Christmas in Taranaki
4 Nights/5 Days: Auckland – New Plymouth – Stratford – Forgotten World Highway – Whangamomona – The Chateau Tongariro – Taupo
Christmas in Taranaki
Three nights at New Plymouth’s Waterfront Hotel with Christmas lunch at the Nice Hotel. Chaddy’s lifeboat cruise, travelling the Forgotten World Highway and Orakei Korako thermal regions are special attractions.
experiences included in your tour price
- All transport by comfortable, air conditioned coach (maximum of 16 travellers).
- Services of your experienced MoaTrek driver/guide.
- Quality, en suite accommodation.
- All breakfasts, lunches and dinners.
- All sightseeing and exploring in the regions.
- Special Christmas lunch celebration at Nice Hotel’s acclaimed Table Restaurant.
- Cruise on Chaddy’s old English lifeboat to the fur seal colony and Sugar Loaf Islands.
- See the Festival of Lights in Pukekura Park.
- Drive the remote Forgotton World Highway to Whangamomona.
Tour dates
- December 24 - December 28, 2012
Tour Price
$NZD2390 per person twin or double share accommodation
$NZD2790 per person single room accommodation
Our travellers say...
Tim and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and we hope to be with you again. We wish you A Happy New Year and trust you had a good Christmas; we certainly did!
Tim and Bill Welch - New Zealand, Christmas in Taranaki
Tour dates
- December 24 - December 28, 2012
Tour Price
$NZD2390 per person twin or double share accommodation$NZD2790 per person single room accommodation
Tim and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and we hope to be with you again. We wish you A Happy New Year and trust you had a good Christmas; we certainly did!
Tim and Bill Welch - New Zealand, Christmas in Taranaki
Tour dates
- December 24 - December 28, 2012
Day 1: Auckland - Waitomo - New Plymouth (L, D)
We depart Auckland and travel south to Waitomo, stopping for lunch at Huhu Cafe in Waitomo.From Te Kuiti we continue through the scenic Awakino Gorge to the Tasman coast and south to Mokau, over bush clad Mt Messenger, reaching New Plymouth in the late afternoon. Your hotel is right on the seafront just across from “Len Lye’s Wind Wand kinetic sculpture and the waterfront boardwalk. We dine in the hotel's restaurant.
Day 2: New Plymouth - Christmas lunch - Festival of Lights (B, L, D)
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast in your hotel before taking a short stroll on the boardwalk. We celebrate Christmas with lunch at the acclaimed Table Restaurant at the Nice Hotel. In the mid afternoon we return to our hotel to refresh and relax. This evening we soak up the atmosphere at the Pukekura Park Festival of Lights.
Day 3: Boxing Day - New Plymouth harbour cruise - Pukeiti (B, L, D)
We head out with Chaddy on an old English life boat (built in the Isle of Wight in 1953) for a one hour tour in the Sugar Loaf Islands Marine Park, home to an array of wildlife including New Zealand’s northern-most fur seal colony. We sightsee in New Plymouth, both Puke Ariki museum and the Govett-Brewster gallery are excellent. We take a leisurely drive to Pukeiti rhododendron park.
Day 4: New Plymouth - Whangamomona - The Chateau Tongariro (B, L, D)
Morning tea at Cairnhill Garden with Colin and June on SH43, the “Forgotten World Highway" before continuing through rugged scenery to Whangamomona where in 1988 residents declared the town a republic after boundary changes put half the district into the Manawatu. We lunch with Rae and Bruce at "Bushlands" in Tangarakau. Then travel on to Taumarunui and the slopes of Mount Ruapehu. We arrive at The Chateau Tongariro in time to enjoy the views before dining in this classic, landmark hotel.
Day 5: The Chateau - Taupo - Auckland (B, L)
We drive around the shores of Lake Taupo and on to through the thermal region. We continue to Auckland, returning in the early evening.
The Chateau
The Chateau Tongariro is a classic, landmark hotel at the foot of Mount Ruapehu in Tongariro National Park. Enjoy the stunning views and four star service and ambience.
The Waterfront Hotel
Just across the road from the seafront boardwalk and the Len Lye kinetic sculpture, New Plymouth's newest hotel offers attentive service and close proximity to the city.
Booking enquiries
To make an enquiry or booking with MoaTrek fill in the form below and use the submit button - this will generate an email to MoaTrek New Zealand Ltd. We'll answer your query promptly.
Contact details
Booking conditions
- A payment of 10% of your tour cost to your travel agent or MoaTrek New Zealand Ltd (MoaTrek) confirms your booking and acknowledges your agreement to our terms and conditions.
- The balance of your fare is due 40 days before your tour departs.
- Tour reservations can of course, be made within 40 days provided full payment is made at time of booking.
- All prices are in $NZ and include New Zealand Goods & Services tax (GST) of 12.5%.
Cancellations and amendments
Cancellation fees depend on when we receive written notification of a cancellation.
- Bookings cancelled more than 40 days before departure incur loss of deposit.
- Between 40 days & 14 days 25% of tour cost.
- Within 14 days of departure 50% of tour cost.
- Bookings cancelled within seven days of the departure date are subject to 100% of tour cost.
- No refunds will be made after travel has commenced.
Booking Conditions, the fine print.
The Wind Wand is the result of many years of Lye's experiments with metal tubes which he hoisted aloft in the breezes of New York city where he worked. A narrow red fibre glass tube, 200mm in diameter, the Windwand stands 45 metres high on the foreshore of New Plymouth. Weighing approximately 900kg, the Wind Wand can bend at least 20 metres. At night, a light at the top of the Wand emits a soft red glow.
The Coastal Walkway currently extends 7km between Port Taranaki and the mouth of the Waiwhakaiho River connecting popular recreational features, residential areas and the CBD to the sea. 
Since 1993 the TSB Bank Festival of Lights has wowed visitors with an awesome mix of events, entertainment and of course a spectacular lighting display set against the backdrop of Pukekura Park. At night, fluorescent pebble paths sparkle beneath excited feet, majestic trees and plants glow, and waterfalls and lakes shimmer and shine beneath thousands of lighting displays.
Pukeiti is a 360 hectare rain forest property located between Mount Taranaki and the scenic west coast, just south of New Plymouth. Established in 1951, these beautiful gardens are an easy walk along mostly grassed tracks. Transport is also available. Rhododendron species from wild sources take pride of place but there are just as many man-made hybrids. The collection also includes sub-tropical Vireyas which are protected from the weather by display houses. There is also a full range of species of natives to illustrate their versatility in the garden. 
Drive the Forgotten Highway from Stratford through to Taumarunui through rugged scenery. Whangamonoma is the old settlement at the heart of the highway where in 1988 residents declared the town a republic after boundary changes put half the district into the Manawatu.
When the weather is fine we take a tour up the Bruce to get a close up view of Mount Ruapehu.
The Chateau Tongariro is a classic, landmark hotel at the foot of Mount Ruapehu in Tongariro National Park. Enjoy the stunning views and four star service and ambience.
Mt Taranaki the heart of the region 
Your hotel is opposite the boardwalk 
Taranaki at sunset 
Travel the Forgotton World Highway 
The Whangamomona Hotel