The transformation starts a week before you check in, when you switch to decaf and say farewell to your nightly vino. Heaven is no place for a detox headache.

Aro Hā located in the sublime subalpine glacial valleys of Central Otago, 45 minutes from Queenstown on the South Island of New Zealand, is a high-end health retreat with lofty ambitions. The main one? To take you and your burned out bundle of bad habits and turn you into a lean, strong, calm, clear-thinking and happy human in six days (or at least get you started then give you the roadmap).

While there’s a mix of soft and hard activities, it’s a program, to put it bluntly, that isn’t for wimps. There are hours of hiking in nature, strength-training sessions, cooking classes, yoga, infrared saunas, ice baths, silence and a daily deep-tissue massage.

If that sounds a bit intense, mindfulness practices are woven into every activity (in te reo Māori, aro ha loosely means “in the presence of divine breath”). Plantbased dining is communal, occasional periods of silence are encouraged and support is ever-present.

Bedrooms are comfortable without being massively luxe (two bedrooms have a connecting bathroom) but, frankly, you don’t spend a lot of time in them. Devices are discouraged although there is wi-fi and scant mobile reception. But who needs wi-fi in heaven?

What’s your idea of a physically demanding holiday? If it’s trekking through rainforest in the shadow of majestic mountains and alongside mirrored lakes in the occasional company of fur seals or crested penguins, read on. If it’s punctuating the hike with a ride in a jet boat to an ancient forest and a helicopter flight over New Zealand’s Milford Sound – and ending each day with a delicious dinner, a fine Central Otago wine and a comfortable bed – welcome to the Hollyford Track.

This guided trek through the Hollyford Valley on the South Island is part excursion, part exertion and 100 per cent immersion in the beauty and bounty of Fiordland. The Hollyford Wilderness Experience offers a four-day luxury guided tour of the track itself (including the jet boat and helicopter). Abercrombie & Kent bookends its four-day itinerary with stays at The Rees Hotel on the shores of Lake Wakatipu near Queenstown, a cycling tour from the gold-rush village of Arrowtown to a winery in the Gibbston Valley and a day trek on a not-too-taxing section of the famous Routeburn Track – eight days all up.

Both the Hollyford Track and this section of the Routeburn – a trail originally used by Mãori for hunting and gathering and one of New Zealand’s Great Walks – require a “reasonable” level of fitness. The beauty of this break is that you can replenish your soul while you work your body.

Days at 
this five-star escape in the Bay of Islands are bookended
by morning yoga and evening 
guided-meditation sessions
and may include massage, reiki, drum meditation or mindful walks through the property’s 16 hectares of regenerated bush overlooking the water. 

It certainly helps that one of the owners of this high-end retreat, about an hour north of Nelson, is 
a retired doctor with a particular interest in health and wellbeing. Your tailored program may involve a massage in the Japanese-style spa, yoga in the rose garden pavilion, laps in the saltwater infinity pool, relaxation in the sauna and steam room or sweating it out in the gym. 

The pursuit of rejuvenation 
takes many forms at this well-appointed hideaway, set at the end of a gravel track on a private peninsula in the Golden Bay region. Spa therapies include reflexology and Bach flower remedies, though there’s no denying the meditative pleasures of simply dropping a line into the pristine waters. Westhaven’s glorious location provides a supercharged back-to-nature experience with dramatic cliffs, tidal bores and sea caves to explore. 

Queenstown’s topnotch hotel and golf course, home to the 
New Zealand Open, comes with 
a spa befitting its upwardly mobile guests. The Spa at Millbrook is 
a rarefied world of indulgence where traditional pampering, 
such as hot-stone massage and steam exfoliation, is combined with biotechnology-driven treatments that promise to smooth, lift and firm the complexion. 

This sanctuary in the hills of Waikato, an hour’s drive from Auckland, is all about deep relaxation and de-stressing. You can choose full- or half-day treatments but it’s hard to resist the lure of staying overnight in the secluded timber cabin, where a bottle of local wine begs to be savoured on the private verandah overlooking a lush green valley. 

This Coromandel Range hideaway is run by a charitable trust that’s dedicated to bringing balance 
and harmony to the world, one stressed-out city slicker at a time. About a two-hour drive east of Auckland, the simple space hosts retreats of all stripes, from yoga, dance and Pilates to qi gong, detox and even singing. 

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