Rhododendron Gardens
4 Nights/5 Days: Auckland – New Plymouth – Whanganui – The Chateau Tongaririo – Auckland
Rhododendron Gardens
New Plymouth in full rhododendron bloom, meeting private gardeners, wandering magnificent Pukeiti and visiting unique Tawhiti Museum, Hawera, Wanganui, Cross Hills garden and the Chateau Tongariro.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.
- Visits to renowned gardens: Hamilton Gardens, Tikorangi - The Jury Garden, Te Kainga Marire Native Garden, Pukeiti Rhododendron Park, Tupare Garden, Pukekura Park, Merleswood Garden, Cross Hills Garden and Tapuwae Garden.
- Visit and lunch at unique Tawhiti museum in Hawera
Tour dates
- October 10 - October 14, 2012
- October 17 - October 21, 2012
Tour Price
$NZD2090 per person twin or double share accommodation$NZD2390 per person single room accommodation
Our travellers say...
Merleswood Garden was a favourite and Erica made you feel so welcome. The Hawera Traders and Whalers Museum was amazing. Our driver/guide was wonderful and it has been a great pleasure to have had him as our driver/guide, always helpful and friendly.
Glenis Hawkins - New Zealand, Rhododendron Gardens October 2010
Tour dates
- October 10 - October 14, 2012
- October 17 - October 21, 2012
Day 1: Auckland – Hamilton – Jury Garden - New Plymouth (L, D)
We depart Auckland and travel south in MoaTrek’s coach through the lush farmlands of the Waikato to visit the renowned Hamilton Gardens. We drive to Te Kuiti and through the limestone country of the scenic Awakino Gorge to the Tasman coast. We have afternoon tea at the Tikorangi, a garden of national significance. This family garden goes back four generations and today Abbie and Mark Jury continue to develop the garden. We reach 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 at the hotel restaurant this evening.
Day 2: New Plymouth Gardens (B, L, D)
We have morning tea with Valda Poletti of renowned Te Kainga Marire, a native garden of National Significance and lunch at the Pukeiti Rhododendron Park cafe. Five-seat buggies are booked for you to view Pukeiti’s enchanted landscape - one of the world’s greatest collections of rhododendrons planted in lush rainforest adjacent to Egmont National Park. We visit Tupare Garden and Pukekura Park. This evening we dine in the hotel restaurant.
Day 3: New Plymouth – Merleswood Garden – Whanganui (B, L, D)
We drive to Stratford and Merleswood Garden to meet Erica Jago for a Devonshire morning tea and a stroll in her 1.5 acres of rhododendron gardens, a Garden of Regional Significance. We explore and lunch at unique Tawhiti museum in Hawera before driving on to Whanganui, an attractive town of parklands on the banks of the Whanganui River. We tour the city landmarks and heritage buildings before checking into our hotel. We dine in at the hotel this evening.
Day 4: Whanganui – Cross Hills Garden – Taihape – Ruapehu (B, L, D)
We drive over to Kimbolton in the Manawatu region arriving at Cross Hills garden in time for morning tea. This garden is renowned for its collection of over 2000 rhododendrons and azaleas. We stop for lunch at Taihape then head into the dramatic landscape of the Desert Road and around the slopes of Mount Ruapehu. We arrive at The Chateau Tongariro in time to refresh before dining in this classic, landmark hotel.
Day 5: The Chateau Tongariro – Tapuwae Garden – Auckland (B, L)
After a leisurely breakfast at The Chateau we’re bound for Taumarunui. Driving through backcountry roads in this rugged farming landscape we reach Tapuwae Garden high in the hills at 1,650 feet and right in the heart of the King Country. We stop here to stroll in the Tombelson’s 8-acres of rhododendrons, camellias, ponds and peacocks and have a picnic lunch in the woolshed. Then drive north through the Waikato to reach Auckland in the late afternoon.
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.
The Avenue Kingsgate
Centrally located on Wanganui's main street, and close to many of the city’s attractions, the Kingsgate Hotel The Avenue is set in large grounds and beautiful gardens.
Booking enquiries
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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.
We have afternoon tea with Abbie and Mark Jury at Tikorangi. This garden has been in the Jury family for five generations. Their seven acre park showcases a wide variety of plants and in October the rhodododendrons are to the fore
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.
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. 
The park covers about 52ha (128 acres) and contains a diverse range of landscapes, including many plant collections, exotic specimen trees, formal gardens, lakes and walking trails through native bush.
With a length of 290 km, the Whanganui is the country's third-longest river. Much of the land to either side of the river's upper reaches is part of the Whanganui National Park, though the river itself is not part of the park.
The rhododendron and azalea collection at the Wilson family’s Cross Hills Garden on their farm in Kimbolton, Northern Manawatu now totals over 2000 varieties. Cross Hills is 540 metres above sea level. Winters can be cold with falls of snow quite common. These conditions are similar in some aspects to those found in the Himalayas and China from where the majority of rhododendron species originated. A large nursery is operated in conjunction with the display gardens.
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.
First stop Hamilton Gardens 
New Plymouth at dusk 
Your hotel is opposite the boardwalk 
Cross Hills Gardens 
Stay at The Chateau Tongariro