Luxury New Zealand Holidays

New Zealand is a luxury holiday destination of rare seismic beauty. Our tailormade New Zealand holiday tours show you glacial mountains, fast-flowing rivers, deep, clear lakes, hissing geysers and boiling mud. There are also abundant native forests, long, deserted beaches and a variety of fauna, such as the kiwi, endemic to its shores.

As far away from the UK as it is possible to go, New Zealand is the true Antipodes, set like a remote emerald jewel in the blue waters of the southwest Pacific.

It’s an unspoilt landscape of snow-capped mountains and sheer-falling fjords, rolling meadows and open farmland. North Island is best known for the geothermal wonders of Rotorua, but also offers insights into the rich and rewarding Maori culture and the clear waters of the Bay of Islands, shimmering under the southern sun.

Cross over to South Island, home to the elegant town of Christchurch and some of the world’s most restful retreats, oasis of comfort in a tranquil landscape of unutterable beauty.

There’s excitement here too, with Queenstown, the adrenalin capital of the world, pioneering new adventures, and the chance to quietly explore farmlands and national parks where nature rules.

North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, the other being the South Island. The island is 113,729 square km in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island. It has a population of 3,250,700 (June 2008 estimate). Eight important cities are in the North Island, notably New Zealand's largest city, Auckland, New Plymouth, Tauranga, Gisborne, Napier, Hamilton, Palmerston North and Wellington, the capital, located at the southern extremity of the island. Approximately 76% of New Zealand's population lives in the North Island.

South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. The Mâori name for the South Island, Te Wai Pounamu, meaning "The Water/s of Greenstone" (greenstone being jade), possibly evolved from Te Wâhi Pounamu which means "The Place Of Greenstone". The island is also known as Te Waka a Mâui which means "Mâui's Canoe". The South Island is often called "the Mainland". Today this expression is used humorously, although still with pride by "Mainlanders", since while it is a somewhat larger landmass than the North Island, only about a quarter of New Zealand's four million inhabitants live in the South Island. However, in the early stages of European (Pâkehâ) settlement of the country, the South Island was pre-eminent, with the majority of the European population and wealth focussed there due to gold rushes. It was not until the early 20th century that the North Island.