ISLES OF EARTH & SKY

NEW ZEALAND

This trip moves through New Zealand's most elemental terrain, from Rotorua's geothermal heart to Wanaka's lakes and peaks. Cultural depth sits right alongside wilderness immersion, and comfort never gets sacrificed for either. You'll walk volcanic valleys, old-growth forest, and open alpine country with guides who actually know the land. Each region runs on its own rhythm, and together they show both New Zealand's raw power and its quieter side.

Note that everything you see here is an example of what your trip could look like. Your adventure will be tailored specifically to you.

WHEN TO GO

DURATION

OCT - APR

11 NIGHTS

LANGUAGE

ENGLISH

CURRENCY

NZ DOLLAR

ESTIMATED COST

$10,800

per person, excl. int'l flights

(based on two adults sharing)

Why this adventure

This itinerary leans into New Zealand's contrasts on purpose: steam rising out of the ground in one region, glaciers and alpine light in the next. The pace balances rugged texture with real restoration, room to slow down and actually take things in. Private guides bring Māori stories and the land's own rhythms into focus, and the moments that come out of that feel genuinely personal rather than scripted. Whether you're soaking in a forest-framed hot pool or standing under a sky with more stars than you knew existed, this trip keeps finding new reasons to stop and pay attention.

Journey flow

It starts in the geothermal North Island, bubbling pools and shifting earth giving you an immediate, physical sense of what makes this country different. Then it's south to Wanaka, alpine terrain, glassy lakes, and ridgelines that don't quit. Helicopter flights, wilderness picnics, and guided forest walks show off the scale here without ever feeling rushed. The trip closes with real calm, panoramic views paired with the kind of quiet that actually lets you unwind, mountains fading into dusk as the days wind down. Across both islands, the whole thing moves fluidly, each landscape handing off to the next with a real sense of momentum.

Take it farther

For travelers who want more, a heli-hike onto a pristine glacier is worth the add, remote alpine terrain that's genuinely unreachable any other way. We'd also build in a private boat charter on Lake Wanaka, picnics, bird sanctuaries, and long stretches of water with nobody else around. Round it out with a farm-to-table experience with local producers, built around whatever the region's actually growing that season rather than a fixed menu handed to every guest.

Customize this itinerary

Every trip we design is built around you: your pace, your curiosity, your definition of a good day. No set departures, no group tours, no one-size-fits-all anything. If this itinerary sparks something in you, let's talk about what that could look like for you specifically.

START YOUR JOURNEY

Adventure highlights

STARLIT TRANQUILITY

Nights built around genuinely dark sky, whether from a terrace, a lakeshore, or a hot pool. Southern constellations look different down here, and the quiet that comes with them is its own kind of reward.

MAORI CULTURAL EXPERIENCES

Time with local hosts sharing stories, traditions, and songs that carry real ancestral meaning through land, food, and community. This is where the trip stops being scenery and starts being about people.

ALPINE EXPLORATION IN WANAKA

Helicopter-accessed ridgelines, remote trails, or a slower lakeside walk, Wanaka works at whatever pace you actually want. The scale here is enormous, but the experience never feels impersonal.

GEOTHERMAL WILDERNESS ENCOUNTERS

Steaming valleys and mineral terraces with a private guide who explains both the cultural weight and the actual science behind Rotorua's strange, shifting landscape. It's rare that a place looks this alive.

How it unfolds

DAYS 1-4

ROTORUA

The North Island introduces the trip on its own terms, geothermal valleys, mineral terraces, and time with Māori hosts who bring real depth to the land's history rather than a rehearsed tour. Days alternate between guided geothermal walks and cultural encounters, with enough downtime built in to actually sit with a hot pool rather than rush past it. This stretch sets the emotional register for everything that follows.

DAYS 5-11

WANAKA

A domestic flight south changes the landscape entirely, alpine terrain replacing steam and mineral earth. Days here run on helicopter access to ridgelines and remote trails, wilderness picnics, and lake time that slows things down considerably. The pace loosens as the week goes on, culminating in a final stretch built almost entirely around rest, panoramic views, and real quiet. It's a deliberate come-down after the North Island's more active opening, and it closes the trip exactly where it should.

Where you could stay

MINARET STATION

A remote alpine lodge accessible only by helicopter, tucked into a glacial valley on a fifty-thousand-acre working high-country farm along Lake Wanaka's western shore. Just four chalets, each with a private outdoor hot tub and king bed, connected to a central lodge by raised wooden boardwalks. The kitchen runs almost entirely on what the farm itself produces, and most on-site activities, heli-fishing, heli-hiking, farm tours by air, run directly off the property's own helicopters rather than requiring a separate excursion. Genuine seclusion, no road access at all, real high-country heritage behind the whole operation.

SOLITAIRE LODGE

A nine-suite lodge on a private peninsula on Lake Tarawera, twenty minutes from Rotorua but far enough removed to lose the sulfur smell and the crowds entirely. Every suite looks straight out over the lake toward Mount Tarawera's volcanic summit, and the lodge runs its own boats for lake excursions, trout fishing, and access to a hot water beach that only makes sense once you've seen it. Quiet, private, and close enough to Rotorua's geothermal country to make the contrast feel deliberate rather than accidental.

THE LINDIS

A strikingly modern lodge set into the floor of the remote Ahuriri Valley, its low, rippled roofline built to echo the glacial landscape around it rather than interrupt it. Just eight rooms, two Michelin Keys, and a restaurant built entirely around what the surrounding valley and the property's own gardens actually produce. Quiet, architecturally distinctive, and about as far from a conventional lodge as this region gets.

Ready to start planning?

All Peregrine trips include:

Every trip we design starts from scratch, built around how you travel and what you're actually after. No fixed routes, no shared departures, no compromises. If something on this page resonated, that's a good place to start a conversation.