Luxury · 15D | 14N
The Lodges & the Helicopter
Four of the country's great lodges, linked by helicopter and private aircraft: the Bay of Islands, Hawke's Bay, a Wakatipu estate and a Fiordland wilderness lodge.
- Best time
- November to March
- Route
- Bay of Islands · Hawke's Bay · Queenstown · Fiordland
Day by day
15 days, planned in full
Four of the country's great lodges, linked by helicopter and private aircraft: the Bay of Islands, Hawke's Bay, a Wakatipu estate and a Fiordland wilderness lodge.
Day 1
Arrive in Auckland
Met at the aircraft and driven to a harbour suite, with a chef's dinner and the first night kept clear.
- Night
- Auckland
- Meals
- Dinner
Day 2
North to the Bay of Islands
A helicopter up the coast to a clifftop lodge above a private beach, with a sailing yacht on call.
- Night
- Bay of Islands
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 3
Islands and Waitangi
The lodge's yacht out among the 144 islands, and the Waitangi treaty grounds with a Māori historian in the afternoon.
- Night
- Bay of Islands
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 4
Kauri forest and a spa
A guided walk among 1,000-year-old kauri, a fishing session off the rocks, and a treatment at the lodge.
- Night
- Bay of Islands
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 5
South to Hawke's Bay
A private aircraft down the North Island to a country-house lodge among the vines, with a cellar dinner that night.
- Night
- Hawke's Bay
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner
Day 6
Syrah and the gannets
Three cellar doors with the winemakers, then Cape Kidnappers' gannet colony — 20,000 birds on a clifftop — by four-wheel drive.
- Night
- Hawke's Bay
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 7
Art deco Napier
The 1931 earthquake rebuilt the whole town in one style; a morning with an architectural guide, then golf or the spa.
- Night
- Hawke's Bay
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner
Day 8
South to Wakatipu
A private aircraft to Queenstown and a car out to an estate lodge on the lake, with its own jetty and dinner in the wine cellar.
- Night
- Queenstown
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner
Day 9
Alps by helicopter
Over the Main Divide with a snow landing on the Tasman glacier, then a picnic on a river terrace nobody else can reach.
- Night
- Queenstown
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 10
Central Otago
Pinot noir with three winemakers in Bannockburn and Bendigo, and a long lunch in a schist-walled courtyard.
- Night
- Queenstown
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch
Day 11
Fly-fishing, or the lake
A guided day on a back-country river with a helicopter drop-off, or the lodge's boat and nothing at all, as preferred.
- Night
- Queenstown
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 12
Into Fiordland
A helicopter west over the divide to a wilderness lodge on Lake Moeraki, between the Alps and the Tasman Sea.
- Night
- Fiordland
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 13
Milford, privately
A helicopter into Milford Sound for a private boat on the fjord before the day trade, and a beach picnic on the way back.
- Night
- Fiordland
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 14
Rainforest and penguins
A guided walk in the podocarp forest, and an evening at a Fiordland crested penguin colony with the lodge's naturalist.
- Night
- Fiordland
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 15
Fly home
A helicopter to Queenstown and the connection through Auckland, with lounge access throughout.
- Meals
- Breakfast
What's included
- 14 nights in four relais-standard lodges, all suites
- Return business-class airfare from Delhi or Mumbai
- All helicopter and private-aircraft transfers between lodges
- Full board at every lodge, with wine at dinner
- Tasman glacier snow landing and a private Milford Sound boat
- Private guiding at each lodge, including the Waitangi historian
- Cape Kidnappers gannet colony and all named cellar visits
Not included
- New Zealand visitor visa
- Heli-fishing guide fees if that option is taken
- Travel insurance
- Spa treatments beyond the one included
Other ways to go
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*Per person on twin sharing. Prices move with season and availability — we confirm yours in writing before anything is booked.
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