Commencing in Auckland and concluding in Christchurch this golf and wine tour allows you to experience the best of New Zealand's premier wine regions with knowledgeable wine guides. Between your rounds of golf on the best international renowned courses you'll taste fine wine and meet the winemakers of renowned vineyards.
- Day 1
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Arrive Auckland
On arrival at Auckland International Airport you will be met by your Golfers Dream host. Imagine trying to negotiate your way into the city at peak hour traffic, especially if you have had a long overnight flight and will be driving on the wrong side of the road … well you won’t have to. Your representative will personally transfer you to your hotel in Auckland City, the remainder of the day is at your leisure.
Auckland
- Day 2
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Waiheke Island Wine Tour
It’s a 35-minute ferry ride to Waiheke Island this morning. Since the late 1970’s Waiheke’s benign Mediterranean climate has seen the growth of a flourishing wine industry. A “small is beautiful” philosophy yields low quantities of extremely high quality fruit, which is made into international award-winning wines. Enjoy lunch (own expense) on an escorted wine tour of some of Waiheke’s boutique vineyards. Later in the afternoon take the ferry back to Auckland and collect your rental vehicle from the downtown depot
- Day 3
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Golf at Gulf Harbour Country Club
This morning travel north (approx 1 hour) to the Whangaparoa Peninsula for an afternoon round at Gulf Harbour Country Club. This Robert Trent Jones 11 designed championship course combines spectacular ocean views and rolling terrain that combine to make Gulf Harbour one of NZ’s most challenging courses. The course has four tee positions enabling golfers of all abilities to enjoy the challenging layout.
Gulf Harbour Country Club
- Day 4
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Auckland to Bay of Islands
This morning travel to Paihia for a cruise aboard a high-speed luxury catamaran cruising through the game fishing waters to the Cape Brett Lighthouse. Next, is Motukokako Island and the famous ‘Hole in the Rock’, the excitement grows as you make a passage through the Hole and on to the majestic Grand Cathedral Cave. New Zealand’s most comprehensive eco-tour of the historic and picturesque Bay of Islands – Discover the Bay Eco-Cruise.
Northland
- Day 5
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Golf at Kauri Cliffs Resort
A golfing highlight of the tour is 18 holes of golf at Kauri Cliffs Golf Course with amazing views over the Cavalli Islands and many holes running parallel to the Pacific Ocean. Fifteen holes view the Pacific Ocean, six of which are played alongside cliffs that plunge into the sea. The beautiful inland holes wind through marsh, forest and farmland. Golf Digest USA selected Kauri Cliffs 'Best New International Golf Course of 2001'.
Kauri Cliffs Resort
- Day 6
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Bay of Islands to Taupo
Leave your rental car at Kerikeri airport this morning and take a flight to Rotorua. Suggest a visit to Rainbow Springs Nature Park in Rotorua, where you will see the rainbow and brown trout and the New Zealand icon Kiwi Bird. If you are interested in the history of sheep and farming in New Zealand a visit the Agrodome is recommended. As you continue onto Taupo we suggest you call into Orakei Korako Cave & Thermal Park, one of the best and most natural geothermal locations in the area.
Rotorua
- Day 7
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Taupo to Napier – Golf at Wairakei International Golf Course
Travel to Taupo this morning and play 18 holes of golf on the challenging Wairakei International Golf Course this afternoon. The course is set out on 156 hectares of former farmland in the middle of the Wairakei Tourist Park boasting lush manicured fairways and greens, mature tree plantings and magnificent vistas. The natural contours, 108 well placed bunkers and three water hazards guard the course from those over-ambitious shots. The large greens provide a false sense of security. The subtle breaks and fast pace demand accurate approach shots.
There will be time to take a look around Taupo and visit the roaring Huka Falls before you depart for the Hawke’s Bay town of Napier. The major entertainment on the road from Taupo to Napier is the fantastic scenery. In 1931 a devastating earthquake nearly leveled this city. It was rebuilt in the style of the times, and is now considered the Art Deco Capital of the world.
Wairakei International
- Day 8
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Hawke’s Bay Wine Tour
A full day wine tour has been arranged for today. Your guide who will collect you from your hotel has an excellent knowledge of wine and the Hawke's Bay wine scene. Every tour is tailor made to reflect your interest and wine preferences ... maybe the barrel sample you taste will be the next international award winner ... you be the judge. Enjoy lunch at one of the wineries at your own cost.
- Day 9
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Golf at Cape Kidnappers
Your 18 holes of golf today is at the Cape Kidnappers Course. The American designer of Cape Kidnappers, Tom Doak, who is also well known for his prize-winning courses in the US, has said that, 'If Cape Kidnappers were a book it would be an epic. Enjoy your game and enjoy the setting (because) you may never play golf somewhere like this again'. Cape Kidnappers plays above the ocean, atop dramatic cliffs and runs to and from the edge. Cape Kidnappers is built on a ridge-and-valley landscape with spectacular sea views. 2004 Course of the Year – Travel & Leisure Golf.
Cape Kidnappers Resort
- Day 10
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Napier to Martinborough
Leave Hawke’s Bay this morning and travel through the Wairarapa wine region to Martinborough, a charming historic wine village an easy drive from Hawke’s Bay. River terraces and long hot summers provide the terroir for over 30 boutique vineyards producing fine award winning wines, especially acclaimed pinot noir. Martinborough is a leading New Zealand wine region. The region also produces outstanding and award winning olive oil.
