Trip to New Zealand

I leave Tuesday, March 4 for three weeks in New Zealand.  Will fly into Auckland, arriving Thursday, missing Wednesday completely after crossing the International Date Line.

 

My basic itinerary:

 

Two weeks with a tour group, Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT)

* 2 days in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, located on the North Island

* 2 days in Rotorua (Maori culture and geothermal sights)

* Fly to Queensland on the South Island for three nights at Millbrook Resort (Arrowtown gold rush replica, Milford Sound cruise, and a jet boat ride on the Dart River)

* 1 day to Haast Pass and Fox Glacier

* 2 days to Franz Josef Glacier, helicopter flight over Mt. Cook (weather permitting); bus to Greymouth, scenic tour of Reefton, Punakaiki Blowholes, and Pancake Rocks

* 1 day to see working sheep ranch in the Southern Alps and drive across the Alps to Christchurch

* 2 days in Wellington, New Zealand's capital

 

Then one week on my own to Dunedin on the east coast of the South Island, including three days at the Penguin Place Conservation Reserve and a chance to see two types of penguins (Little Blue Penguins and the rare Yellow-Eyed Penguins).

 

I return to Atlanta on Thursday, March 27.