Our trip starts in Nelson in the early afternoon, giving you time in the morning to wander around this vibrant and charming city. From Nelson, it is a picturesque drive around Tasman Bay to Kaiteriteri, the gateway to Abel Tasman National Park.
Here you can pack your gear for a 2-night stay in the park and then board the water taxi. A relaxing cruise around the coast takes us to the beautiful Bark Bay. Pitch your tent and enjoy dinner together. Fall asleep to the sound of waves lapping the shore. Accommodation: camping. Includes lunch and dinner.
Today offers the opportunity to hike in this magical National Park and wander along the sheltered coastline marvelling at the crystal-clear waters and stunning scenery of this marine reserve.
The hike from Bark Bay takes us through glades of Manuka, over a low saddle and across a 47-metre suspension bridge at Falls River. The optional side trip to Cleopatra’s Pool is a must and a perfect place for a swim on a warm summer’s day.
Tonight’s campsite is at Anchorage, a stunning bush-fringed bright blue inlet. Time to take another swim, read a book or have a snooze, before preparing and enjoying another evening meal together.
Sea kayaking can be arranged for this day (4-5 hours) if requested at the time of booking (NZ$175). The kayaking starts and finishes in the same place so you will hike as well as kayak if you take this option at the time of booking. Accommodation: camping. Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Have a sleep in or join the guide for a stroll out to Te Pukatea Bay and Pitt Head – the site of an old Maori Pa. Then back to camp and maybe a swim before leaving behind the beautiful Anchorage Bay for a gentle ramble over a saddle and through lush beech forest with large Kanuka trees.
The guide will take all of the group gear and tents by water taxi so you can enjoy the hike along the well-marked trail with a lighter pack. We’ll pass through several picturesque bays before eventually emerging out into the estuary. Finish walking the track by crossing the Marahau causeway where your guide will meet you with the vehicle. Time to rest the legs on the drive to tonight’s accommodation in Murchison. Accommodation: Murchison Lodge. Includes breakfast and lunch.
After driving down the Buller Gorge to the West Coast, the first stop this morning is Cape Foulwind. Here is an opportunity to observe a breeding colony of New Zealand fur seals – almost hunted to extinction in the 1800s.
After lunch, hike up a spectacular limestone river canyon in Paparoa National Park. Established in 1987, the park covers over 30,000 hectares. It has natural attractions including mountains, limestone cliffs, caves, rivers and wilderness areas. The hike involves several river crossings (your boots will get wet).
Collect firewood along the way and set up camp under the massive Ballroom Overhang. Accommodation: camping. Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Heading out from the Ballroom, we wander along quaint rivers, channelled through towering limestone cliffs covered in lush native rainforest. The scenery in this area is truly breath-taking and unparalleled in the South Island. Take the opportunity to explore a nearby canyon where the river disappears into a cave. Leaving the rivers behind, walk along an old inland pack-track that winds its way through tranquil native forest before emerging at the road end where our vehicle awaits.
A short drive gets us to the small tourist town of Punakaiki. We have lunch at the local cafe and wander through the geologic phenomenon that is the Pancake Rocks – scientists still cannot agree on how they formed. If the tide is right, you will get to witness the magnificent blowholes in action.
Tonight we step back in time and stay in the West Coast’s only restored miners’ hotel, and once world-renowned theatre. Accommodation: Theatre Royal Hotel, Kumara. Includes breakfast.
Today we travel along a remarkable highway which travels up from the lush green rainforests of the West Coast and into the glaciated Southern Alps. This is one of the most cleverly engineered roads in New Zealand.
We will stop in Arthur’s Pass Village for a stroll around this alpine settlement. This is an ideal opportunity to see our cheeky alpine parrot, the kea.
Just east of the village we start our overnight hike into Edwards Hut. We are now experts at crossing rivers, and get our boots wet as soon as we start the hike as we cross the Bealey River. The track rises and falls several times avoiding the gullies below. We will emerge onto the upper river flats among the red tussocks and make away amongst the grasses before a short final hike through the forest where the hut comes into view.
This remote alpine valley is the domain of our national bird, the kiwi, so we keep our ears tuned tonight for their distinctive call. Accommodation: Edwards Hut. Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
We soak up the serenity and solitude some more with a wander up to the head of the valley and the aptly named Falling Mountain. Named so after the 1929 Arthur’s Pass earthquake caused a 900m high section of the mountain to crumble into the valley below.
After morning tea back at the hut, we head back out via the same track, a little easier in this direction as it is mostly downhill. Arriving back at the vehicle we drive through the stunning Craigieburn basin with its sweeping mountain vistas and limestone crags and escarpments. Leaving the main highway, a backroad takes us around Lake Lyndon and through the Rakaia Gorge to Methven. Accommodation: Methven Lodge & B&B. Includes breakfast and lunch.
We drive south following the edge of the Canterbury plains to Lake Tekapo, famous for its stunning turquoise waters and the quaint Church of the Good Shepherd, perched daintily by the lake. The sweeping Mackenzie basin is a sparsely populated region in the rain shadow of the Southern Alps; tawny-brown drylands, braided riverbeds and startling glacial lakes extend to the horizon.
From Twizel, those wishing to cycle get fitted out with bikes ($70) to ride a section of the impressive Alps to Ocean cycle trail. The cyclists will cycle along the quiet canal roads before crossing the Lake Ohau weir and weaving their way around the lake on a purpose-built cycle track. The views are amazing and there will be plenty of time to stop, take photos and admire the mountains and the amazing blue of the glacially fed Lake Ohau before arriving at the lodge.
Those people not wishing to cycle will travel by vehicles with the guide to the lodge and choose between relaxing on the decks overlooking the lake or going for a short self-guided walk on the Alps to Ocean trail. Tonight we enjoy a delicious meal at the lodge and admire the beautiful, yet stark landscape of the Mackenzie High Country. Accommodation: Ohau Lodge. Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Our drive to Wanaka follows the Mackenzie country south before climbing over the tussock lands of the Lindis Pass into the southern lakes district. We continue through the township and drive around Lake Wanaka and up the Matukituki Valley to the start of our hike in the walkers’ paradise of Mt Aspiring National Park.
The hike to Aspiring Hut is unforgettable with views of high glaciated mountains and ice-carved valleys. Depending on the weather, we may make the side hike up to Rob Roy Glacier today. From the hut, we enjoy stunning alpine views as we hike the valley to Aspiring Hut. Between high peaks we catch glimpses of the Matterhorn-like Mt Aspiring (3033m). Accommodation: Mt Aspiring Hut. Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
On the last day of this tour, we can walk to the viewpoint of Rob Roy Glacier if this was not done yesterday. As we reach the treeline the beech forest gives way to alpine vegetation. The hanging glaciers beneath Mt Rob Roy are spectacular. The glacier is active and you may be able to hear and see avalanches from this safe viewing point.
On the return walk to the vehicle, we will meander alongside the Rob Roy Stream and take in the beautiful waterfalls dotted along the track. We stop in Wanaka for a look around this lakeside alpine resort and a chance to enjoy a café lunch at our leisure. The final leg of the journey is a remarkable drive over the Crown Range. From the summit there are breath-taking views across the Wakatipu Basin and lakes. We continue the drive into Queenstown - New Zealand’s Adventure Capital. Includes breakfast.