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DC3 New Zealand 12-day Air Tour 2017

Written by Pacific Trailways on September 11th, 2016.      0 comments

Nostalgia! Glamour! Romance!
 

DC3 at ardmore

If you are looking for a ‘new’ way to experience New Zealand – this could be a fun idea… Twelve gentle-paced days touring the North and South Islands in a classic, meticulously maintained DC3 airliner operated by ‘Fly DC3 New Zealand’.
 
Step back a little to a time when you dressed up to go out and you didn’t have to lock the door behind you. Now you can re-live this gentler era with a leisurely paced, lower altitude air tour in a DC3 airliner that was an iconic part of those sociable times. …
 
Enjoy a tour that combines nostalgic flights through New Zealand with the comforts of modern hotels and sightseeing coaches for an exclusive touring adventure like no other… A touring adventure that offers breath taking natural wonders, enthralling landscapes, wide-ranging experiences and fun encounters that will enrich your appreciation for our remarkable country.
 
The DC3 is a great way to see New Zealand – a classic design that revolutionised air travel in the years leading up to WW2 and beyond. This immortal aircraft featured the very best design elements of her day and is often regarded as the most significant – and robust – transport aircraft ever made. She flies comfortably at a sedate speed and a lower altitude and that makes her an ideal ‘platform’ for air touring and aerial sightseeing. 
 
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Sunday morning over Auckland from the window of the DC3

A familiar sight in Auckland skies on Sunday mornings, the mellow rumble of ZK-DAK’s two Pratt & Whitney engines draw eyes skywards as the DC3 hosts and entertains passengers on frequent sightseeing flights and at air shows throughout New Zealand.  

Inside ZK-DAK you will find a pleasant, commercially styled cabin with two seats either side of the single aisle. The seats were originally from a Boeing 767 airliner and include standard airline seat belts. There are no overhead lockers so cabin bags are stored in a luggage hold up front. Generous square shaped windows offer good aerial photo opportunities and outside viewing.
 
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Professional, highly experienced flight crew The pleasant, commercially styled DC3 cabin

Your Air Tour adventure will see you flying each morning for an hour or so (sometimes less, sometimes a little more). Those morning flights are a big advantage – eliminating long hours on a tour coach between destinations. And flying ‘low and slow’ gives you a great perspective on New Zealand’s compact and ever changing landscapes… rolling farmland, pretty coastlines, beautiful beaches and harbours, braided rivers, exquisite lakes, majestic mountains and glaciers, colourful plains and exciting geothermal regions are all part of your air tour route.
 
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Flying ‘low and slow’ gives you a great perspective
 
Plymouth International Hotel; 4-star style
 

And with less daily travelling time there is more time to see what each destination has to offer – and more time to relax when you get there.  On arrival at each destination there will be a tour coach to meet you at the airport for some local ‘ground-based’ sightseeing before the transfer to your hotel and a chance to do the things that you want to do…

The tour departures have been timed to take advantage of the usually settled summertime weather conditions however there is always the possibility of inclement weather at some point. If poor weather occurs and flying is not safe or comfortable on a particular day, the itinerary may be re-arranged or a luxury tour coach will complete that part of the route to keep the tour running to schedule. 

A friendly, experienced Tour Manager will accompany you to ensure everything runs to plan and to help you make the most of all the attractions, activities and points of interest along the way. Meanwhile a ground support crew will be there too; looking after the DC3 throughout your tour.  
 
Breakfast and dinner are included each day and you can look forward to a very comfortable 4-star or 5-star hotel standard each evening (along with two ‘3-star plus’ hotels that are the best on offer at their respective locations).
 
Two 2-night stopovers are a tour feature too – one stopover is lakefront in beautiful Queenstown…
 
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Two nights in beautiful Queenstown Marlborough Sounds Wine and Mussel Cruise

There is a lot to see and enjoy on this tour! For a start, there are two cruises – a Marlborough Sounds Wine and Mussel Cruise and a spectacular Milford Sound cruise. 
 
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Milford Sound cruise. Tranz Alpine train trip across the beautiful Southern Alps

Add to that the amazing coast to coast Tranz Alpine train trip plus visits to aviation museums at Omaka, Wanaka and Ashburton, a winery visit, Napier’s Art Deco scene and so, so much more.
 
And for something even more special, the April 12-day tour includes the exciting Easter Weekend Classic Fighters Air Show at Omaka near Blenheim. So book now! What are you waiting for?    
 
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Grass runway in Ashburton… and the coach transfer couldn’t be any closer to your DC3! Flying at about 500 metres (1500 feet) along the pretty Kaikoura coastline
 
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February and March itinerary tour route April itinerary tour route

There are only three 12-day tours in 2017 and 24 seats per tour. Be sure to book soon so you don’t miss out on this exclusive opportunity… 

 
 

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29 October 2015

NZ Air Tours You Won't Forget.

“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward" ­ Leonardo da Vinci

 

What a pilot sees in a day, most people won't see in a lifetime. Now you can experience the  tour of a lifetime with the iconic DC3 air tour and Pacific Trailways. See the most spectacular views in New Zealand, in the most spectacular way possible. Do something different!

 

New Zealand Tours

Touring New Zealand is no doubt one of the most relaxing, exhilarating and beautiful holidays you can have in your lifetime. Normally you choose your destination, choose the mode of transport, sit back and soak up the scenery. You experience the wildlife and history of the place only to find yourself longing for more time to experience more places. 

