The very first tour of this itinerary
NEW ZEALAND NORTH AND SOUTH ISLAND
We have just completed the very first tour of this itinerary.
We took the Tauck Spotlight on New Zealand tour in 2015.
This tour has more places that are new to us and is a much improved itinerary including the quality of hotels compared to back then. It’s a shame that Wellington is not included because there is so much to see and do there that we enjoyed last time.
I have been lazy making notes as we went along so I can’t answer questions about timing etc. These days I refer to the itineraries when I want to make a photo book.
Our Tour Director was Miles and he was awesome, a New Zealander. We had a lovely group of 36 people.
The weather was not as expected for either ourselves or the New Zealanders for this time of year. We had days of rain, some wind and cool weather. This completely affected the day where we were to go whale watching and to take scenic flights on both a plane and a helicopter They were all cancelled. Fortunately other key days were better but we did have to wear coats most of the time and I bought a woolly hat towards the end of the tour, which, of course, is when the weather improved 🤪
Our Tour Director must have spent many hours behind the scenes contacting Tauck headquarters to try to secure a wonderful alternative activity to replace those that we missed. A great surprise trip was arranged for our time in Queenstown to replace the whale watching and scenic flights in Kaikōura. This sort of thing is where Tauck shines, doing their best to pivot from ‘the unexpected’ I’m not going to divulge what it was, but if it happens to you,you will enjoy it.
Each of the included activities were excellent, so much so I’m hard pressed to highlight just one.
There were quite a few meals to find on our own. The TD provided us with $50 New Zealand for several of the lunches and $100 each for one of the dinners. Some of the included dinners were whenever you wanted to eat and with whoever in the group.
There was a lot of provided wines, my preference is Sauvignon Blanc and I enjoyed all of them.
All the hotels were good, Those who like high end hotels will be not be disappointed. However, there did seem to be a shortage of staff at breakfast time. In the Park Hyatt in Auckland you were presented with a half cup of coffee and when you asked for more, two days running the wait was ten minutes, the third day we gave up the wait as it was time to get to the bus. Another hotel had run out of coffee cups and another was so busy that some of us were directed to an empty conference room and we had to collect breakfast items and take them back there. Otherwise all our meals everywhere were really good, especially the steaks.
Do try the savory meat pies of all combinations, famous in New Zealand. They are really good.
There is a washer/ dryer in your hotel room in Wanaka. Soap powder provided. Laundry rooms in at least two other hotels.
Here are a few things I recommend. First, the spa day, which consisted of an over the top complex with an assortment of hot and cold plunge pools, mineral pools and sauna. So very realaxing.
We chose the Art walk in Christchurch. Christchurch was a great surprise, very hip. There was a Banksy exhibition a couple of minutes from the hotel and only a few minutes walk in the pouring rain to get there 🤪 Ed Sheeran was performing that night, sadly sold out. Apparently he played for three hours, changing his guitars several times as they were soaked by the rain.
Souvenirs.. possum and lambs wool items are the thing. Jade is everywhere, super expensive. A great All Blacks store at that experience. Manuka honey in all concentrations.
That’s it for now
Comments
Thanks for sharing this! I was looking at this tour and thinking it would be a good one to do with our adult children.
I agree about the Tauck "pivot". Certainly is a big reason why we are fans.
Thanks, British. I've been thinking of this tour. Miles was my TD on the "Grand Australia & New Zealand" tour that I took in 2018. He was great. As I recall, one of his parents (I think his mother) was English and his father was Maori. When I came home, I googled "How to emigrate to New Zealand." The first item on the list was "Be under 55" (in more delicate language). I didn't bother to look for the second item!
I’m already booked on this tour.
Great synopsis, British. I love a Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc!
British - thanks for the great review!
British - when referring to the spa day, do you mean the Wai Ariki Hot Springs option?
Yes that sounds right
Sounds wonderful.
British, IMO, you're a brave one taking the inaugural trip. I prefer to wait until tweaking is done.
BTW, when I did Grand Aus/NZ, Miles was the TD-in-training on the trip. Very nice guy.
Yes and no.. I can think of at least two which were trimmed down because they were too ambitious so we got to do more than going forward. I believe this tour has been changed for next year, not looked at it yet
Thanks. This itinerary is on my 2028 list..........................yes for 2027 changes, 3 charter flights instead of two.
