New Zealand

New Zealand is a two island, two week trip. The South Island has the mountains, Queenstown, the Southern Alps and the fiords; the North has Hawke's Bay wine, geothermal Rotorua and the Bay of Islands. The lodges are the country's strength: a handful of small, very good properties in remarkable positions, several of them with helicopters. Summer, December to February, is the peak; March and April are quieter with autumn colour; the ski season runs July to September.