MoaTours - East Cape Caper

Head eastwards over the Hauraki Plains to Waihi for a stroll in a historic goldmining town. After drive to Mount Maunganui for lunch and then on to a kiwifruit orchard and tour by special transport. Continue to Whakatāne and your waterfront motel just opposite the Whakatāne Wharf. This evening dine out with your travel companions.

There are stunning views along the dramatic coastal highway leading to Te Kaha where you'll stop for lunch at Tui Lodge. At the East Cape Manuka Company, stop and meet the pioneers of Manuka oil. Tonight stay at Hicks Bay Motel Lodge and dine in.

Visit Te Araroa's huge pohutakawa tree and St Mary's, a beautifully decorated church built in 1926 as a memorial to the soldiers of Ngati Porou who died in World War I. Mt Hikurangi, the first place to see the sunrise, dominates the landscape.
Tokomaru and Tologa Bay Wharves are relics of the days when the sea provided easier access than roads. At Anaura Bay you will lunch at "Rangimarie" to enjoy Judy Newell's hospitality and the magical views. Here you stay two nights in Gisborne tonight, dining out.

Drive in a special vehicle through world-renowned Eastwoodhill Arboretum, 65 hectares of trees and shrubs. Then, lunch at Bushmere Estate and taste their wines before visiting Tairawhiti Museum displays and sightsee around Gisborne.

This morning visit Prof Jack Richard's and Won Gyu Moon's stunning coastal garden, Tiromoana, at Wainui Beach then drive through the beautiful native forests of the Waioeka Gorge.
Stop for lunch in the seaside town of Opotiki before travelling westward to Rotorua, passing by the bush-clad shores of Lake Rotoma and Lake Rotoiti. In the summertime, both lakes are popular holiday spots. On arrival at your hotel, you could enjoy a dip in the indoor thermal pools.

This morning we sightsee in Rotorua including the Museum’s gardens and the geothermal activity in Kuirau Park. We drive to Lake Tarawera and enjoy lunch with the Walmsley family at the Buried Village before returning to Auckland.