excellent. We were able to walk into Queenstown's downtown, gardens and docks very easily. It costs extra to park here and parking is limited so make sure you talk to them before you get into town. There is no elevator for your luggage but one of the staff happily took them up to the higher floor for us. The room was clean and spacious. They provided a happy hour at 5 pm with wine and snacks which was an unexpected activity that allowed socializing with other hotel guests.

We really enjoyed our stay at Naumi Hotel Wellington. It is right off of Cuba street where we could walk to everything - including Te Papa, the National Museum (very good). There is a nice pickup spot for ride sharing on the other side. Breakfast was very good. If you did not like what was on the buffet, you could order fried eggs or an omelet. We stayed there three nights and had dinner at three different restaurants less than a block from the hotel. I will say that the decor was very stripey (you will understand once you get there).

The Millennium Hotel Rotorua was okay, but not as charming as other accommodations on our trip. The breakfast staff seemed overworked and the front desk staff acted like you were bothering them. The location was great, which was a redeeming factor. Just wasn't as personal or cozy as other spots.

Corporate Cabs did an excellent job of picking us up from the hotel and taking us to the airport. Once we were finished picking up the car at the Christchurch Airport, we went to the International Antarctic Center. This was a very interesting place where we learned much more about Antarctica than we knew before going.

We were very lucky in that it was a very cloudy day but once evening came, the clouds mostly went away. The crater folks allowed you to use some of their jackets if you did not bring warm enough clothes. We hopped on a bus which took us on a 5-10 minute drive to a depression where the city lights did not bother the viewing (it is a dark sky area so the lights were minimal anyway). There were three or four astronomers (or at least very knowledgable about astronomy) where one main guide showed us the stars and talked about various stars and constellations using a laser pointer. Then they had three telescopes spread out with each telescope pointing at a different object. Then after everyone had a turn, they pointed the telescopes to other objects and we all had a turn seeing those. We were lucky in that the sky was 90% clear. We did the first shift which started at 9pm. The Milky Way could have been brighter on the second tour but I do not know. We definately saw it but it was not quite as impressive as what you see in photos. However, it was a great educational exprerience and it seemed like the children on this trip enjoyed it as well. Of course, simply going to Lake Tekapo was great. Seeing the lake, the church and the power station were also highlights.

We had a great day at Tasman Glacier Terminal Lake. The day was warm so we needed to carry our coats with us to get to the boats. The walk to the boats was not too bad - just a little steep on gravel at the end. There were lockers we used to place our backpacks in while we were on the boats. There were 4 boats holding 10-12 each. Once on the water, all of the boats took different routes so you felt like it was just your boat. The tour guide was great and told us lots of information about glaciers, ice flows and iceburgs.

We had premium seats for this event. This allowed us to see the penguins very close up as they came over the top of the rocks from the ocean and headed toward their nests (boxes). The commentary was nice but the penguins stole the show. So did the New Zealand Fur Seals who just happened to be in the area before it got dark.

We had a great guided tour of Dunedin and two artistic craftsman - one who made both jewerly and did painting and another who made fired clay pottery. Both were very interesting to talk to. We also learned about Dunedin's history and architecture. Very enjoyable.

It took a while to pick up all of the passengers from a few pickup points but once we all got on the bus things got interesting. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable about the making of the LOTR movies and knew several individuals that were extras on set. She shared lots of stories making the 2 hour drive to Mount Sunday go by quickly. Is it a little nerdy to get excited about climbing a large hill (Mount Sunday) where nothing now exists but had an important part in the movies? Maybe. But it was fun nevertheless. It was also quite strenuous so be prepared. It was also very windy - which is very common. The views both getting to and on top of Mount Sunday were also quite nice. The tour included a nice packed lunch. Some of us ate on the bus while others managed to eat in the wind. Lunch included some wine, fruit juice or a combination of the two. Our tour guide had even more stories for the ride back. We were quite tired by the time we returned to our hotel.

The Sunrise Tour at Mohua Park was a bit disappointing due to timing. The guide was great, but the timing resulted in not being able to see the penguins due to them molting. It was still beautiful, but not seeing the wildlife as expected was a letdown. After the morning tour, we had plenty of time to do quite a lot of hiking and sightseeing. Some of our favorites were Nugget Point and the walk to the lighthouse, McLean Falls, Metai Falls and the Parakaunui Falls Walk.

