[Premium Mercedes-Benz Tour] New Zealand North Island: Glowworms, Great Volcanoes and Middle-earth, 6 Days / 5 Nights (Auckland round trip)

Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city, surrounded by the ocean and volcanoes. With its beautiful harbors and spectacular bridges, it is a quintessential sightseeing destination. Auckland enjoys a sunny, pleasant climate and is a paradise for outdoor activities. Its terrain and climate are ideal for sailing. The city’s many harbors are packed with yachts and sailboats; their endless rows of masts create a spectacular sight. Auckland sailors won the America’s Cup in 1996 and 2000, and the city has hosted the race twice. New Zealanders proudly call Auckland the “City of Sail.”

Mount Eden is an extinct volcanic crater located about 5 km south of the city center. At 196 meters above sea level, its summit offers sweeping views of the city and nearby coastline. There is a lookout at the top with expansive views, making it a great place to take in the cityscape. In the past, a fortified Māori settlement known as a pā stood here. Looking down from the lookout, you can see the crater's inverted cone shape; today, cattle graze here.

The Auckland Harbour Bridge is one of Auckland's most iconic sights. It connects the northern and southern shores of Waitematā Harbour, Auckland's busiest port, and is 1,020 meters long. Together with the forest of masts at the Auckland Yacht Club, the Harbour Bridge makes for a spectacular and beautiful sight.

Queen Street is a major commercial thoroughfare in central Auckland, stretching about 3 kilometers from the Auckland waterfront in the north to Karangahape Road in the south. Built in 1840, it was named after Queen Victoria. The buildings lining Queen Street are a highlight: the Edwardian Baroque-style Auckland Ferry Building, the 19th-century Greek Revival-style Bank of New Zealand building, the British Gothic-style St Patrick’s Cathedral, and the British colonial-style Auckland Town Hall. Historic colonial buildings and modern high-rises stand side by side in a striking yet harmonious contrast.

The gallery's special focus on contemporary art from the Pacific Rim has earned it widespread national and international acclaim. Its striking, innovative corrugated stainless-steel mirrored facade is sure to catch the eye of people around the world, while its dreamlike exhibition layout has captivated countless art lovers and people unfamiliar with art alike. This avant-garde modern building was named the top destination in the Taranaki region's “Best Tourism Destination of 2017.”

This arched beam bridge is not very long. A single long, column-shaped beam stretches diagonally from one end to the other, supported in the middle by several ribs. Its semicircular curves are beautiful from both the side and the front. Designed to resemble a whale skeleton, this steel bridge showcases the artistic ingenuity of New Zealanders. It marks the end of the seven-kilometre coastal walkway and is also a new landmark in New Plymouth.

Three rocks, each about 25 meters high, stand on Three Sisters Beach. Known as the “Three Sisters Rocks,” they gave the beach its name. Nearby is Elephant Rock, which looks remarkably lifelike.

As one of New Zealand’s best-known natural attractions, you can take a boat tour through the glowworm caves and marvel at thousands of magical glowworms amid a cultural and natural landscape with a history spanning more than 130 years. Explore this ancient world, formed over 30 million years, and be amazed by nature’s spectacle of light and shadow. Before boarding the boat, you can explore the caves on foot, then glide quietly through the Glowworm Grotto, a star-lit wonderland. Surrounded by a galaxy of countless tiny points of light, enjoy the peaceful, serene atmosphere.

Egmont National Park is a national park in the west of New Zealand’s North Island, named after Mount Egmont, also known as Mount Taranaki. At 2,518 metres, Mount Egmont is a famous dormant volcano in New Zealand. Precious plants such as rimu and rata trees grow in the forests on its slopes. The park is a well-known tourist destination. The trails near Dawson Falls are like a maze, but the most popular is the trail to Wilkies Pools, where several waterfalls flow into a series of eroded rock pools.

Mount Taranaki—known in Māori as “Taranaki Maunga”—is New Zealand’s newest natural landmark to be granted legal personhood. New Zealand has previously recognised a river and a sacred landscape as legal persons. This pristine, dormant volcano, capped with snow year-round, stands 2,518 metres (8,261 feet) high. It is the North Island’s second-highest peak and a popular destination for sightseeing, hiking and skiing.

