New Zealand Coach Travel Has Become More Flexible

New flexibility in traveling through New Zealand by motor coach has been introduced with non-consecutive-day passes that are good through April 30, 1991.

On Mount Cook Line’s Kiwi Coach Pass, visitors can travel in any number of combinations: 7 days over an 11-day period, 10 days in a 16-day period, 15 out of 23 days, 25 out of 35, and 33 days over a 45-day period. Each pass allows unlimited first-class coach travel.

The seven-day pass costs about $159; 10 days, $184; 15 days, $209; 25 days, $318, and 33 days, $358.

In addition, pass holders are entitled to a free one-way flight between the North and South islands on either Mount Cook Airlines or Air New Zealand. Visitors can fly from Wellington on the North Island to either Nelson or Blenheim on the South Island, or vice versa. This one-way flight must be within the time period of the pass.

The pass also provides discounts on such offerings as ski plane flights from Mt. Cook, Fox Glacier or Franz Josef Glacier; scenic flights to Milford Sound; Gray Line Sightseeing tours in Auckland, Rotorua, Christchurch and Queenstown; an Auckland Harbor Cruise, and a Cape Reinga Tour via 90 Mile Beach.

Pass holders are also entitled to year-round 20% discounts on Mount Cook Airlines.

The Kiwi Coach Pass can be purchased in the United States or in New Zealand, where proof must be shown, in the form of a passport and international air tickets, that buyers are visiting the country.

Another means of seeing New Zealand is with the Travelpass, which covers train and motor coach as well as passenger ferries between the two islands.

An eight-day pass, which allows travelers to choose eight travel days out of a 14-day period, costs $180. A 15-day pass, to be used over a 22-day term, goes for $230, while a 22-day pass, to be utilized within 31 days, costs $280.

These passes can be bought in the United States or New Zealand, but are slightly less expensive here, according to a spokeswoman for the New Zealand Tourist & Publicity Office, 10960 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1530, Los Angeles 90024; (213) 477-8241.

For more information on these programs, contact travel agents, Mount Cook Lines at (800) 468-2665 or the New Zealand Central Reservation Office at (800) 351-2317.