The Great New Zealand Touring Route

Welcome to the
Great New Zealand Touring Route

The Great New Zealand Touring Route is the only place in New Zealand where you can experience everything from sandy beaches to snow capped mountains, geothermal areas, spectacular rain forest, fascinating Maori culture, adventure activities, kiwi fruit orchards and award winning vineyards along the way.

The Great New Zealand Touring Route offers the unique opportunity to experience the very best of the North Island while following two well-established touring routes, Pacific Coast Highway and Thermal Explorer Highway.

The Pacific Coast Highway, traversing the spectacular east coast of New Zealand's North Island, is known as one of the great touring routes in the world. Linking Auckland, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty with Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Whakatane and the magnificent off-shore volcano White Island, the East Cape and Hawke's Bay Wine Country, the Pacific Coast Highway travels through a truly unique region where land and sea intermingle.

The journey to Auckland on the Thermal Explorer Highway from Hawke's Bay takes you through the centre of the North Island to encounter great Lake Taupo, the majestic Huka Falls, Mount Ruapehu, geothermal wonderland Rotorua. The regions are abundant with crystal clear lakes and streams, native bush, natural spas, ski fields, Maori culture, wineries and Waitomos underground cave mysteries.


The Classic New Zealand Wine Trail

www.classicwinetrail.co.nz

Producing around 70 percent of New Zealand’s annual wine production, the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail travels some 380 kilometres through the regions of Hawke's Bay, Tararua, Wairarapa (Martinborough), Wellington and Marlborough.

The regions include the premier wine growing areas of New Zealand, many renowned internationally for the quality and distinctiveness of their award winning wines. New Zealand is a new world wine growing country and as such has applied a fresh approach and ingenuity into producing the unique tastes on offer.

A wide variety of wine styles and knowledgeable cellar door staff are complemented by fresh seasonal food, farmers markets and food trails.

The Classic New Zealand Wine Trail also has a reputation for its warm friendly people and visitors also enjoy discovering the wide variety of sights and activities en route. Things to see and do include the wilderness and outdoors, arts and culture plus the unique heritage of this unique part of New Zealand.

Day 1 Hawke’s Bay
Day 2 Hawke’s Bay
Day 3 Hawke’s Bay – Martinborough (233 kms, 3 hours 35 mins)
Day 4 Martinborough
Day 5 Martinborough – Wellington (98 kms, 1 hour 20 mins)
Day 6 Wellington – Marlborough (ferry crossing)
Day 7 Marlborough