Today your experienced Driver/Guide will collect you from your hotel for the start of your journey to Rotorua, New Zealand’s Thermal Wonderland.

We go south to the Bombay Hills, greater Auckland’s southern boundary, and down into the Waikato Basin, the country’s most productive dairy pastureland.

We will follow the Waikato River, New Zealand’s largest, until we reach the quaint little town of Cambridge, a touch of England “down under” where we will stop to stretch our legs and have tea or coffee at an old church that has been converted into a comfortable and tasty stopover.

After our break we continue on through the forest parks of the Mamaku Ranges and gradually down into Rotorua steaming away on the lake edge.

We will stop in the beautiful Government Gardens and stroll around for a while, unwinding from our drive, and have a light lunch in the Museum Café. Moving on we visit Te Puia Maori Arts & Crafts and Whakarewarewa geothermal area, home of the famous Pohutu Geyser and boiling mud pools. There is also an opportunity to see the kiwi, our national bird, in the specially created “Kiwi House.”

As people have very different sightseeing requirements we now have the option of: (at your cost)

1. A beautiful drive through native bush to Lake Tarawera and the Blue and Green Lakes.

2. An entertaining Kiwi Farm Show to give you an idea of our farming methods. See www.agrodome.co.nz

3. A visit to Rainbow Springs Nature Park. A chance for you to browse through a natural New Zealand experience. See www.rainbowsprings.co.nz

4. A ride up Mt Ngongataha on a gondola to have a thrilling ride on a four wheeled luge wending its way down part of the mountain and then the return down on the gondola. See www.skylineskyrides.co.nz

5. A relaxing dip in the thermal waters at the Polynesian Pools. See www.polynesianspa.co.nz

Whatever you choose to do you can be assured of a unique experience in the heartland of Maori culture. Sit back, relax and allow your tour host to show and tell you about the history and culture of this fascinating area. If you wish to challenge your spirit, activities and attractions abound, with something to satisfy everyone.

Later in the day, perhaps after relaxing in a thermal pool, we will head back to Auckland, following the setting sun as we pass through the open lush fields and rolling hills of Matamata arriving back at your hotel in the early evening.