Discover the Northern Island of New Zealand on a 5-day hiking adventure. From the geothermal wonders of Rotorua, explore the lakeside town of Taupo and hike the famous Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Start your adventure in the majestic Waitomo glow worm caves, which will lead you to the geothermal marvels of Rotorua. Visit the lakeside town of Taupo to see the Waikato River and Huka Falls. Travel to Tongariro, New Zealand's first national park. Take a leisurely walk through the stunning forest around Mt. Pihanga and to the mystical Lake Rotopounamu. See the dramatic volcanic landscapes of Tongariro National Park, which offers challenging trails with rewarding dramatic views. Experience walking on the famous Tongariro Alpine Crossing and admire the views of the Red Crater and Emerald Lakes.
Highlights
Visit the magical subterranean world of Waitomo
Experience the Māori cultural performance and hangi dinner
See the spectacular volcanic terrain of Tongariro National Park
Discover New Zealand's history in the national museum in Wellington
Activities that provide a reasonable level of physical challenge and elevate the heart rate. Focused on more active pursuits including multisport tours. Travelers may be active 5-7 hours total each day. Recommended for travelers with active lifestyles.
Meet your North Island guide and the rest of the group in the Heritage Hotel foyer at 7 am before driving south through classic patchwork green farming country alongside the Waikato River. Arriving at the Waitomo Caves area, descend into the vaulted galleries of the Ruakuri Cave with its limestone formations and crystals. Thousands of tiny glowworms that cling to the cave ceiling to simulate a starry night sky will enchant you.
Later, emerge into the sunshine and wander on a loop trail through an outstanding limestone canyon. You will arrive in the volcanically active area of Rotorua late in the afternoon. Enjoy a dinner and a cultural show this evening in Rotorua, which is also the hub of Maori cultural tourism in New Zealand.
Hiking Distance: 1-2 km / 1.5 miles Hiking Duration: 2 hours
Hike alongside the beautifully clear Lake Tarawera, enjoying the shade that towering tree ferns and ignimbrite cliffs offer. Plunge into the lake to cool off at one of the tiny pumice beaches as you wait for the others to catch up. As you hike along this trail, you will be amazed at how vast the volcano wilderness, lake, and forest are.
Discover some of the incredible thermal regions situated slightly south of Rotorua during the afternoon. Wander along boardwalks that connect pools of bubbling mud, mineralized hot pools, and plumes of rising steam, and wonder at the uniqueness of this area. Grab a cuppa before driving toward the lakeside town of Taupo.
Feel the force of the Waikato River as it squeezes through a slender rock passageway at Huka Falls. Your accommodation is in Taupo. Relax with a drink and enjoy the views.
Hiking Distance: 8 km / 5 miles Hiking Duration: 5 hours
Drive around Lake Taupo’s shores to New Zealand’s first national park, Tongariro. Take a leisurely morning walk through the stunning forest around the slopes of Mt. Pihanga and to the mystical Lake Rotopounamu (Lake of Greenstone).
You will be spending the next two nights in a hotel near the park, giving you plenty of time to explore the area at your leisure. Hike to Taranaki Falls in the afternoon, cascading 20 meters over a 15,000-year-old lava flow. Enjoy dinner with the group in the comfort of your hotel.
Hiking Distance: 8 km / 5 miles Hiking Duration: 2–4 hours
Join your guide today for a full day of walking on the famous Tongariro Alpine Crossing, regarded as one of the best day walks in the world. The well-built track climbs, steeply at times, to the craters of Mt. Tongariro. Stop and admire the views of the Red Crater, Emerald Lakes, and steaming vents that make this hike outstanding. After a sometimes long and physically challenging day, celebrate your achievement at dinner with a bottle of fine New Zealand wine.
Those who prefer a more restful day can find plenty to do at the village: Soda Springs walk, Taranaki Falls walk, or simply drink coffee and view the great exhibits at the Park Visitor Centre. Enjoy your second night in this village.
Hiking Distance: 23 km / 14 miles Hiking Duration: 6–8 hours
Day 5: Tongariro | Wellington | Return Home
1 Breakfast
Rest your legs this morning as you drive south through rolling green hill country to the capital city of Wellington. Stroll along the fabulous waterfront and absorb some of New Zealand’s history in the national museum, Te Papa, or get lost admiring the heritage houses along one of the many improbably steep streets. Nowhere is very far in Wellington. Enjoy the vibrant café and restaurant scene here before catching your flight back home.
Apologies for the inconvenience. Prices for not yet published. Below per person rate based on previous season. Contact us to confirm upcoming season pricing.
Prices for are estimated based on inflation. Contact us to confirm pricing and availability for your desired departure date.
Initial deposit is 25% ($500 minimum), and most travelers will call our office and pay the deposit with a credit card.
Final payment is due 100 days prior to departure by bank transfer, check, or credit card. All final payments by credit card may be subject to a surcharge and a maximum of $20,000 charge
The trip might have been the absolute best of our lifetime (thus far). We particularly want to commend our guide Peter in the Guilin area-he was so incredibly attentive, energetic, enthusiastic-and absolutely dedicated to ensuring that our meals were 100% vegetarian.
Jack Charney
TrustScore 4.8 | 176 reviews
TrustScore 4.8 of 5
Based on 176 reviews on
9 hours ago
Adventure Life is always an excellent choice when planning complicated, extreme, or exotic vacations or expeditions. They provide friendly professional services and advice and are enthusiastic and encouraging in helping us to prepare and thoroughly enjoy our trip. They handle all the details which greatly reduces the stress of planning a difficult trip. I'm very impressed with Adventure Life and definitely recommend them to friends and family.
Scott Trochim
2 days ago
The response from Adventure Life to my first inquiry was prompt and promising. I worked with Jamie Broeckel, Trip Planner, via text, email, and phone calls- always extremely responsive and thorough with information and explaining the process to arrange a private tour for me to Malaysia Borneo. Within about week, the booking was complete and I made decisions because of Jamie's great customer service , friendly manner, and overall competence on behalf of the company's travel expertise. Now I have an itinerary, additional Trip Planner Assistants, several links for vital information for traveling to Maylasia, etc. Still many details for Sept. trip, but now the heavy lifting is done and I can enjoy the rest of the anticipation and research!! Thanks Jamie- you are amazing!!!!
Susan Campo
4 days ago
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
5 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.
