7 Day / 6 Night Tour departing Auckland, Taupo, Masterton, Feilding & Tongariro National Park with a visit to the Cross Hills Gardens Country Fair.
Discover the beautiful country gardens of the Waikato, Hawkes Bay, Northern Wairarapa and Manawatu. Stay in Masterton and Feilding, both winners of town beauty contests, and enjoy the fun of the fair at Cross Hills Gardens.
Inclusions
- All transport by comfortable, air-conditioned coach (maximum of 18 travellers).
- Services of your knowledgeable guide.
- Quality accommodation chosen for a “sense of place".
All meals are included
- All breakfasts (B).
- All lunches (L) including special lunches at: Moondance Manor, Tamahere with Stephen and Jeanette Williams; Te Parae homestead with Angela Williams; Kathryn Wells at Lansdale, Kairanga; Lily and Graeme Price’s Roseburn Park, Akautere; Crosshills Farm, Otorohanga with Debbie and Fraser Robertson.
- All dinners (D).
All Activities & Entrance Fees are included
- Linda Peat and Tim Birdsall’s Tullamore Garden where miniature Galloway cattle graze.
- Lunch at Gwavas Homestead and stroll in the garden
- Warren and Robyn Walker’s Braemore Farm Garden, Eketahuna.
- Guided tour with Edward Beetham of Brancepeth historic homestead..
- Judy Callaghan’s Dursley in the Wairarapa, designed by Alfred Buxton.
- Lunch at Lansdale, also a Buxton designed garden.
- Lynne Atkin’s lovely Greenhaugh Gardens.
- Ailsa & Carey Sanson’s Parkwood Garden.
- The unique Tree Church, Ohaupo.
Included Sightseeing & Exploring
- We drive through the heart of the Waikato dairy farmlands.
- Drive through the Hawkes Bay’s vineyards and orchards.
- Explore the country roads of the Northern Wairarapa.
- Drive over Saddle Road, with Te Apiti wind farm stretching along the ridge.
- Charming Feilding and its historic sale yards.
- At Kimbolton visit Heritage Park Rhododendron Gardens, maintained by volunteers.
- Browse the stalls and wander the garden at The Cross Hills Gardens Country Fair.
- Take the mountain road to the Top o’ the Bruce to enjoy the panorama.
Dates
On request - starting from $3,390. Single Supplement add $675
Itinerary
What you'll love today
- Hosted lunch at Moondance Manor
- Stay lakeside in Lake Taupo
From Taupo we drive through Hawkes Bay to lunch with Phyllida and Stuart Gibson at Gwavas Homestand and stroll in their garden in Tirokino, first established by the family 120 years ago. In Eketahuna we visit Warren and Robyn Walker’s Braemore Farm Garden where the rhododendrons are in bloom.
We arrive in Masterton and stay at the Copthorne Hotel & Resort, Solway Park, our home for two nights, and dine in this evening.
What you'll love today
- Strolling in the garden at Gwavas Estate
- Unpack for two nights in Masterton
Masterton is the home of the Golden Shears championship so naturally our first stop this morning is the town's Wool Museum. We join Edward Beetham for morning tea and a guided tour through his family’s Brancepeth homestead built in the 1850s. We lunch nearby with Angela Williams at Te Parae homestead built in 1905. Te Parae shares family history with Brancepeth and thoroughbred horse breeding is a family tradition. We return to Masterton in the mid afternoon and dine at Solway Park this evening.
What you'll love today
- Two iconic Wairarapa homesteads
- Meet the locals at the Wool Museum
What you'll love today
- Cross the Saddle Road and see the Manawatu wind farm
- Stroll in Greenhaugh Gardens and lunch in the Giraffe House
What you'll love today
- Historic Feilding sale yards
- Lunch at Lansdale in Kairanga
What you'll love today
- All the fun of the Cross Hills Gardens' Country Fair
- Enjoy your last night in style at the Chateau Tongariro
What you'll love today
- The stunning views from Mt Ruapehu
- Barry Cox's unique Tree Church Garden