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Twilight Travel: Taranaki Garden Festival Tour

Throughout New Zealand

Overview

The Taranaki Garden Festival is like no other, offering the most stunning range of spectacular gardens. The warm and hospitable garden owners have made this event internationally famous. The festival gardens show the care and dedication that only those who love growing things can provide. Presenting over 40 fabulous gardens from newly created concepts to well-developed and mature landscapes, the festival encourages you to take the time to wander through many and meet the garden owners who are knowledgeable and helpful. 

Formerly the Taranaki Rhododendron & Garden Festival, New Zealand’s premier Spring Festival is now in its 37th year, and it is one of the longest-running garden festivals in New Zealand.

Our tour programme features a range of gardens from sizeable private country estates to small city gardens. This tour travels south to include Cross Hills Gardens – New Zealand’s largest and most comprehensive collection of flowering rhododendrons and azaleas.

Our coach departs from Auckland, on Thursday 31st October and will travel via Gordonton stopping at Zealong Tea Estate for a tea-tasting experience followed by Zealong's delicious signature high tea in the tea room. The first night is in Taupo before heading south to visit Cross Hills Rhododendron Garden. We then have a night in Palmerston North and head up to New Plymouth for the last 4 nights and three days visiting the festival gardens. The tour returns to Auckland on Wednesday 6th November at approximately 5.00 pm.

Tour Includes:
Home collection & drop off within Auckland (Whangaparaoa to Papakura) & Tauranga/Rotorua
Coach Transport
Professional Tour Leader
6 nights accommodation
Daily cooked breakfast and dinner
Admission to 10 festival gardens
Cross Hills Gardens
Hamilton Gardens
Woodlands Estate - Gordonton
Zealong Tea Estate - High Tea
Sightseeing as per itinerary*

*The festival programme is not released until late July. Some of the gardens mentioned in the itinerary may not be participating in this year's event and will be substituted with a similar style of garden.

Options from Wellington and Palmerston North are available. 

The Gardener
Twilight Travel & Tours, is a New Zealand-owned and operated business, specialising in group tours for the mature traveller. Our coach tours are leisurely paced, personal and intimate with a maximum of 20 - 24 passengers.
All our tours are escorted by a professional tour manager and include accommodation, breakfasts, dinners and some lunches. All admissions to gardens, attractions and activities are included and there are no hidden extra costs.

 

Other Facilities

Shavourn Jones - Owner/Travel Specialist, has over 25 years of experience in the travel industry and has extensive knowledge of New Zealand and Australia. Shavourn founded Twilight Travel & Tours in 2005 and has designed tours & itineraries that are relaxed and leisurely paced with no early morning starts and long days. Tours are escorted by a professional tour manager and include accommodation, all breakfasts (usually cooked breakfast), all dinners (3 courses or buffet style), sightseeing and activities.

Shavourn has been taking coach tours to the Taranaki Garden Festival for over 20 years.

Info

  • Wheelchair Access
    Sorry, our tours are not suitable for wheelchairs. Passengers must be reasonably fit, in good health and physical condition, and able to walk moderate distances to participate in the tour.
  • Plants/Sales
    Many gardens we visit have plants or art for sale. Plant purchases will be accommodated in the luggage compartment.

Map

Throughout New Zealand