New Zealand Yacht Charter

The subtropical north, three hours' drive or a short flight from Auckland to Kerikeri. 144 islands in a sheltered bay, Russell's 19th-century waterfront, the Hole in the Rock at Cape Brett and Whangaroa Harbour, an entrance hidden between overlapping cliffs that opens into water flatter than a lake. This is the warmest and easiest New Zealand charter, and the one to book if you want a swimming week. The Poor Knights are a day trip south. Swimming with the resident bottlenose dolphins has been prohibited since 2019 to protect them; you will see them from the deck, not the water.

The City of Sails is the country's superyacht base and the natural start point. Waiheke's vineyards are half an hour from the marina, Kawau Island and Bon Accord Harbour 25 miles, and Great Barrier Island 60 miles, the first island in the world designated a Dark Sky Sanctuary. Smokehouse Bay on Great Barrier is reachable only by boat and has a wood-fired bath for anyone who arrives by dinghy. A week from Auckland covers the Gulf, the Coromandel and the Mercury Islands without a long passage.

At the top of the South Island, three drowned river valleys: Queen Charlotte, Kenepuru and Pelorus Sound. Dense bush to the waterline, jetties and boat sheds instead of villages, Hector's dolphins, the smallest in the world, riding the bow wave. Lodges here are reached by sea. Fly into Blenheim and board at Picton; Abel Tasman National Park and its golden beaches are a day's cruise west.

Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound, the deep south. Sheer walls, waterfalls after rain (and it rains most days), seals on the rocks and cold, dark water. This is the expedition end of New Zealand: a separate trip from the north, usually flown into via Queenstown, and best from February to March when the weather settles. The reward is a place most visitors see for 90 minutes from a tour boat, and you have overnight.

East of Auckland: kauri forest, white sand at Cathedral Cove, hot springs on the beach and the Mercury Islands, where Great Mercury is privately owned and the outer islands are nature reserves with caves and pinnacles for diving. Usually folded into a Hauraki Gulf week rather than booked on its own.