This was a very unique experience as Glowworms are only located in New Zealand and Eastern Australia. The wonder of the Glowworms was augmented by the amount of education that they provided.

Under wonderful weather we saw beautiful sites and vistas. Not much wildlife. We did see a raft of Little Blue Penguins and saw a colony of seals on a little island. We purchased the pre-prepared lunch which was fine. Others were bringing their lunch on so that is an option. The boat itself is nice.

Light winds made the steamship cruise very nice. We were able to tour the ship and learn about its history. Once we got to the farm, we started with a large dinner buffet inside a lovely facility. The buffet had many stations including four meat stations - lamb, venison, chicken, and pork. There were also nice options for desserts. After the dinner they had a stage set up which was under cover - good thing as it was raining - where we saw sheep shearing and sheep dogs working.

This was a nice way to see the city of Queenstown from above. The day was clear and we could see a long ways. We had lunch at their cafeteria which worked out well.

We loved what Zealandia is doing in converting a large area into pre-human inhabited times. Our guide was very knowledgable but he was hard to hear at times. He needed to have one of the whisper devices so that when the group is strung out everyone could hear him. We had some great opportunities to see lots of birds that we had not seen yet.

If you have been to Yellowstone National Park, this is similar but on a much smaller scale. This is one of the activities that we could have skipped. Not because it was bad but because we did not learn anything new. On the plus side, we did see a couple of new birds that we had not seen yet.

We really enjoyed this experience. After a traditional Maori greeting, we were divided into groups of about 10. Each group went from station to station to learn more about the Maori culture including some of the games that they played and how to do the Waka while in between stations we were given light snacks and a drink. After experiencing all of the stations, we went into a large hall and they put on a show with singing and dancing (very fun). Then we had a nice dinner. We had dinner with two other couples where we had interesting conversations while eating and drinking.

A great place to learn about the Kiwi. Very educational and we even got a good look at several Kiwis in specially designed housing.

In hindsight, we could have missed this and done something else. It simply was not as relaxing as we had hoped.

Another unique New Zealand experience. Seeing 10,000+ Gannet's roosting, diving, landing, and feeding their chicks was cool. However, be prepared for the smell. We had beautiful weather and our guide was great. The views were also beautiful.

We enjoyed the Agrodome Farm Show and Farm Tour Combo. It was right next door to the National Kiwi Hatchery. We started with the Farm Tour where we travelled through the farm and got out at several locations throughout. This was mainly to get closer to the various animals on the farm but also to get a close up look at the Kiwis growing and to taste some honey. After the tour, we saw the show which taught us about all of the different types of sheep, saw some sheep dog tricks and saw a live sheep shearing. They had a cafe on-site where we were able to get food between the National Kiwi Hatchery and the Agrodome.

Because of the weather, we ended up not exploring Waiheki Island on our last day in New Zealand. I would recommend that unless you are there during high season you not purchase tickets until the day of the tour. Instead of touring the island we ended up going to the Auckland War Memorial Museum which includes a lot more than simply information about the war. It was a nice way to end the trip.

The Hobbiton Movie Set Tour was absolutely amazing! It was the perfect day, and the gardens were phenomenal. Loved seeing the Shire and all the Hobbiton charm. It was a standout for sure!

The Wellington Lord of the Rings Tour was incredible. Our guide did a great job, showing us not only Lord of the Rings locations but also giving us a fascinating tour of the city. He showed us unique spots, like a weaving mill, which was very interesting. We loved the personalized experience.

The Glowworm Kayak Tour was a fun adventure. We loved kayaking at night, and the weather was perfect. The tour provided coats, pants, and shoes, but it wasn't clear beforehand, so we brought unnecessary stuff. Better communication on equipment would improve the experience.

The Queenstown Wine Sampler tour itself was fun once it got started, but finding the meeting location was a nightmare. Instructions were unclear, and GPS misled us. It needs to specify cross streets and better signage for Altitude's Wine Tasting Tour. The tour itself made up for the initial stress. We went to four wineries and had lunch at one of them.

The Art Deco Vintage Car Tour in Napier was a delightful surprise. We toured in a 1930s car and learned a lot about the city's Art Deco history, including its recovery from a massive earthquake. It was surprisingly engaging and exceeded our expectations.