Wairarapa
- Day 11
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Martinborough to Blenheim
This morning leave your rental car at the Wellington Ferry Terminal before boarding your ferry across Cook Straight to Picton. The 92km journey between Wellington and Picton takes only 3 hours and has been described as "one of the most beautiful ferry rides in the world". Interislander's 3 vessels give you a wide choice of sailings. Highlights along the way include the Red Rocks seal colony, Tory Channel, Cook’s Lookout and the beautiful coves of the sounds.
Wellington
- Day 12
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Marlborough Wine Tour
You will be collected this morning by a wine expert from DeVine Wines for a full day wine tour when you will amble through the rows of vines and enjoy wine tastings at wineries of your choice in Marlborough, stopping for a scrumptious lunch. Marlborough is New Zealand's premier wine growing region with the largest number of wineries and vineyard plantings in the country. Signature wines from the region include Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir which thrive in this cool climate where warm days and cold nights create a length ripening period ensuring maximum flavours.
- Day 13
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Blenheim to Christchurch
Drive south to Christchurch today. On the way, explore some boutique vineyards such as Waipara Springs, Torlesse, Canterbury House and Pegasus Bay, all producing a fine selection of both white and red wines.
Christchurch
- Day 14
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Golf at Clearwater Resort
This morning play 18 holes of golf on the Clearwater Resort Course. There are elements of links and parkland golf at the Clearwater course with an abundance of water. Natural springs and crystal clear streams that are teeming with trout feed the resort’s 15 hectares of lakes. Water comes into play at 14 of the holes with numerous grass hazards of tussocks and marram grasses. There are five-position tees, including the championship tees, and is the home of the New Zealand PGA Championship.
Clearwater Golf Club
- Day 15
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Christchurch to Lake Tekapo – Golf at Terrace Downs Resort
Travel one hour south west for your 18 hole game this morning at Terrace Downs Resort in the Rakaia River Gorge. Magnificent scenery surrounds you as the quiet solitude of the countryside lets you relax and concentrate on your game. The course sits at an altitude of 450 metres, has four-position tees, generously wide fairways, but 70 bunkers, numerous grass hazards and eight lakes. Terrace Downs is a course that has gained a fantastic reputation in New Zealand golfing circles. After golf it’s a 3 hour drive to Lake Tekapo.
Terrace Downs Resort
- Day 16
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Lake Tekapo to Queenstown
You may wish to start you day with a Scenic flight over Mt Cook and the glaciers before you journey south through the golden tussock country of the Lindis Pass. Enjoy the scenery of the fruit growing region of Cromwell and the historic gold mining region of the rugged Kawarau Gorge before arriving in Queenstown.
Queenstown
- Day 17
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Queenstown Wine Tour
Today enjoy an escorted full day tour of the Central Otago wine region. Visit some of the award winning vineyards in this region, such as Gibbston Valley Wines with its wine cave, Carrick Winery where you stop for lunch before continuing onto the small family and operated Aurum Wines or the up-market Rockburn Wines for more sampling before leaving the area. Your next visit is the very impressive Peregrine Wines you finish the day with a tasting and cheese and pickles platter at Chard Farm.
- Day 18
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Milford Sound Scenic Flight and Cruise
Milford Sound is often described as the eighth wonder of the world. It is set in the Fiordland National Park, on the west coast of the South Island
Fly from Queenstown by aeroplane to Milford Sound, You will have a window seat with an unimpeded view, as you fly to Milford Sound through a landscape of unbelievable grandeur & beauty. By flying you see so much more than by road, as you go where no roads can.
Many people say that flying through this magnificent landscape to Milford Sound is one the most memorable experiences of their New Zealand visit.
Connect with Milford Sound Red Boats for your cruise the full length of the fiord to the Tasman Sea and back to the wharf at the Visitor Centre when you will return via the glaciers of the Olivine ice plateau and Barrier range, weather permitting.
Milford Sound
- Day 19
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Golf at Millbrook Resort
Play 18 holes of golf at Millbrook Resort this morning. One of the finest and most scenically stunning New Zealand golf courses Millbrook Resort features a mixture of undulating to rolling fairways, each hole having its own strategic scenic feature. It has four-tee positions, open fairways, demanding hazards, including more than 60 bunkers, and meandering waterways. Visit the historical town of Arrowtown next door to Millbrook after golf.
Millbrook Resort
- Day 20
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Golf at Jacks Point Golf Course
The course at Jacks Point is set within one thousand acres of unspoiled rolling grasslands, montane highlands and spreading downs. This brand new golf course is bounded by the Remarkables mountain range and Lake Wakatipu. It traverses through wetland to the lake edge encountering steep bluffs, indigenous vegetation and wildlife. It is designed to work with nature, not against it. Fairways are designed with minimal excavation and careful plantings to complement the natural environment, but also to give the golfer a fighting chance.
Jacks Point Golf Course
- Day 21
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Depart New Zealand
Sadly your time in New Zealand comes to an end as you return your rental car to the airport for your onward flight. Here, we bid you a fond farewell to your homeland and hope you leave with many happy memories of your stay in New Zealand.
We are happy to add or delete days and activities to ensure your holiday is the best it possibly can be.
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