Our tour starts in New Zealand’s Capital City ‘Wellington’. We make our way up the West Coast of the North Island to New Plymouth, and the solitary dormant volcano, Mount Taranaki, standing 2518m high. Ice and snow permanently cover the peak of this majestic mountain. We will follow the ‘Surf Highway 45’ to reach New Plymouth. This is 105km of road, hugging the rugged coastline that sweeps around the feet of Mt Taranaki that produce’s some of New Zealand’s most legendary surf breaks.  Tonight we can have a night out on the town local style on New Plymouth’s Devon Street where there is a range of bar’s and entertainment to suit everyone tastes.

The day is yours to do as you wish. Perhaps take the day to explore Egmont National Park and the spectacular Mount Taranaki, or walk the award winning 7km Coastal walkway and view Sugar Loaf Islands. Or spend the day wandering the city visiting magnificent Pukekura Park, Govett-Brewster Modern Art Gallery and Puke-Ariki Contemporary Museum. Finally a visit to New Plymouth is not complete with out seeing Len Lye’s famous sculpture the Wind Wand.

We leave Mount Taranaki behind us today and continue our journey north to the famous Waitomo Caves, home of the Glow Worms. The caves were first extensively explored in 1887 and were opened to tourists in 1889. We take a 45min tour through the main cave network, which ends with a boat trip. This is where the silence and darkness, reveals the galaxy of light around us emanating from the Glow Worms. You also have a number of optional activities to choose from; do a Tandem Abseil into the lost world, try Black Water Rafting in a rubber tube or take a relaxing horse ride. Tonight we can relax at our camp for the evening.

We are now back in the Waikato region, one of New Zealand’s richest agricultural areas, with its green rolling hills and the largest river in the country snaking its way north. We make our way west to what is called the ‘rugged coast’ and to one of New Zealand's small rustic beach towns – Raglan. Internationally renowned for its surfing, this black sand beach town with its palm lined streets will suck you into the relaxed mode of Kiwi beach life. You can spend the afternoon relaxing on the beach, learning to surf or walk in the native bush. This evening is our last evening together; we can enjoy a night on the town, local style, reminiscing the last 30 days touring around New Zealand.

We head North over the Bombay Hills before arriving in Auckland where this tour comes to an end.


NOTE:
All Overland NZ tours are flexible and we do our utmost to take you to the best places we possibly can. Our expeditions can sometimes be effected by local climatic conditions and anything else unexpected so please treat this information as a guideline only.  When you come to New Zealand be prepared to take things as they come and above all don’t forget your sense of humour!