Great Escape - 5 Night Cruise

All optional excursions need to be prebooked prior to your cruise departure.

Note: Excursions will only run subject to minimum numbers and are additional to the Great Escape 5 Night Cruise rates.

A Taste of Fine Wine

Depart the ship in the morning by tender to be met by our Waiheke Island Guide. 

A special visit to the Island 's most respected vineyards. A "small is beautiful" philosophy yields low quantities of extremely high quality fruit, which is made into internationally award-winning wines.

With tastings at our best boutique wineries, the secrets of Waiheke's stunning world-wide success in fine red wines will be revealed to the interested visitor. You'll come away with a deep appreciation of the vinter's art and an understanding of the terrior, the weather and the tides of tradition which make up this art.

You'll learn which are the vintages to look out for and be able to purchase the best for your cellar direct from the vineyards. From 10am through to 1pm.

Cost: NZ$139.00 per person

Motutapu Walk Tour

Motutapu has a complete network of walking trails. The signposted network of trails link many of the island's historic and natural sites of significance.

The 2-hour self guided walking tour through the volunteer planted native forest and around the WWII military sites is a must.

The Motutapu gun battery built in 1936 to protect the inner Hauraki Gulf and Auckland city is one of the most significant historical sites in our region. The Motutapu defenses included a battery of 6-inch guns, anti aircraft, machine gun, radar and searchlight installations. The guns have since been removed, but many of the concrete emplacements and underground structures/tunnels remain waiting for you to explore.
Starts 10am through 1pm.

Cost: NZ$45.00 per person

Barrier Island Tour

We depart the ship at 9.30am to meet our Island guide who provides an interesting commentary and introduction to Great Barrier island and it's inhabitants as we tour over to the east coast through Okiwi and the many beaches.

We travel up Windy Canyon where we take a short 30 minute walk
to spectacular views of the island. Then we continue down the
island to Awana beach for a chef prepared lunch on the beachfront.

Take a swim or a walk along this beach, visit the local art gallery and Medlands Beach before returning to the ship around 3pm.

Cost: NZ$125.00 per person

Glenfern Sanctuary Guided Walk

The Glenfern Sanctuary guided walk begins after lunch with a ride in the Unimog, a 4WD all terrain army vehicle, up to Sunset Rock and a view of
the 60 hectare (150 acre) sanctuary.

An old bridle trail, now a well formed track, continues along the ridge top. The extent of nine years of replanting natives trees amongst the regenerating kanuka and manuka scrub is evident now with over 9,000 trees of over 40 species.

The ridge track turns off onto 'Kauri Tree Walk', passing through a plateau area of second stage regeneration where the native plants have been identified with descriptive plaques.

A few steps further on and the suspension bridge into the crown of a 600-year-old kauri tree stands before you. A short ladder climbs to a platform 10m above the forest floor with a view down the valley to Port Fitzroy. A gentle walk criss-crossing the stream over nine bridges and you have returned to the start point again. From here you are transferred back to the ship.

Cost: NZ$55.00 per person (min. 4 passengers)

20-minute scenic helicopter flight (Kawau-Kaipara region)

After lunch the helicopter takes us away again for a 20-minute scenic flight.

We take in the rugged coastline, the rolling sand dunes and over the green hills of Omaha and skim along the coastal fringes of the stunning Hauraki Gulf. Out west through the farmlands and waterfalls of the Kaipara region.

Return home to land on the ship by flying over old forests, glistening lakes and sleepy rural townships.

Cost: NZ$395.00 per person (min. 4 passengers)

Optional Golf Excursions

The Dunes Golf Resort, Matarangi Beach - POA

The Dunes golf course is without doubt one of the most picturesque and more challenging courses in New Zealand today. The Dunes will test even the very best of golfing abilities and if the golf is bad the walk is still fantastic. Set amongst the sensational scenery of the Coromandel, the course commands remarkable water views including lakes, the Whangapoua Harbour and the stunning South Pacific Ocean.

The par 72 Championship Course measures 6176 metres off the back tees and 5778 metres off the standard men's tees. The women's tees measure 5341 metres. For those lower handicapped women looking for a even greater challenge, we have also rated the men's tees for women. This sand based course is open all year round, never closing.

Email us to enquire about rates for the Dunes Golf Resort excursion»

The Gulf Harbour Country Club - POA

Spectacular finishing holes, ocean views, rolling terrain and classic traditional values. All combine to make the Gulf Harbour Country Club one of the most exciting courses in New Zealand.

This 6,400 metre, par 72 golf course is located at Gulf Harbour on the Whangaparoa Peninsula, just north of Auckland. It meanders through native grasses and vegetation and has a natural look and feel from start to finish.

Four sets of tees assure playability for every calibre of golfer, from beginners to professionals. Like all great courses, Gulf Harbour tantalises players with a variety of exciting holes. Several feature risk and reward opportunities, and none are tricked-up or artificial.

Email us to enquire about rates for the Gulf Harbour Country Club excursion»

Omaha Beach Golf Club - POA

Considered by a growing number of serious golfers as a hidden treasure, the 18 hole, par 71 Omaha Beach Golf Club is less than 10 minutes flight by helicopter from the ship.

It's a resort course, crafted by its designers to make the most of its stunning seaside location and the gentle, undulating roll of the rural landscape into which it neatly sits.

Bordered by the sea on one side and a natural estuary on the other, it is a course that offers some unique and pleasant surprises as you travel around it; a Totara Grove adjacent to one hole, a stand of Kaihiketea providing shelter to a boardwalk that delivers you to another and with the estuary itself providing a new landscape and challenge, as you progress around the course.

Significant work has gone into Omaha over the last five years to deliver a near all seasons course that is now gaining growing recognition for its stunning beauty as much as its challenges for all levels of golfer.

Email us to enquire about rates for the Omaha Beach Golf Club excursion»

To book or for more information, please contact your Travel Agent or Enquire Online »