4-Day Wellington to Auckland via Rotorua Tour

The first route is by regular bus an experience on the roads seeing Lake Taurus. Precise with all withdrawals beautiful hotel in rotorua where in the afternoon I went to mud bathing and bathing in hells gate

The first day was basically a bus ride from Wellington to Rotorua. Two bathroom stops and a "lunch stop" at a truck stop with nothing but fried foods in a heated display cabinet to eat. Not really a "tour" at all so I consider that day a bit "oversold" on what it actually ended up being. The rest of the trip was great. The guided tours for the Maori village, Maori cultural event, Glow Worm Caves, Hobbiton and the city tour of Auckland that were set up with local providers were on time and the guides from all the local tour companies were excellent. The hotels were well located in central areas (the hotel in Rotorua, Princess Gates, was old and dated, with a tight room that didn't darken enough to block out lights from outside and the bed wasn't very comfortable, but it was quaint and conveniently located). The taxi's to pick us up as needed were also timely. I initially thought the whole thing was a single tour (same guide, same people the whole time) so just understand that you are getting transportation from Wellington, and a bunch of tours and hotels lined up just for you with transportation as needed and it's not really a single "4 day tour". The detailed itinerary provided a few days beforehand was very clear and easy to understand and follow.

I had read some unflattering reports of the beginning of this trip because it used an Intercity Coach from Wellington to Rotorua. However, I have to say that this was an enjoyable part of the journey and a way of appreciating the scenery. This was enhanced by our driver Martin. To my untrained Scot’s ear sounded very much like Russell Crowe, although his jokes were (probably) better. Having used the Northern Explorer to travel from Auckland to Wellington the previous day, I would say that the bus journey offered a better experience. In Rotorua we had the pleasure of Herms and Bunty driving us to the various locations. Not being a Lord of the Rings geek, Hobbiton was never on my to do list. We are so glad that we visited the site. It should be noted that walking around the set is about 1.5km. This proved a little challenging as my wife who has MS, but all the guides were there to support her, and we did manage it. The simple sight seeing tour of Auckland on the last day with Margaret was an easy end to the flying visit of the North Island. The key point that this was an ideal introduction to the North Island. So much so that we are determined to return to New Zealand. We found the people friendlier and more polite than our encounters with Australians. One of the drivers said that New Zealanders and also better looking. I cannot comment as I don’t have enough evidence. If we require a tour company on our next visit then I would have no hesitation in using Leisure Tours.