Classic Car, Train & Plane Tour of New Zealand

Day 1 Saturday February 06, 2021 Auckland
Group members fly to Auckland, New Zealand, and upon arrival are transferred to their city hotel

Day 2 Sunday February 7, 2021 Auckland
This morning we visit the Ellerslie International Concours D’Elegance, the largest car show in New Zealand. With over 70 car clubs invited representing over 1000 vehicles with three judged competitions to find the best classic cars in the country. Over the decades, the event has become the highlight of the New Zealand car lovers’ calendar. That’s when thousands of car enthusiasts and the simply curious see the country’s biggest line up of classics – many of them rated among the world’s best restorations.

Day 3 Monday February 8, 2021 Auckland/ Invercargill
This morning we will visit the Museum of Transport & Technology (MOTAT). Spread across 40 acres at two sites, MOTAT explores the achievements that have helped shape New Zealand, from the 1800s to today. The collections of over 1000 items include aviation, communication, steam, military, rail and road transport. Later we visit the Classic Museum in Hamilton with a collection of over 100 vehicles including an extensive collection of petrol memorabilia – enamel signs, pumps, tins and oil bottles. In the early evening we are transferred to the airport for our flight to Invercargill at the southern-most point of South Island. Upon arrival we are transferred to our hotel.

Day 4 Tuesday February 9, 2021 Invercargill
This morning we visit both Bill Richardson’s Transport World and the Classic Motorcycle Mecca bursting with a huge range of automotive and motorcycle history. Bill Richardson Transport World has hundreds of motor vehicles and petrol pumps on display with highlights including retro Kombi’s, Henry Ford Letter Cars, Model T’s, Diamond T Trucks, stunning 1930’s V8’s. Over 50 manufacturers are represented with a mixture of rare and internationally significant vehicles. Widely regarded a world class display, Motorcycle Mecca houses more than 300 motorcycles and artwork. All artwork is motorcycle related with some pieces considered just as valuable as the bikes. Classic Motorcycle Mecca includes solo, sidecar and even three wheeled automobiles and machinery from 1902 upwards. Over 60 manufacturers are represented (with some really astounding restorations) including a 1902 Peugeot Motorcycle to a 21st Century Simms Corbin Custom. Later we will visit the E Heyes & Sons store where we will find the original and legendary ‘World’s Fastest Indian’ motorcycle. The store is also home to the unique E Hayes Motorworks Collection representing one of the finest private collections of classic motorcycles, automobiles and engines in New Zealand.

Day 5 Wednesday February 10, 2021 Wanaka
This morning we board our coach and drive to Mandeville to visit the Croydon Aviation & Heritage Centre which houses aircraft from the 1920s and 1930s, including one of the largest collections of different types de Havilland aircraft. The collection is unique in that nearly all of the aircraft on display actually fly. We then continue to the Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell. We will see their racing car museum and will have the opportunity to drive a Le Mans style race car, or the insane adrenaline pumping fast laps in a Ferrari or Porsche GT3 (at an additional charge). Later we arrive in Wanaka, the gateway to the Southern Alps’ Mount Aspiring National Park, a wilderness of glaciers, beech forests and alpine lakes.

Day 6 Thursday February 11, 2021 Wanaka
Today we visit the War Birds & Wheels Museum which houses New Zealand’s best collection of luxury American Classic cars and Vintage vehicles. The museum showcases how classic cars, warbirds and people’s lives have changed through the major conflicts of the 20th century through to modern times. The museum also boasts six fighter aircraft from World War 1, World War 2 through to modern jets. One of the highlights is a 1934 Duesenberg Model JA, one of only a handful of its kind believed to be outside of the United States. The original owner of the car was Hollywood actress Carole Lombard who shared her passion for luxury cars with her husband Clark Gable. Later we visit the National Transport & Toy Museum which houses one of the largest private collections in the world. With over half a century of collecting and preserving pieces from the past, the museum boasts rare and unusual aircraft, cars, trucks, motorcycles, fire appliances, and military vehicles.

