Our Southern skies and wheels tour begins at Mandeville Airfield and ends at Highlands Motorsport Museum. In Invercargill on Burt Munro’s trail we visit Classic Motorcycle Mecca and Transport World. At Te Anau jet boat the Waiau River and in Wanaka celebrate the 30th Anniversary of this iconic air show.
This is your chance to check out amazing Southern Man collections of motor cycles, trucks and planes culminating in the 30th Anniversary of the Warbirds Over Wanaka Air Show. There’s a spin on the water too as we ride the Luxmore jet down the Upper Waiau River to Manapouri.
7 Day / 6 Night Tour departing Auckland with stays in Wanaka, Te Anau and Invercargill, the theme is warbirds and wheels, with the highlight being a Gold Pass at the Warbirds Over Wanaka Air Show
Day 1: Auckland - Queenstown - Invercargill
We drive south to Mandeville Airfield which dates back to the biplane barnstorming days after WW1. It’s home to the Croydon Heritage Museum and factory, internationally renowned for restoring vintage aircraft. Tour Gore’s Hokonui Museum for a wee dram of whisky on the way to Ascot Park Hotel for two nights.
- Landing at Queenstown, is there a more stunning airport approach anywhere in the world?
- The vintage planes at Croydon Aviation Heritage Centre
Day 2: Oreti Beach - Motorcycle & Transport Museums
Our first stop in town is E. Hayes & Sons, the home of Burt Munro’s Indian Scout, then Oreti Beach, famous as Burt’s racetrack. Later we browse the astonishing collection of wheels accumulated by a Southland family over several generations at Classic Motorcycles and Bill Richardson’s Transport World.
- Burt Munro's original Indian Scout
- Some of New Zealand's most impressive motor collections at E.Hayes and Bill Richardson's
Day 3: Invercargill - Waiau River - Te Anau
We visit Allan and Beverley Stearne’s in Otautau, where Allan has a huge collection of vintage audio gear, cameras and a model railway. We walk over the Clifden Suspension Bridge and at Te Anau ride the Luxmore Jet down the Upper Waiau River to Lake Manapouri. Stay in lakeview rooms at Distinction Te Anau Hotel and dine in this evening.
- A stunning Fiordland jetboat ride
- The backroad into Fiordland, from Invercargill to Manapouri
Day 4: Te Anau - Wanaka
Drive through the Southland countryside to Lake Wakatipu and over the Crown Range to Wanaka Airfield in time for lunch. Your three day Gold Pass gives you the best seats at the show in front of the runway and the air show programme. We stay three nights at Edgewater Hotel and dine in each evening.
- From Lake Wakatipu to Wanaka over the Crown Range, with a stop at the historic Cardrona Hotel
- Relax for 3 nights in your lakefront accommodation at Edgewater Resort
Day 5: Warbirds Over Wanaka International Air Show
We breakfast at Edgewater and arrive at the Air Show for the 10am start. Enjoy all the action of this 30th Anniversary celebration from your grandstand seat and lunch at a cooking station where chefs prepare the food in front of you. The show finishes at 4pm and we sightsee around Wanaka in the late afternoon.
- Enjoy your Gold Pass access to the show with the best seats in the house, free souvenir pack and more
- Free time to explore town and the lake after the show
Day 6: Warbirds Over Wanaka International Air Show
The final day of the Show – take the chance to mingle with the pilots and walk the flightline, visit the Warbirds and Wheels museum collection which tells the story of Warbird’s founder Sir Tim Wallis and enjoy the spectacle in the sky. Later in the day, sightsee in Wanaka or walk the lakeside trail in front of your hotel.
- Another full day of fun at the Warbirds over Wanaka International Airshow
Day 7: Wanaka - Cromwell - Arrowtown - Queenstown - Auckland
After breakfast we depart Wanaka for Cromwell and the Highlands Motor Sport Park to visit the museum and check out what is on offer. We drive through the Kawarau Gorge to Arrowtown where there’s time to stretch our legs before continuing to Queenstown Airport.
- The new Highlands Motorsport Park and Museum in Cromwell
- Classic Central Otago - the Kawarau Gorge, Gibbston Valley and Arrowtown