British - I recall you did the same for the Singapore - Bali tour (guinea pigs so to speak), but in that case if I recall it seemed liked some of the tweaks improved the tour by the time I went a couple of years later. I think it can go either way on the tweaks. 😁
Hello Goddess, I just looked at the tour, yes three flights instead of two. I have to say that you will miss the stunning scenery from the bus, It’s a trade off. I should have checked how much the price went up.
You know sometimes if you wait too long, Tauck retires the tour, another trade off. I was so glad we took the first Arabian cruise, the tour directors said it was too full, I mean busy, which for us was perfect, no down time. I noticed the next year they eliminated an entire day, but before the tour came along, war broke out and that was the end of that. It was a favorite one for us. Another tour I recall in Costa Rica, again, the TD said it was too ambitious and it did not last long.
We have taken so many tours now that are the furthest from where we live. After Nepal in the Fall, maybe time to get more of Europe and the easier River cruises
Fingers crossed this tour will still be there in 2018! I'll be on my second future discontinued Tauck itinerary next month. I guess I just want to experience places the masses don't!
The masses are going to NZ, it’s exploded.
Was there in 2023 - LOVED IT!
We would like to visit both Australia and New Zealand. Undecided, however, whether to do the Grand Australia&New Zealand tour or take the Spotlight on Australia AND the New Zealand North&South Island back to back. Seems like the 2 back to back tours might be more immersive. Would appreciate thoughts and recommendations from those of you who have been there. Thanks!
I just read this thread. I want to point out to anyone going to New Zealand that Manuka honey has antibacterial properties but only for external wounds. It doesn’t do anything if you take it internally. Plus, it doesn’t taste very good.
[Added note: Manuka honey is also fairly expensive. If you're going to ingest honey it'll be cheaper to purchase regular, local honey. You'll get the same sweetness effect, plus the advantage of allergy relief from the pollen in local honey.
I’m a long time beekeeper. Because of that, many years ago, when manuka honey got "hot" in the news, I did a deep dive into the scientific literature about it. Ingesting it is about the same as ingesting multiple vitamins. It won’t hurt you, but it doesn’t do anything for you (except maybe make you feel like you're doing something for your health).
Incidentally, honey is not sucrose – it’s a mixture of glucose and fructose. During periods when there’s no forage, we often feed sugar (sucrose) to bees. They break it down into glucose and fructose before storing it (sucrose is made up of glucose and fructose).
When we went to New Zealand I made arrangements to meet with a beekeeper to learn more about beekeeping in New Zealand. He confirmed what I’ve written here, and a lot more. I bought a jar of manuka honey in New Zealand. Everyone has their own taste, but to me, the manuka honey did not taste very good. In fact, my wife, who uses honey daily, threw it away.]
The tour includes a very interesting honey tasting including various strengths of Manuka, so it depends which you have experienced
I have some every morning with hot water. Tastes fine to me.
We did learn that if there is any benefit to consuming it, hot water would destroy any beneficial properties
Thanks for the info. Doesn't change anything. It's a morning ritual and I like it.
from Comvita:
One of the most popular and effective daily routines for Manuka Honey is to make a glass of nurturing honey water.
Start every day with manuka honey water
Enjoy first thing in the morning before breakfast, to fire up the digestive system.
How to make:
Use pre-boiled water and warm to 40-50 degrees Celsius.
Gently stir in 1-2 teaspoons of Comvita Manuka Honey, depending on your preferred level of sweetness.
Stir honey water until the honey is fully dissolved.
Find your happy place and enjoy the manuka moment.
TIPS from the experts
TIP: Never use boiling hot water. Cool or warm water helps to retain the natural goodness in honey (such as enzymes).
That sounds perfect. We got several free jars of regular honey on the tour after we had already purchased some there, so right now, I’m having a piece of toast and honey in the morning. We also all made a pot of honey lip balm..That was a great educational visit and fun visit.
British - I forgot, my guess for your special substitute activity in Queenstown is the Jet Boat Ride on the Shotover River. That is one of the more famous Queenstown activities.
If there is free time in Queenstown and the Jet Boat Ride isn't on the itinerary I think people should look into adding it. It's a great activity.
Sam, the tour includes a two hour fast jet boat ride which is fantastic but different to the Shotover experience. I found the ride up the mountain to the Shotover River on that very narrow road with massive drop offs right there more frightening than the Shotover boat. The trip to the river on this tour does not have that, thank goodness.
Jet Boat ride
We were on the Dart river
Also over the Shotover River is the bridge where bungy jumping was invented.