Day 7 Friday February 12, 2021 Christchurch
Today we travel to Christchurch, stopping along the way to visit the Ashburton Vintage Car Museum. Upon arrival in Christchurch we are transferred to our hotel.

Day 8 Saturday February 13, 2021 Christchurch
Today we will enjoy a unique experience as we travel on the TranzAlpine Railway from Christchurch to Greymouth. Along this journey we will see epic vistas, travel the edges of the ice-fed Waimakariri River, traverse the Southern Alps, and see miles of native beech forest. The TranzAlpine is one of the world’s great train journeys covering 223 kilometres (139 miles) one-way, taking just under 5 hours. We will traverse the majestic Canterbury Plains, to the backdrop of the mighty Southern Alps – the journey of a lifetime.

Day 9 Sunday February 14, 2021 Christchurch
Today we visit the Air Force Museum of New Zealand located on the former Wigram Air Base. The national collection of the RNZAF covers the history of New Zealand military aviation, from World War One to the present. We will enjoy a back stage tour of the museum to learn more about the Museum’s work ‘behind the scenes’ and discover the aircraft, vehicles and engines in the Reserve Collection. Later we visit the Yaldhurst Museum of Transport & Science with an eclectic mix of road transport including one of the largest and finest collections of horsedrawn vehicles in the country. There are over 50 cars on display covering a period of 100 years.

Day 10 Monday February 15, 2021 Picton
Today we will take the Coastal Pacific train between Christchurch and Picton. It is one of the most astonishingly beautiful in New Zealand. We arrive in Picton midafternoon and are transferred to our hotel.

Day 11 Tuesday February 16, 2021 Picton
Today we visit the Omaka Classic Car Collection, a unique collection that gives a special insight into New Zealand motoring from the 1950’s to the 1980’s. The collection totals well over 100 cars with more than half on display at any one time. It is a living, working display of vehicles each with their own special story, from appearing in a TV programme to being the last off the production line. Later we will visit the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre and see Sir Peter Jacksons Exhibit “Knight of the Sky”, a collection of WWI aircraft and artefacts. We will also see “Dangerous Skies”, featuring a range of war birds including a flyable Griffon powered Mk.XIVe Spitfire, Yak-3, FW-190 Focke Wulf and a 44.4ft Lockheed Hudson crashed in the depths of a Pacific island jungle.

Day 12 Wednesday February 17, 2021 Palmerston North
This morning we take the Interisland ferry, from Picton to Wellington on the North Island. On arrival we travel north to visit the Southward Car Museum housing a collection of over 400 vehicles, as well as three aircraft. The privately-owned collection of veteran and vintage cars include Marlene Dietrich’s Cadillac, a 1915 Stutz Racer, a 1938 Maybach, a gull-winged Mercedes Benz and a Chicago Gangsters armour plated limo. We continue to our hotel.

Day 13 Thursday February 18, 2021 Napier
This morning we travel to Napier on the west coast of the North Island, stopping at the Gables Classis Car Museum with a collection of early Daimlers, Rolls Royce and other vehicles. On arrival in Napier we check into our hotel. This evening we explore the very unique atmosphere of the Art Deco Festival.

Day 14 Friday February 19, 2021 Napier
Napier, a coastal city on New Zealand’s North Island, is set amid the renowned wine-producing region of Hawke’s Bay. Rebuilt after a 1931 earthquake, the city is known for its numerous art deco landmarks and celebrates its art deco heritage annually with the famous Art Deco Festival. The tens of thousands of people revelling in the 1930s atmosphere created in the heart of the city gives the sensation that you have travelled back in time to an era of glitz and glamour! New Zealand’s Art Deco capital, Napier, celebrates its annual festival in February with over 200 events, including entertainment experiences, outdoor concerts, vintage car parades, fashions shows, dining experiences, great Gatsby picnics and so much more. Over 40,000 people flock from all over the world into Napier to see it transform back in time and enjoy this iconic event.

Day 15 Saturday February 20, 2021 Napier
Our second day at the Art Deco Festival.

Day 16 Sunday February 21, 2021 Arrive Australia
This morning we travel to Auckland for our afternoon flight back to Australia. Upon arrival tour activities conclude.