Wind down on Waiheke in New Zealand's best travel deals

Wander the vines at the Waiheke Festival. Photo / File

Waiheke Autumn Festival

If you relish the idea of a festival of fabulous wine and food, secure your ticket to the inaugural Waiheke Island Wine and Food Festival—it's less than a month away. The threeday event, open from 10am-5pm, begins on Friday, May 14. Restricted to over 18-year-olds, a Festival Passport costs $180. There will be wine-tastings, food-pairings, artworks on display and live music — and your ticket covers your return ferry-ride from Auckland with Fullers, plus hop-on, hop-off shuttles for the event's 10 vineyards. The island has accommodation options to suit all budgets.
Contact: waihekefestival.nz

Queenstown to Doubtful Sound

Spend a day in the wilderness of Doubtful Sound during a three-night break, staying at Garden Court Suites and Apartments in Queenstown. Priced from $499pp, twin-share, for a courtyard room. Balcony apartment rooms start at $505pp, twin-share. The one-day guided tour includes a packed lunch, coach to Lake Manapouri for a day cruising and exploring dense rainforest. Book and stay by June 30.
Contact: House of Travel, 0800 713 715 or hot.co.nz/doubtful.com

Call of the Redwoods: Rotorua

Three nights relaxing in Rotorua's four-star Distinction Hotel, in a Standard Room, comes with a Redwoods Treewalk, where suspension bridges and observation platforms are set within 100-year-old Redwoods. This package is priced from $239pp and is available only throughout May. Book by April 30. Airfares to Rotorua are additional and can be arranged.
Contact: Travel Associates, phone 0800 951 655 or travel-associates.co.nz/accommodation/rotorua/distinction-hotel- redwoods-treewalk-14063510

Van Gogh, illuminated

The Van Gogh Alive Experience is a multi-sensory, moving, musical, informative and even scented art exhibition at Auckland's Spark Arena .Visitors are surrounded by a vibrant symphony of light, colour, sound and fragrance and it's on a super-sized scale. A standard adult ticket costs $49.90 and children's tickets are $39.90. Contact: vangoghalive.co.nz or book online at ticketmaster.co.nz/vangoghalive
Contact: vangoghalive.co.nz or book online at ticketmaster.co.nz/vangoghalive

Southern cycles: Alps 2 Ocean

The tour team at Adventure South NZ has dreamed up thrilling excursions, each with the security ofa support vehicle nearby if the weather turns. A Winter Alps to Ocean Cycle is discounted by $150 to $2145pp for departures on June 13, July 2 and August 21. Book by April 30. This is a six-day cycling trip from Tekapo to Christchurch, with time allocated for hot-pool soaking, mulled wine and warm firesides. Mention this deal when booking.
Contact: Adventure South, 0800 00 11 66, info@adventuresouth.co.nz , or adventuresouth.co.nz/NewZealand/Cycling/Winter-Alps-to-Ocean-Cycle

For more New Zealand travel ideas and inspiration, go to newzealand.com