The Great New Zealand Quilt Show and Tour

Auckland is known as the ‘City of Sails’ due to the number of yachts that sail in its harbour and adjoining Hauraki Gulf. Our morning sightseeing tour includes the panoramic city and harbour views from Bastion Point, trendy Parnell Village, the lovely bays of Tamaki Drive coastal road and the vibrant Viaduct Harbour area.

We’ll also visit Auckland Museum, which gives an excellent introduction to the artistic legacy and cultures of the peoples of the Pacific; the monumental carvings, buildings, canoes and taonga (treasures) of the Māori, and the diversity of cultures which now combine to form the rich tapestry of race, nationality and creed which is modern New Zealand.

We will enjoy a behind the scenes look at textiles and quilts in the museum’s collection and walk through the galleries to look at some that are on display. The Auckland Museum collection contains around 50 quilts, from traditional European and American bed quilts to Pacific Tivaevae (patchwork).

We’ll then have some free time in the city before meeting the Auckland Quilting Guild, who specialise in the making and distribution of quilts and other handmade items to worthy community organisations.

This morning, enjoy some time at leisure in the city centre.

Late morning we’ll travel by coach over the Bombay Hills, where volcanic ash has created some of the best soils for market gardening in New Zealand. We’ll continue along the east bank of the Waikato River, travelling south through some of the country’s richest farmland to the city of Hamilton. Here we’ll visit the internationally recognised and award-winning Hamilton Gardens for a guided tour. The unique theme of Hamilton Gardens is ‘The Story of Gardens’, which is explored through a series of five garden collections: Paradise, Productive, Fantasy, Cultivar and Landscape.

Continue to Cambridge, known as ‘The Town of Trees and Champions’ because of its leafy streets and thoroughbred horse studs. On arrival, we’ll enjoy our first hand-sewing workshop with our expert in the hotel.

Today we visit a local textile expert for a hand-sewing workshop. During the workshop we’ll create a collaged patchwork panel with New Zealand themes such as local birds and flowers. The piece will be transportable (airline friendly) and you will be able to complete it on the day.

Depart Cambridge for Rotorua, renowned for its geothermal activity and Māori culture. On route we’ll visit with a local artist for a demonstration of traditional Māori textiles. We’ll see the process of creating a traditional puipui (skirt), made from flax strands that hang from a belt, including the collection of the flax, followed by the stripping, spinning, boiling, and dyeing of the fibre. We’ll finish our time here with a weaving workshop.

Late afternoon we’ll visit Te Puia, Rotorua’s geothermal park, for a guided tour, followed by the Te Po (night) experience – an immersive feast of indigenous cultural storytelling, entertainment, and food. The guided tour includes a Māori cultural experience and an introduction to the geothermal activity in the Whakarewarewa Valley. Whilst in the valley, we’ll see the boiling mud pools, steaming silica terraces, hot springs and geysers, including the famous Pohutu Geyser which can erupt to 30 metres high.

We’ll also visit the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute where young Māori learn the traditional carving and weaving skills of their ancestors. Our evening experience will commence with a sumptuous buffet dinner including food from the Hangi (traditional Māori way of cooking), served in the Pataka Kai Restaurant.

After dinner, we’ll enjoy a cultural performance in the fully carved Te Aronui-a-Rua meeting house. Highlights will include waiata (song), moteatea (chanted songs/poetry), and dances such as poi and haka. The evening culminates with hot chocolate served in the geothermal valley bathed in coloured light.

This morning we’ll visit an upmarket patchwork shop and busy teaching facility for a workshop with a local expert. Packed with inspiration, you are sure to garner expert advice and find something to take home!

Enjoy some time at leisure this afternoon. Optional activities will be available at additional cost.

Late afternoon, we will join a local group interested in a wide range of crafts including spinning, knitting, weaving, felting, embellishing and braiding.

Depart Te Anau for a full day excursion travelling through Fjordland National Park to Milford Sound and then onward to our next stop, Queenstown. Fjordland National Park, part of the Southwest New Zealand World Heritage Area, is one of the great wilderness areas of the Southern Hemisphere. The scenery is spectacular, with lofty mountains and deep valleys carved out by Ice Age glaciers.

From Milford Sound, we’ll cruise down the fjord past Mitre Peak and to the open sea before returning to Milford Wharf. We’ll return to Te Anau via the Cleddau Gorge, Homer Tunnel and the lovely Eglington Valley and continue through the quaint settlements of Mossburn, Athol, and Garston before travelling along the shores of Lake Wakatipu to Queenstown. Queenstown is renowned for adventure sports and also a base for exploring the region’s vineyards and historic mining towns.

This morning, enjoy our second hand-sewing workshop with our expert. The remainder of the day is at leisure in Queenstown. Optional activities will be available at additional cost.

This evening, get a taste of rural life in New Zealand. Steeped in Queenstown’s pioneering history, our experience commences with a cruise across Lake Wakatipu in the 103-year-old vintage steamship, the TSS Earnslaw. We’ll disembark at Walter Peak High Country Far, where we’ll enjoy a delicious gourmet BBQ dinner.

After dinner, enjoy an entertaining farm experience including a sheep shearing demonstration. On the magical nighttime cruise home, enjoy a sing-along with the ship’s pianist or breathe in the fresh night air on the moonlit decks as we watch the lights of Queenstown draw nearer.