Visit the Hobbiton film set and step into Middle-earth from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film series. The guided tour begins with a journey through a picturesque 1,250-acre sheep farm, offering sweeping views of the Kaimai Ranges along the way. Pass the colorful round doors of Hobbit holes scattered across the hillsides, including the iconic Bag End, home of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. Then arrive at Bagshot Row to glimpse the interiors of humble Hobbit dwellings. Follow the path past the Mill and across the double-arched stone bridge to the world-famous Green Dragon™ Inn.

Polynesian Spa is one of New Zealand’s most renowned geothermal hot-spring complexes. Enjoy a unique lakeside experience where relaxing geothermal mineral pools, luxurious spa treatments, and beautiful views of Lake Rotorua come together.

Rotorua Skyline is situated atop Mount Ngongotaha, just minutes from Rotorua city centre. Begin your Rotorua Skyline adventure with a leisurely gondola ride up the mountain, taking in panoramic views of Rotorua, the surrounding lakes, and geothermal areas along the way. At the summit, enjoy exciting luge rides, a comfortable buffet barbecue restaurant, nature trails, a range of adventure activities, the Jelly Belly candy store, and Volcanic Hills Winery and Tasting Room.

Whakarewarewa Māori Village is located southeast of Rotorua, next to the Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve. The village’s ancient Māori houses have been restored and gathered here. At its center is an exhibition hall displaying distinctive Māori carvings, making it an ideal place for visitors to learn about Māori culture. Early Māori dwellings were made from reeds and palm branches; they were simple and low, so people could not stand upright inside. Storage sheds were elevated on stilts. The tool shed resembled the bamboo houses of the Dai people in Yunnan, China, but was smaller. The chief’s food store stood high above the ground and looked like a chair balanced on bamboo poles by an acrobat. At the center of the gardens, a geyser shoots a column of water more than 30 meters straight into the air, glimmering like a silver chain and blossoming like a white lotus.

A visit to a local farm is a must in New Zealand, a country with a thriving livestock industry. Agrodome, located in Rotorua on the North Island, is New Zealand’s largest and most advanced tourist farm, covering 150 hectares. Here you can get up close to red deer, turkeys, ostriches, alpacas, dairy cows, lambs, and many other animals you may never have seen before—and feed them by hand. The farm puts on daily shows, including sheep shearing and cow milking. They are exciting and great fun.

Lake Rotorua, located in Rotorua in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand’s North Island, is a deep volcanic crater lake. Covering an area of up to 79 square kilometres, it is New Zealand’s second-largest lake and one of its most captivating. The lake is 12 kilometres long, 9.7 kilometres wide, and 10 metres deep. Calm and graceful, it is also the setting of a tragic love legend. Its waters are clear, luminous, and dazzling blue. Seaplanes and cruise boats can be found along the shore. Some visitors enjoy a boat trip on the lake, others take a quiet stroll by the water, while some raise their cameras to capture the beautiful scenery. Gulls, wild ducks, and black swans live on the lake. Ducks forage on the grass for bread tossed by visitors, while gulls wheel through the sky, prompting everyone to keep taking photos. Flocks of wild ducks and black swans glide across the lake, creating a poetic scene.

Rotorua is one of the best places to see geysers, geothermal hot springs, and bubbling mud pools. “Rotorua” means “two lakes” in Māori. The area is full of hot springs and mud pools, with steam rising everywhere, bubbling mud, and a strong smell of sulfur. A soak in a geothermal hot spring is a must: relaxing in the steaming water helps relieve fatigue and unwind, making for a comfortable and enjoyable experience. Another highlight is Lake Rotorua, the largest of Rotorua’s 16 lakes, formed by a volcanic eruption that created a depression. Its clear, emerald-green water is home to schools of trout. Here, you can also enjoy Māori cultural performances and sample traditional food cooked using geothermal heat.