Whakatane
Sitting on the East Coast, Whakatane often boasts the highest number of sunshine hours of any other location in New Zealand, and combined with its golden sand beaches (around 56km of them!) it's a haven for beachgoers and surfers. It also claims to have one of the oldest Pa Sites (Maori fortification) in the country with dates estimated as far back as 1150 making this area a significant landmark in New Zealand's history.
Activities in the region range from deep sea fishing, kayaking, dolphin and whale viewing, and mountain biking plus within the town are some great museums. Art also features local creative trails available for visitors to follow.
Moutohora Island Sanctuary Tour - lunch included
Moutohorā/Whale Island is a pest-free oasis that is home to a number of New Zealand’s rare and endangered plants, birds and reptiles. The fully guided tour of the island allows visitors to learn about the flora and fauna and the conservation effort focused on Moutohorā for the past 50 years. The island is a bird lover's paradise, with the opportunity to see saddleback/tieke, kakariki/ red crowned parakeet, little brown kiwi, bellbirds, tui, grey warbler and many species of sea birds.
This is your opportunity to see New Zealand’s wildlife as nature intended it and shows what can be achieved when a concentrated effort on conservation is made, managed and protected.
Check out our travel blogs here
Get inspired with stories and advice on visiting New Zealand.
Our team of New Zealand specialists can help you create the perfect touring itinerary. Whether you want to explore the South Island on a self drive holiday or the North Island on an escorted coach tour package we can design or recommend the best options. We have a huge range of accommodation ideas to suit everyone and our first hand experience of destinations and activities means that we can give the best, most up to date honest advice.
Discover New Zealand is part of the New Zealand Fine Touring Group of companies. It specialises in self drive, seat in coach and guided coach touring holidays across New Zealand's North & South Islands. We have hundreds of tour ideas listed to inspire you or give you an indication of what is possible to achieve on your New Zealand adventure. Whether it is a luxury fully guided coach tour or a self driven off the beaten track adventure, we have something suitable for everyone. Our wide range of tour lengths and tour prices give you options and are tailor-made so we can build the itinerary to suit your interests and needs.
Our team of consultants are all 100% Pure New Zealand Certified specialists and are passionate about designing your New Zealand holiday. Our consultation service is free and our quotes are provided with no obligation. Based in the heart of Wanaka you can be assured you will get the best local advice when planning your dream holiday to New Zealand. Contact one of our experienced team today.
Discover New Zealand is also Qualmark Gold Certified. This is Tourism New Zealand's official measure of how our business impacts the environment and our team are proud to have achieved the highest level of quality.