After meeting your guides and fellow travellers in Queenstown, we’ll head to Fiordland National Park. The Kepler Track is renowned for its vivid green moss, native beech forest, and stunning mountain ranges. We’ll walk the section from Rainbow Reach up to Moturau Hut following the Waiau River through beech forest and wetlands. Includes lunch and dinner.
Enjoy the quiet setting of Matai Lodge as you gaze over the spectacular backdrop of the Fiordland mountain ranges. The Lodge offers modern and comfortable ensuite studio rooms with a communal living area only available to guests of the Lodge.
This morning, we’ll head to Milford Sound for our scenic boat trip. Enjoy the crisp, fresh air and feel your everyday anxieties slip away as the tranquillity of the fiord washes over you. Have your cameras ready as you snap reels of photos of cascading waterfalls, towering peaks and native wildlife in action.
Once back on dry land, we’ll head deeper in Fiordland’s wilderness for a heart-pumping hike on the world-famous Routeburn Track up to Key Summit. A well-formed track leads us through lush beech forest and past tall tree ferns, with velvety mosses blanketing the rich earth underfoot. Native birdsong provides a beautiful soundtrack to our walk and as we climb higher, views of the Darran Mountains and Hollyford Valley stretch out beneath us providing a fitting reward for our efforts. You’ll sleep soundly tonight in your lakefront accommodation in Te Anau. Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Enjoy the quiet setting of Matai Lodge as you gaze over the spectacular backdrop of the Fiordland mountain ranges. The Lodge offers modern and comfortable ensuite studio rooms with a communal living area only available to guests of the Lodge.
Today we travel to the historic Arrowtown, a quaint old gold-mining settlement just a short drive from Queenstown. You’ll have the choice of either biking or walking the Arrow River Bridges Trail. Please advise at the time of booking.
A short but incredibly scenic drive over New Zealand’s highest sealed road at 1022m takes us into Wanaka, a favourite holiday spot for Kiwis. Nestled at the foot of snow-capped mountains, this lakefront town is Queenstown’s more relaxed cousin, although its equal in stunning scenery. It’s a great place to explore on your own for a bit – be sure to try out some of the local delicacies including meat pies, fantastic coffee, uniquely flavoured gelatos and craft beers. Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
CHOICE 1 Bike Arrowtown
We’ll get fitted out with bikes before taking to the trail on two wheels. We’ll follow the Kawarau River along a wide trail, riding past homesteads, meadows and mountains out towards the famous Gibbston Valley vineyards and the world’s first commercial bungy bridge.
CHOICE 2 Hike Arrowtown
If you prefer to walk rather than cycle, we have an equally exciting alternative. You can still experience the beautiful Arrowtown trail that the cyclists do except you can do it on foot! Your driver will pick you up from the stunning Southern Discoveries swing bridge and drive you to the Kawarau bungy bridge to regroup with the rest of the team.
Te Wanaka Lodge is a European-style ski lodge located in the heart of Wānaka. The boutique hotel was designed in 1993 and constructed from contemporary local materials. It was designed and built around the beautiful gardens which are a legacy of the much-admired property that once existed on the site. Rooms that are cosy in size but are stylish, warm and very comfortable. All rooms have their own ensuite bathrooms and private terraces. Guests also love the many cosy lounges offered throughout the accommodation.
Today's adventure begins on one of Southern Alps Air’s Cessna bush planes, taking in expansive views of the 355,000ha Mount Aspiring National Park. Look out across winding rivers, virgin beech forest, glaciated valleys, alpine lakes, glaciers and the towering Southern Alps, before landing on the remote Siberia Valley air strip. Once on the ground, we'll head up the valley to a backcountry hut with outstanding views of the surrounding peaks.
We'll have a tasty picnic lunch on the deck of the hut, we'll begin our walk along a well-marked track through the thick forest linking the Siberia Valley to the Wilkin Valley wilderness below. Be on the lookout for native birds along the way and the many photo opportunities as you immerse yourself in nature. The track was originally used by Mount Albert Station to take stock into the valley for grazing. The track is 6.8km in length, the first half of which climbs gently 200m in elevation from the airstrip, before heading downhill for the second half of the walk - a total drop in elevation of 470m.