This morning, enjoy a sightseeing tour of Queenstown. Highlights include a visit to historic Arrowtown, a quaint village set on the banks of the Arrow River, which was once a gold rush town. Enjoy time here to sample some of the cafés, galleries and boutiques, or you may wish to talk a walk to the historic Arrowtown Chinese Settlement. This partially restored and well interpreted settlement is a reminder and tribute to the contribution made by Chinese goldminers and businesspeople to the region’s gold mining, cultural and business history. Here we’ll visit the Lakes District Museum for a guided tour focusing on the domestic duties, quilts and tapestries of the gold mining era.

We’ll also see the Edith Cavell Bridge, pretty Lake Hayes and drive out to the Kawarau Bridge to see the dare-devils bungy jumping from the original AJ Hackett site. Spanning the narrow the Shotover River, the single-lane Edith Cavell Bridge is registered by Heritage New Zealand as a Category I heritage structure. The bridge was completed in 1919 and was named by an old miner who lived in a hut overlooking the bridge. Jack (John) Clark took it upon himself to name it "The Edith Cavell Bridge" in honour of the famous nurse, who had been executed during the First World War for helping wounded Allied soldiers escape from occupied Belgium.

We’ll enjoy an included lunch at a local winery, with the option to join a wine tasting.

Drive across the fruit-growing region of Central Otago and through the barren terrain of the Lindis Pass to the shores of Lake Pukaki, which owes its vibrant colour to the minerals suspended in the waters as they melt off the glaciers. On route we’ll visit a local lifestyle shop whose passion is knitwear, thoughtfully designed to foster, nurture and embrace a slower pace of life. Time to purchase morning tea in the small township of Tarras. Continue through Mount Cook National Park to Mount Cook village, where we can view Mount Cook itself, New Zealand’s highest mountain peak (conditions permitting).

This afternoon or tomorrow morning, you may wish to walk some of the shorter alpine trails near our hotel or join one of the optional activities on offer.

Depart travelling past Lake Pukaki then on to Lake Tekapo to view the Church of the Good Shepherd and the famous bronze sculpture of a dog. The Church of the Good Shepherd is a small Anglican church used by various denominations. Built in 1935 as a memorial church to commemorate early settlers, it is one of the most photographed items in the country. It has a Category I heritage registration by Heritage New Zealand. In the 19th century, Scottish shepherds came to work on the pastoral runs of the eastern South Island. The high country could not have been farmed successfully without the border collies they brought with them. To honour these 'canine Scots', a statue of a collie has been raised here.

Continue over Burkes Pass and on to the fertile Canterbury Plains. On route we’ll stop at local quilting shops such as Polly Patchworks, The Pin Tine and Annie’s Country Quilt Store.

On arrival in Christchurch our driver/guide will take us on an orientation tour of the city before we check into our accommodation. Christchurch is known for its English heritage. Punts glide on the Avon River which meanders through the city centre.

A full day sightseeing tour of Christchurch. Highlights include the River Avon, Bridge of Remembrance, one of two war memorials in Christchurch, and the Spanish Mission Style Architecture on New Regent Street. Built as a private development in the early 1930s with 40 shops in Spanish Mission architectural style, New Regent Street is one of the city's major tourist attractions. Providing several small shops as a comprehensive development was an advanced idea at the time, and New Regent Street is regarded as a forerunner to modern shopping malls. Due to its coherent architectural character, the buildings in the streets are listed as Category I heritage items by Heritage New Zealand and the entire street has a historic area listing. Learn about the effects of the 2011 earthquake and how the city is rebuilding. Our tour also includes a behind the scenes textile tour of Christchurch Art Gallery, including tapestries and weavings.

We’ll spend the afternoon with Canterbury Patchwork & Quilting Guild, helping to make children’s quilts with members as part of the HUGS programme. The HUGS quilting group was started in 2003 by Olga Whitaker, who saw the need to provide underprivileged children with something of their own. When a child is feeling lonely or sad they can wrap the quilt around themselves and give themselves a hug. The quilts are made from cotton on the top, with polyester batting, and have a flannel backing that provides the ‘snuggle’ feeling when the quilt is wrapped around them. Afterwards, we enjoy afternoon tea with the members.

We depart the hotel by coach to visit the beautiful, old French whaling depot of Akaroa, set on the Banks Peninsula. Akaroa was settled by the French in an early attempt to colonise New Zealand and still retains a good deal of French character in its street names, boutique shops and cafés. On route we’ll visit a cheese factory to sample the local produce, then have some time to explore at leisure.

We’ll enjoy a behind the scenes tour of Akaroa Museum on women’s handicraft featuring embroidery, lace, patchwork, knitting, crochet, weaving and beadwork all drawn from the museum’s collection.

After some free time for lunch, visit The Giant’s House, an historic Akaroa house with original artworks and terraced gardens with sculptures and mosaics.

Returning to Christchurch, there will be time to visit The Tannery, where a range of exciting boutique shops has created an amazing shopping destination. Be surprised and amazed at the spectacular architecture of The Tannery Complex, resurrected from the historic Victorian tannery buildings. Fabric stores include Bolt of Cloth, The Fabric Store, HAPA, Sew & Co, Fabric House and Long Way Home.

A full day at the Great New Zealand Quilt Show, held at Christchurch Airforce Museum. Transfers between the hotel and the venue are included.