ROKI sits on the Lake Esplanade, looking straight across Lake Wakatipu to the Remarkables, with a private transfer and airside meet-and-greet built into arrival.
The day’s flight path is mapped out with a private guide on the morning itself, ranging between Mt Aspiring National Park and the fiords of south-western Fiordland, taking in glaciers, alpine lakes and rainforest. Multiple landings are built in, including a stop at Milford Sound away from the cruise crowds, with the helicopter shut down each time for a few minutes of complete quiet before moving on.
The helicopter lands on a ridge in the Albert Burn Saddle, with a walk down to the chalet itself, 1,750 metres up at the edge of Mt Aspiring National Park, its roof banked with snow for insulation and powered by solar. A private chef cooks dinner on site, and with zero light pollution this far into the alps, the night sky here is about as clear as it gets anywhere in the country.
A short guided hike from the chalet leads to a pickup point for the return flight, before checking into ROKI’s Three Bedroom Brunswick Suite for the next two nights.
A grade-two stretch of the Hāwea River, near Wānaka, mixes mild rapids with long, slow pools deep enough for swimming, rock jumps included. A private guide leads the two-hour float, with lunch and a chef-prepared dinner built around the day.
Bay of Many Coves is reachable only by boat or on foot via the Queen Charlotte Track, set into the Marlborough Sounds.
The Queen Charlotte Track runs 72km through native forest and regenerating bush past the resort’s door, with round-trip walks of two hours or boat-assisted multi-day options for anyone wanting more. After dark, a five-minute walk along the bay’s track reaches a bank lit by Arachnocampa luminosa, the glow worm species found only in New Zealand and Australia.
A helicopter from Taupo flies into the Owhaoko whenua, 1,454 metres up between the Kaweka and Kaimanawa Forests, with no road access, no cell coverage and 6,950 hectares to itself. The cabin’s two bedrooms include one enclosed entirely in glass for stargazing and sunrise, with guides on hand throughout for hiking, fly fishing the trout-filled headwaters, or simply sitting on the deck with a book.
A 100-metre abseil, more than double the depth of any other cave entry at Waitomo, drops into a cavern lit from above, before the walk back out through the cave’s main chambers. The half day ends with a flight to Auckland and check-in at the Park Hyatt.
The Waiheke Reserve ferry ticket is a pre-booked service, a fixed sailing time in both directions rather than a queue-and-board ticket, useful for a family group with a day already planned. On the island, EcoZip’s dual 200m ziplines run over a working vineyard and native forest, with a guide covering local Māori stories on the walk back down through the bush.
Options run from golf on the David Harman-designed course (ranked 55th globally) to ATV runs across the property’s 6,000 acres, a horseback ride to a private beach, or a barbecue on Pink Beach, named for the shell fragments that colour its sand. A guided night walk gives a chance at spotting kiwi, and the spa includes a couples’ treatment room opening onto its own outdoor space.
A 54ft sailing catamaran spends the day through the Bay of Islands, with stops for swimming, snorkelling and kayaking off isolated beaches, lunch included on board.