On reaching the Wilkin River at Kerin Forks, jet boats will be waiting to take us for a thrilling 30-minute ride down the Wilkin and Makarora Rivers back to the Makarora Village. Jet boats were invented in 1954 in New Zealand by Sir William Hamilton for the shallow waters of our braided rivers. Jet boating originally started on the Wilkin River in 1968 transporting venison out of the mountains before hiking and commercial work became more commonplace. Get a whole different perspective on this dramatic valley as you watch the landscape rush by and feel the wind in your hair. Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Te Wanaka Lodge is a European-style ski lodge located in the heart of Wānaka. The boutique hotel was designed in 1993 and constructed from contemporary local materials. It was designed and built around the beautiful gardens which are a legacy of the much-admired property that once existed on the site. Rooms that are cosy in size but are stylish, warm and very comfortable. All rooms have their own ensuite bathrooms and private terraces. Guests also love the many cosy lounges offered throughout the accommodation.
We’ll kick the day off with a hike to Diamond Lake to appreciate the sweeping views out over the Southern Alps and Lake Wānaka, before carrying on up the Rocky Mountain trail. It’s a steady climb and one that will no doubt get your heart pumping, but with each passing step, the scenery just gets better and better, making it all worth it at the top.
This afternoon sees a change of scenery as we make our way to the Mackenzie Country, an area of jaw-dropping beauty, wide-open skies, glacial lakes and distant towering peaks. We’ll spend the next two nights staying at the foot of New Zealand’s highest mountain, Aoraki/Mount Cook. Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
You'll stay in one of only two beautiful lodges in the Mount Cook National Park, at either lodge, you’ll be treated to incredible views from your doorstep. Settle into your comfortable, warm and modern room to rest your legs after a day in the hills. If you want to explore further you’re close to numerous marked walkways and the local visitor centre too.
Home to not only its namesake, known as “the Cloud Piercer” to Māori looming at 3,724 metres (over 12,000 feet), Aoraki Mount Cook National Park boasts a further 19 peaks topping more than 3,000 metres. These are the mountains where Edmund Hillary honed his skills before becoming the first to successfully summit Mount Everest with Tenzing Norgay in 1953. This incredible outdoor playground is a hiker’s paradise, and you have several experiences to choose from today.
Check out the many hiking tracks and trails, or simply explore the village at your leisure. Whatever you decide, it’s an incredible place to spend the day. Get up close to the icebergs on a glacier boat tour, or even splurge on a heli-hike if you’d like.*
After a full day of activities, we’ll meet up and return to our accommodation for a tasty meal and a chance to trade stories from the day as well as gaze up at the impressive night sky in this internationally recognised Dark Sky Reserve. Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
* Please advise us at the time of booking if interested in the option add-ons, Glacier Heli-Hiking (NZD$795), Glacier Lake Boat Tour (NZD$179)
You'll stay in one of only two beautiful lodges in the Mount Cook National Park, at either lodge, you’ll be treated to incredible views from your doorstep. Settle into your comfortable, warm and modern room to rest your legs after a day in the hills. If you want to explore further you’re close to numerous marked walkways and the local visitor centre too.
It’s our last morning together and the adventure isn’t quite over just yet. We’ll start today with a hike through the picturesque Mackenzie Country with a steady climb up Mount John though forest and tussock to the observatory at the top. As we walk, we’ll look out over 360-degree views across the impressive Mackenzie Basin flats and surrounding mountains and lakes. After our hike, we’ll check out the famous and much-photographed Church of the Good Shepherd, as well as Tekapo’s statue to the working dog, commissioned in 1968 by local farmers to pay tribute to the role these intelligent canines played in working the land.
After lunch, we’ll explore the Clay Cliffs of Omarama, these impressive other-worldly rock formations were formed over a million years ago by the flow of ancient glaciers. We’ll then say our farewells in Queenstown. Includes breakfast and lunch.