 

Create “The Envy Factor”

The new DC3 tours will offer the guest a unique vacation in New Zealand as they fly in the classic DC3 to experience the best way of seeing  the most spectacular countryside views you could imagine. These tours offer the chance to visit Northland including the Bay of Islands and Cape Reinga attractions. Other new DC3 tours visit Coromandel, Tauranga, Rotorua and Gisborne.

 

These tours include:

● DC3 Glory Days Retro Rotorua Weekender 3 days

● DC3 Peak & Lake New Plymouth/Taupo Weekender 3 days

● DC3 Classic Northland 4 days

● DC3 Coromandel/Bay of Plenty/East Cape/Gisborne 5 days

● DC3 Gourmet Journeys South Island Air Tour 13 days

● DC3 NZ Airtour and Omaka Air Show 13 days

The unique DC3 air tours of some of  New Zealand's finest tourist attractions makes a vacation of a lifetime possible. Experience some of New Zealand's finest attractions such as The Coromandel, with its beautiful beaches, native forests and relaxing atmosphere, or the Bay of Plenty with golf courses, the best beach in NZ and the spectacular Mclaren Falls Park. In the North, visit the northernmost accessible tip of North Island that leads to the point where two seas meet, and where the Maori spirits leap from an 800 year old tree into the ocean to return to their ancestral homeland.

The New Zealand 13 day air tour 2017 will leave you saying to your friends how you saw some of New Zealand's most beautiful beaches and only marine volcano­ white Island ­ plus the geothermal wonders of Rotorua, all on the first day of your tour.Later in the tour you will see the Fiordland region and even the beauty of Stewart Island on an adventure never to be forgotten.

 

Comfortable Touring

With our unique travel packages you will be staying in 3.5 to 5 star hotels and traveling on a DC3 that first flew in 1944 and has now been refitted to provide her passengers with a comfortable cabin with large windows, ideal for viewing and photo opportunities. The seats are from a Boeing 767 and provide ample comfort for the tour flights. Safety is the very first priority and your DC3 operator has earned a 5 year “ Airline Operating Certificate”. Your crew are experienced professionals operating to the highest standards.

Countless photo opportunities and endless talking points await you on your journey, maybe to Hokitika and onwards by coach to visit a jade gallery, try your hand at gold panning and of course, Monteith's Brewery. This is just one of the days you can experience with Pacific Trailways DC3 air tours.

 

Visit New Zealand

You could experience an aerial view of  Franz Josef Glacier then Fox Glacier and our highest mountain, Aoraki Mt Cook. Visit Wanaka, Te Anau and  take a luxury coach trip along New Zealand's most scenic mountain road and onto Milford Sound for picture taking before visiting the Underwater observatory in Harrison Cove.

 

What Touring Is Supposed To Be Like

We could write about every day's adventure and all the possibilities and sites you will see. But the best way to see this dream is not through words, the best way to see this dream tour is in our aircraft, in the luxury coaches and with the guidance and commentary of the best tour guides available. The best way to to see this dream is to live it!

 

Visit our website for all the details and the air tour itineraries.


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23 October 2015

Pacific Trailways Make NZ Holidays Special.

Adventure holidays don’t have to be adrenaline fueled.

 

Let's be honest, New Zealand is an amazingly diverse country, it has landscapes to take your breath away, waterways to thrill you or relax you, and seascapes to explore and discover a whole new world.

As a holiday destination, whether you are a native New Zealander or a visitor to this fine country the options are limitless. Relax, seek thrills, explore. Go by air, rail, by road or sea, you choose, it's your NZ vacation after all. 

You can choose to relax whilst kayaking in Milford Sound, Fiordland or maybe enjoy a peaceful stroll in Abel Tasman National Park along the golden beaches. Discover the rock 
carvings in Mine Bay, Lake Taupo whilst taking a swim, or visit Hobbiton Film set where the Lord Of The Rings was filmed and discover your inner Hobbit.For the wine lovers amongst us, Waiheke Island offers up some must try Vineyards like Mudbrick, Stonyridge, and Cable Bay.

We have cities with every kind of dining experience, we have culture, beaches, history, and glaciers. We have hot springs, and we have lakes to sit, relax, and stargaze by such as Lake Pukaki at Aoraki Mount Cook National Park.

So, how do you choose your New Zealand adventure? where do you start on your tour of all things NZ?

 

The adventure of a lifetime ­ Do Something Different!

 If you feel really adventurous then join us on the air tour of a lifetime as we go on a 13 day DC3 flight adventure staying in some of the finest hotels and visiting almost every major tourist attraction there is, from Auckland, to Rotorua, to Wellington, Blenheim, the west coast, Wanaka, Milford Sound and Stewart Island­ with mini breaks in Queenstown and Dunedin. Then returning via Ashburton and Christchurch before landing back at Auckland, exhausted but hopefully full of awe and with enough conversation to keep you going til you return again.
 

New heights for New Zealand tourism

There are other less adventurous adventures of course, shorter tours in the DC3 make the experience no less special and the destinations are simply stunning. What better way to discover this amazing country than in the best seat possible, with glamour, nostalgia and romance aplenty. We can take you on a journey across the South Island, the Bay of Plenty, New Plymouth and Northland to mention a few.There are even a few places, sometimes off the tourist trail that are well worth a visit. These include Coromandel, Tauranga and Gisborne, places you are sure never to forget.
 

Tours for people who like to stay grounded

As well as the DC3 air tour we cater for the more traditional holiday maker, the weekend breaker and the girly weekender. 

Please free free to contact us for more information on our tours. We are always happy to answer all questions and hope to see you soon for the NZ vacation you will never forget.


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Steve Reeve (Managing Director)
steve@pacifictrailways.co.nz